Poland has a new president. In a thrilling second round of the presidential election, which took place on Sunday 1 June 2025, the candidate of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, Karol Nawrocki, won. According to the final results published by the Polish media after all polling stations were counted, Nawrocki received 50.9 percent of the vote, while his opponent, Warsaw mayor and representative of the ruling Civic Coalition, Rafal Trzaskowski, received 49.1 percent.
The second round of the election was extremely dramatic and the results changed until late at night. The first exit polls, published shortly after the polls closed, indicated a narrow victory for Trzaskowski, who had 50.3 percent of the vote, according to Ipsos.
His supporters had already begun to celebrate when the Warsaw mayor declared himself the winner, promising to be "the president of all Poles". Later refined estimates, however, showed a reversal, and Nawrocki eventually emerged with a marginal lead. The final results confirmed that Nawrocki had won 10,606,628 votes, while Trzaskowski was voted for by 10,237,177 Poles.
Voter turnout was a record 72.8 % of eligible voters showed up at the polls, breaking the previous record set in 1995 when 68.23 % of voters participated in the second round. Interest in the elections was underlined by the high participation of Poles abroad, where over half a million people registered to vote, 100 000 more than five years ago.
Karol Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian and former director of the Institute of National Memory (IPN), entered the election as a relatively little-known face. Yet he has managed to mobilise conservative voters who appreciate his emphasis on patriotism, Christian values and strong ties with the United States.
During the campaign, Nawrocki repeatedly stressed the need to protect Polish identity and sovereignty, rejected the adoption of the euro and criticised the EU's migration policy. He also gained significant support thanks to a meeting with US President Donald Trump and a visit by Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who came to Poland to support him.
However, Nawrocki has also faced controversy. The media revealed that he owned two apartments, one of which he allegedly obtained from a disabled senior citizen in exchange for a promise of care that he did not fulfill. The affair initially hurt him, but conservative voters who reject Trzaskowski's liberal policies eventually remained loyal to him.
Rafal Trzaskowski, the 53-year-old mayor of Warsaw and a prominent member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, has long been considered the favourite. He has advocated pro-European policies, liberalising abortion legislation and strengthening the rights of sexual minorities. During the campaign, he promised to unite Poland's divided society and bring "honesty and human decency". However, his campaign has come under criticism from conservatives, in particular over an incident involving a rainbow flag he hid under the lectern during a debate, which some saw as an attempt to win conservative votes.
The election result is a blow to Donald Tusk's ruling coalition, which had hoped that Trzaskowski would strengthen their pro-European agenda. Although Poland is a parliamentary republic, the president has considerable powers, including a veto power that can only be overridden by a three-fifths majority in the Sejm - something the current government does not have. Nawrocki, who will replace the incumbent President Andrzej Duda, also associated with PiS, may thus complicate the government's plans, such as relaxing strict anti-abortion legislation or deepening integration with the EU.
On the international scene, Nawrocki is expected to strengthen ties with the United States, while relations with Brussels may remain strained. The election result also reflects a deep division in Polish society between liberal, pro-European urban elites and conservative, rural voters who want to preserve traditional values.
Karol Nawrocki will take office on 6 August 2025 and will thus become the new Head of State for the next five years. Poland is now facing a period of uncertainty, when it remains to be seen how the new president will deal with the challenges of domestic and foreign policy.
gnews.cz - GH
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