Euroskeptic and MAGA-aligned Karol Nawrocki has won Poland’s presidential election, with 50.89% of votes to defeat liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11% in the tightest result in the country’s post-communist history.
The race was watched closely in Europe, Washington and Moscow after the first round on May 18, the day when former Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan decisively beat a nationalist to become Romania’s fifth post-communist president.
The result leaves Romania as the strongest pro-Western country in the region. The closeness of the result exposes deep divisions in Poland, which lies on the eastern rim of NATO and the European Union.
An early exit poll released after voting ended on Sunday gave Trzaskowski a slight lead but as results came in, the picture began to reverse.
Under Nawrocki, Poland is expected to take a more nationalist line and be less supportive of Ukraine. The new leader was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and was the preferred choice in the Kremlin, Although Nawrocki is not pro-Russian, a disruptive voice in the EU and a reduction in support for Ukraine is a boon for Moscow.
Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian and former boxer was picked by the Law and Justice party after it left office in 2023, losing to a centrist coalition led by Donald Tusk.
Poland’s prime minister is responsible for the day-to-day running of the country, but the president has the power to influence foreign policy, to veto legislation and push for a change in government.
Nawrocki will succeed Andrzej Duda, a conservative whose second term ends on Aug. 6.
Nicusor Dan brings change …. and children to Romania’s Cotroceni presidential Palace
