Poland, choice between pro-Europeans and nationalists postponed to second round

In Poland , yesterday's presidential vote shows a country divided in two – or even three.

The first round of the presidential elections saw the pro-European Rafal Trzaskowski , mayor of Warsaw and close to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, compete against Karol Nawrocki of PiS, the party of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki .

The exit polls give the pro-European candidate the lead but by a narrow margin: Trzaskowski stops at around 31%, Nawrocki at 29%. The two, as expected, will therefore face each other again in two weeks in the run-off in a new episode of the challenge between the pro-EU front and the sovereignist far right.

Donald Tusk (Donald Tusk Facebook profile)

02/03/2025

The second round vote will be decisive for the future of the current pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, but not only that. At stake are, for example, the law on abortion and the rights of sexual minorities, in a tumultuous moment for Europe and in particular for the eastern front of the EU, due to the war in Ukraine, the rise of far-right parties and tense relations with Washington.

Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and a politician close to the EU, came into this election as the favorite. "This result shows how strong and determined we must be," he told supporters at a covered stadium in the historic eastern Polish city of Sandomierz.

Polish President Andrzej Duda (Getty)

11/16/2022

The nationalist candidate thanked his voters, saying his victory in the June 1 runoff would prevent the current coalition from "monopolizing" all power in Poland. Since Tusk's ruling coalition came to power in 2023, major government initiatives have been blocked by vetoes from conservative President Andrzej Duda .

Voter turnout for yesterday's election was 66.8%.

In addition to geopolitical issues, domestic political issues also play an important role in the debate, in a country that is divided along social and geographical fault lines: the urban and secular classes versus the rural and Catholic ones, the former in favour of the pro-European centrists and the latter more sensitive to the agenda of the nationalist right.