Poland election: Conservative historian Nawrocki wins presidential vote
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Who is Poland’s next president Karol Nawrocki?
Conservative historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election. He cultivated a tough-guy image during his campaign, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings. He supports giving military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s three-year-old invasion. But he has said that, if elected, he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine. He is likely to follow a similar path to outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the pro-EU government’s judicial reforms. The EU says the PiS reforms undermined the independence of the courts. His wife Marta, a civil servant, and three children featured strongly in his campaign. His past has been a topic of intense public debate following a series of negative media reports. There were questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner and an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls.
Item 1 of 2 Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki, backed by the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, votes during the second round of presidential election, at a polling station in Warsaw, Poland, June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
Summary New Polish president supports military aid for Ukraine
Karol Nawrocki wins 50.89% of the vote in second round
Nawrocki cultivates tough-guy image
WARSAW, June 2 (Reuters) – Karol Nawrocki, the conservative historian who won Poland’s presidential election, cultivated a tough-guy image during his campaign, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and boxing rings.
While his liberal opponent Rafal Trzaskowski played up his European credentials, Nawrocki met Donald Trump at the White House and received the U.S. president’s backing for his bid for Poland’s top job.
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According to the final result from the electoral commission, Nawrocki won the election with 50.89% of the votes.
Unlike other eurosceptics in central Europe, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico or Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Nawrocki supports giving military aid to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s three-year-old invasion
But he has said that, if elected, he will oppose membership in Western alliances for Ukraine, a position that seeks to chime with falling support for Ukrainians among Poles, who have hosted more than a million refugees from across the border.
His backers in the Law and Justice (PiS) party had supported fast-tracking membership in the EU and NATO for Kyiv while in power until late 2023.
Nawrocki’s critics said he was fuelling unease over Ukrainian refugees at a time when the far-right is highlighting migration , the cost of living and security . He cited his campaign slogan, Poland First.
“Let’s help others, but let’s take care of our own citizens first,” he said on social media in April.
He is likely to follow a similar path to outgoing President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally who has used his veto power to block the pro-EU government’s efforts to undo the previous PiS administration’s judicial reforms . The EU says the PiS reforms undermined the independence of the courts.
THE FIGHT IN THE RIGHT
In the last two weeks, the candidates mostly fought for the support of people who voted for other candidates in the first round, in particular far-right’s Slawomir Mentzen who came third with 15% support.
Trzaskowski tried to attract them with promises of deregulation. Nawrocki touted his credentials as head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), support for gun ownership, traditional families and Christian values, but also a critical tone on Ukraine, in sync with Mentzen’s.
His wife Marta, a civil servant, and three children featured strongly in his campaign.
Nawrocki’s past has been a topic of intense public debate following a series of negative media reports. There were questions over his acquisition of a flat from a pensioner and an admission that he took part in orchestrated brawls.
“All my sports activities were based on the strength of my heart, the strength of my muscles, my fists,” Nawrocki, an amateur boxer, told a debate when confronted over reports he had been involved in mass organised fights between football hooligans. “It was a fair competition, regardless of the form.”
His Law and Justice party backers have accused the government of orchestrating the controversies with the help of Poland’s special services and liberal media. The government rejects these accusations.
Nawrocki portrayed the election as a referendum on the government, which he described as a metropolitan elite out of touch with their concerns.
“I am simply one of you,” he told voters in the eastern town of Biala Podlaska while on the campaign trail.
Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Philippa Fletcher
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Nationalist Karol Nawrocki wins Polish presidential election
Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election, official results showed on June 2. The 42-year-old, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, scored 50.89 per cent of votes in the run-off, the national election commission said. His rival Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s pro-EU mayor, won 49.11 per cent in the highly polarised Nato and EU nation. His win will block the government’s progressive agenda for abortion and LGBTQ rights and could revive tensions with Brussels over rule of law issues. It could also undermine strong ties with neighbouring Ukraine as he is critical of Kyiv’s EU and Nato accession plans and wants to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees. The results followed a tense evening as both candidates had claimed victory when an exit poll indicated they were neck and neck. Some analysts have predicted it could lead to fresh parliamentary elections if political deadlock with the government persists. The election is likely to embolden the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023.
WARSAW – Nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki won Poland’s presidential election, official results showed on June 2, in a major blow for the country’s pro-EU government.
The 42-year-old, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, scored 50.89 per cent of votes in June 1’s run-off, the national election commission said.
His 53-year-old rival Rafal Trzaskowski, Warsaw’s pro-EU mayor and an ally of the country’s centrist government, won 49.11 per cent in the highly polarised Nato and EU nation.
“Congratulations to the winner!” outgoing conservative President Andrzej Duda said on X.
Mr Duda, who had endorsed Mr Nawrocki, thanked Poles for “carrying out your civic duty” and for the turnout, which was 71.63 per cent.
The results followed a tense evening as both candidates had claimed victory when an exit poll indicated they were neck and neck.
“We will win and we will save Poland,” Mr Nawrocki told a crowd of supporters at his election night rally in Warsaw soon after polling stations closed.
Mr Nawrocki’s win will block the government’s progressive agenda for abortion and LGBTQ rights and could revive tensions with Brussels over rule of law issues.
It could also undermine strong ties with neighbouring Ukraine as he is critical of Kyiv’s EU and Nato accession plans and wants to cut benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
Mr Nawrocki visited the White House during his campaign and said he had been told by Mr Trump: “You will win.”
