Karol Nawroki has been elected as Poland’s new president. He is a historian and former amateur boxer. Karol Nawroki, known as a “nationalist”, won by a narrow margin.
According to the final results released by the country’s National Election Commission on Monday, Nawroki received 50.89 percent of the vote; his opponent, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafael Traszkowski, received 49.11 percent. Nawroki, 42, was the candidate of the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023.
Nawroki repeatedly said during the election campaign that “social benefits will come first for Poles” and that Polish citizens should be given priority when it comes to treatment in hospitals or clinics. In an April campaign speech, he said, “Social benefits will be for the Poles first.”
In May, he accused Ukraine of not showing gratitude for Poland’s aid and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “arrogant.” He also opposed Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership.
Navrotski is close to US President Donald Trump and has called for Poland’s leadership in rebuilding EU-US relations. After meeting Trump at the White House in May, he said Trump told him, “You will win.” A photo released by the White House shows the two giving each other the thumbs up.
Some members of the ruling coalition have called it election interference. US Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem also came to a conservative conference in Poland and supported Nawrotsky, saying, “He should be the next president.” Nawrotsky wants stricter controls on the German border to prevent migrants from entering and is in favor of demanding reparations from Germany for World War II. Nawrotsky has been embroiled in various controversies during his campaign. It is known that he owns multiple flats, although he claimed to have only one. It has been alleged that he acquired the second flat through a complicated deal with an elderly man.