Right-wing nationalist Nawrocki wins presidential election in Poland

The official result of the close race in the runoff election for the presidency in Poland is in: Right-wing nationalist Karol Nawrocki has won the election. After all votes were counted, Nawrocki was just ahead of his rival, the pro-European Rafal Trzaskowski, with 50.89 percent, who received 49.11 percent, as the Polish electoral commission announced on Monday. Nawrocki's election is a bitter setback for the Polish government led by liberal-conservative Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

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The presidential election was considered a landmark not only for Poland, but for all of Europe: A victory for Trzaskowski would have given new impetus to Tusk and his reforms, which had been blocked by the previous, right-wing nationalist President Andrzej Duda. 

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Nawrocki, however, who, like Duda, is supported by the previous right-wing nationalist governing party, PiS, could challenge Poland's previously strong support for Ukraine. The 42-year-old Nawrocki is a political newcomer. He campaigned under the slogan "Poland First." He accuses the approximately one million Ukrainian refugees in his country of profiting from Poland. The admirer of US President Donald Trump also opposes Ukraine's accession to NATO.

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Duda congratulated his successor, Nawrocki, on the online service X and thanked the Poles for "fulfilling their civic duties." The president also praised the high voter turnout, which reached 71.63 percent. This was a significant increase compared to the previous election in 2020, when only 68.2 percent of Poles voted. An unusually high number of Poles living abroad in Germany also registered to vote: 115,000 compared to around 70,000 in the 2020 election, the Polish Embassy in Berlin told the Funke Media Group.

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The President in Poland has more powers than the Federal President in Germany: He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has a say in foreign policy, and has the right to introduce or veto laws.