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem also endorsed Mr Nawrocki when she attended a conservative conference in Poland last week, saying: “He needs to be the next president.”
‘Catholic values’
Polish presidents have some influence over foreign and defence policy and wield veto power over legislation, which can only be overturned by a three-fifths majority in Parliament, which the government does not have.
Reforms planned by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president who came to power in 2023, have been held up by a deadlock with the current president.
Many Mr Nawrocki supporters said they want stricter curbs on immigration and advocate conservative social values and more sovereignty for the country within the European Union.
“Catholic values are important to me. I know he shares them,” Warsaw pensioner Lila Chojecka, 60, told AFP as she came to cast her ballot for Mr Nawrocki.
Mr Trzaskowski voters tend to back greater integration within the EU and an acceleration of social reforms.
Mr Trzaskowski supports introducing civil partnerships for same-sex couples and easing Poland’s near-total ban on abortion.
Ms Malgorzata Wojciechowska, a tour guide and teacher in her fifties, said Polish women “unfortunately do not have the same rights as our European friends”.
Dr Anna Materska-Sosnowska, a political scientist at the University of Warsaw, called the election “a real clash of civilisations”.
Campaign controversies
Mr Nawrocki’s victory is likely to embolden the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023.
Some analysts have predicted it could lead to fresh parliamentary elections if political deadlock with the government persists.
Mr Nawrocki’s campaign was overshadowed at times by controversies over the circumstances in which he bought an apartment from an elderly man and his football hooligan past.
A former amateur boxer, Mr Nawrocki also strongly denied media reports in the last days of the campaign that he had procured sex workers while working as a security guard at a hotel.
His opposition to Ukraine’s Nato membership also brought heavy criticism from Ukrainian officials.
Mr Nawrocki used his last campaign hours on May 30 to leave flowers at a monument to Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II.
“It was a genocide against the Polish people,” he said.
Poland is an EU and Nato member and a fast-growing economy of 38 million people with a leading role in international diplomacy surrounding Ukraine.
It is also a key supply route for Western arms and aid going into Ukraine. AFP
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Poland election: Conservative historian Nawrocki wins presidential vote
Right-wing historian Karol Nawrocki has been elected Poland’s new president. He won 50.9% percent of the votes ahead of Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on 49.1% percent. It’s a sensational turnaround from the result of the first exit poll – published immediately after voting ended at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday – that showed TrZaskowski winning on 50.3% to NawRocki’s 49.7%. Trzaskingowski had claimed victory after the firstExitPoll, while Nawrocka cautioned that the results were too close to call. Poland’s president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but the president can veto legislation.
1 hour ago Share Save Adam Easton Warsaw correspondent Share Save
Reuters Karol Nawrocki is Poland’s next president
With all votes counted, right-wing historian Karol Nawrocki has been elected Poland’s new president, the state electoral commission (PKW) said. PKW said Nawrocki won 50.9% percent of the votes – ahead of Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on 49.1% percent. It’s a sensational turnaround from the result of the first exit poll – published immediately after voting ended at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Sunday – that showed Trzaskowski winning on 50.3% to Nawrocki’s 49.7%. Trzaskowski had claimed victory after the first exit poll, while Nawrocki cautioned that the results were too close to call.
“We won, although the phrase ‘razor’s edge’ will forever enter the Polish language and politics,” Trzaskowski told his supporters. His wife, Malgorzata, jokingly told the crowd, “I’m close to having a heart attack”. Nawrocki, had said after the result of the first exit poll, “Let’s not lose hope for this night. We will win during the night, the difference is minimal. I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki.”
Getty Images Presidential candidate Trzaskowski claimed an early win after the initial exit poll
As Poland’s new president, Nawrocki is likely to continue to use his presidential power of veto to block Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU programme. The result is also likely also re-energise Nawrocki’s supporters, the national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) opposition, which lost power eighteen months ago, giving them renewed belief they will be able to defeat Tusk’s coalition in 2027 parliamentary elections. Nawrocki supports traditional Catholic and family values and is a strong supporter of Polish sovereignty within the EU. He backs continued support for Ukraine, but has said he does not want to see the country joining NATO and the EU during Russia’s ongoing aggression. Poland’s president is a largely ceremonial role with limited influence on foreign policy and defence, but the president can veto legislation. Tusk’s pro-EU coalition government lacks a large enough parliamentary majority to overturn it. The current conservative incumbent president, Andrzej Duda, has used his powers to prevent Prime Minister Tusk delivering key campaign promises, including removing political influence from the judiciary and liberalising the country’s strict abortion law.
Both presidential candidates support continued assistance for neighbouring Ukraine, but they differ over their approach to the EU. Trzaskowski, a former Europe minister, supports Tusk’s vision of a Poland at the heart of the European mainstream, influencing decisions through strong relations with Germany and France. Nawrocki, 42, supports a strong sovereign Poland and does not want the country to cede any more powers to Brussels. He opposes the EU’s climate and migration policies.
Getty Images
He was relatively unknown nationally before he was selected by opposition party PiS to be their “unofficial” candidate. A keen amateur boxer and footballer, he often posts images of himself working out. PiS presented him as a strong candidate who would stand up for ordinary Poles and the country’s national interests. A fan of President Donald Trump, he flew to Washington during the Polish election campaign for an extremely brief meeting – and to get a thumbs-up photo of himself with Trump in the Oval Office.