WARSAW — Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki has narrowly won Poland’s presidential runoff, defeating pro-European incumbent ally Rafal Trzaskowski in a result poised to reshape the nation’s political direction and reverberate across Brussels, as reported by Daily Hurriyet News on Monday.
The 42-year-old Nawrocki secured 50.89 percent of the vote, according to official figures released Monday, edging out Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, who garnered 49.11 percent. Voter turnout reached a robust 71.6 percent in a deeply polarized electorate.
“Congratulations to the winner,” outgoing President Andrzej Duda posted on X, after endorsing Nawrocki during the campaign.
Nawrocki, an admirer of former U.S. President Donald Trump, cast his victory as a mission fulfilled. “We will win and we will save Poland,” he declared to supporters in Warsaw on election night. He previously visited Trump at the White House and claimed the former president told him, “You will win.”
The victory is a blow to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU government, whose progressive agenda on abortion, LGBTQ rights, and judicial reforms is now likely to face veto power from a socially conservative presidency. Polish presidents can block legislation unless it garners a three-fifths parliamentary majority—something Tusk’s coalition currently lacks.
Nawrocki’s stance on immigration, EU integration, and support for “Catholic values” resonates with a segment of Polish society anxious about cultural change. But his election may strain relations with Ukraine, as he opposes Kyiv’s EU and NATO ambitions and has pledged to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
The campaign was marked by controversy, including allegations tied to his past as a security guard and former football hooligan. Still, for many voters, Nawrocki’s nationalist message struck a chord in a country where history, identity, and sovereignty remain fiercely contested political terrain.
