In a stunning reversal of initial exit polls, conservative historian Karol Nawrocki has been elected president of Poland, narrowly defeating liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. The official count by the state electoral commission (PKW) confirmed Nawrocki’s victory with 50.9% of the vote to Trzaskowski’s 49.1%.
The result overturns an earlier exit poll that briefly put Trzaskowski ahead, prompting him to prematurely declare victory. “We won, although the phrase ‘razor’s edge’ will forever enter the Polish language and politics,” Trzaskowski told supporters. His wife Malgorzata added, “I’m close to having a heart attack.”
Nawrocki urged patience after the early exit poll, declaring, “I believe that we will wake up tomorrow with President Karol Nawrocki.” His optimism proved correct.
Nawrocki’s presidency is expected to bolster the national conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which lost power in 2023. His use of presidential vetoes could frustrate Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-EU agenda, as Tusk’s coalition lacks the parliamentary majority to override them.
A staunch advocate of traditional Catholic values and Polish sovereignty, Nawrocki supports continued aid to Ukraine but opposes its entry into NATO or the EU amid the ongoing war.
Though the presidency is largely ceremonial, Nawrocki’s role will carry real political weight in the current fractured landscape—marking a significant moment in Poland’s ongoing political struggle between liberal and conservative visions.
