Head-to-head race in Poland: Pro-European candidate just ahead

Head-to-head race in Poland

This choice is about “everything or nothing”

In the presidential election in Poland, the pro -European Rafał Trzaskowski and the national conservative Karol Nawrocki have a tight race, according to forecasts. Both have to go into the runoff election.

The Poles have to decide on a new president in a runoff election on June 1st. According to the survey of the IPSOS research institute, the liberal conservative candidate Rafał Trzaskowski from Donald Tusk’s government camp on Sunday received 30.8 percent of the vote, Karol Nawrocki from the national conservative PIS party came to 29.1 percent. Since neither of the two reached the necessary 50 percent, they have to compete against each other in a runoff election on June 1st. According to Poland’s Prime Minister Tusk, “everything or nothing” is concerned.

Third was Slawomir Mentzen from the right -wing extremist Confederacja with 15.4 percent. The right -wing extremist Grzegorz Braun also landed in fourth place with 6.2 percent. According to forecast, the turnout was 66.8 percent. The official end result is not expected before Monday evening. The almost 29 million eligible voters in Poland were invited to choose a successor to the Working Andrzej Duda.

The vote is considered a choice of direction – for politics with Europe. In a runoff election, it would also be decided whether the neighboring country will retain the pro-European course taken by the Prime Minister Donald Tusk or approach nationalist supporters from US President Donald Trump.

Tusk needs a victory of his candidate Trzaskowski to advance reform projects. The previous President Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PIS, had always slowed them down with his veto. Tusk wrote on X on Sunday evening that the next two weeks would decide on the future of Poland – and not insignificantly the future of Europe.

Trzaskowski said on the election evening: “I guarantee good cooperation with the government, because our country needs peace and no conflicts.” Nawrocki told supporters in his hometown Danzig that he wanted to prevent a party from receiving the power monopoly in Poland. “We are here and we will win.”

Nawrocki said he was confident that he was winning the second round. He called on the supporters of the other right candidates to stand behind him. You have to “save Poland”. The right -wing extremist candidates Mentzen and Braun received almost 22 percent of the vote on Sunday, a historically high result. However, only the two first places move into the runoff election. If Nawrocki received the voters of the voters of Mentzen and Braun, it should be extremely tight for Trzaskowski.

A victory of Trzaskowski would enable Tusk to implement an agenda that provides for the withdrawal of the judicial reforms introduced by the PIS, which according to critics undermine the independence of the courts. Should Nawrocki win the runoff election, the blockade in which the government is located would continue to exist since Tusk 2023 became prime minister.

In contrast to some other Eurosceptics in Central Europe, Nawrocki supports military help for Ukraine to defend themselves against Russia. However, he took advantage of the anti-scrain mood of some Poles that fear the influx of refugees from the neighboring country.

In Poland, the president serves for five years. The head of state has more powers than the Federal President in Germany. It not only represents the country to the outside world. The President also has an impact on foreign policy, he appoints the head of government and the cabinet and is the senior commander of the Polish armed forces in the event of war.