The Diplomat
Vox leader Santiago Abascal celebrated this Monday the victory of far-right candidate Karol Nawrocki in the Polish presidential election.
“Congratulations to Karol Nawrocki and the conservative and patriotic forces of Poland for defeating the candidate of Von der Leyen, Sánchez, and Feijóo,” Abascal wrote on social media. “Poland defends its sovereignty and freedom. Another defeat for the coalition of the People’s Party (PPP) and the Socialists,” he added.
Karol Nawrocki, of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, managed to turn around the first day of voting in the election, which took place on May 18 and ended with the victory of the liberal candidate, Rafal Trzaskowski (Civic Platform). Now, the ultraconservative has emerged victorious by a narrow margin in this second round, with 50.89% of the votes compared to 49.11% for his opponent.
This result makes it difficult for the current Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, to overcome the deadlocks he faced in Parliament, as the country’s president has the power to veto legislative measures and overrule government decisions. Tusk will still need a qualified majority in the Lower House, a situation not unfamiliar to the prime minister, given that Andrzej Duda, the current president, is independent but with far-right tendencies: he was previously a member of the PiS party.
With these results, the European ultraconservatives will have a new and important ally in Poland, which will align itself with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, the party to which Law and Justice belongs, and other far-right parties, such as the Brothers of Italy and Vox.
In fact, the group’s co-chair, Patryk Jaki, was among the first to “effusively congratulate” Nawrocki, according to a message from the party itself on X. “These elections show that citizens want real options, not pre-approved candidates or pre-established policies. Democracy in Europe needs conviction, not conformity,” he added.