The End of Tusk's Government? "It was a Plebiscite. The Coalition Didn't Understand the Revolution of Dignity"

• Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election. Experts emphasize that the vote was a plebiscite on the government, not just the election of the head of state.
• Public dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition has been revealed in exit polls. Experts point to the lack of fulfillment of promises, especially in matters such as infrastructure and science.
• Nawrocki’s victory reflects deeper socio-political changes, including the mobilisation of alt-right circles and the growing importance of the cultural dimension of political disputes – which could herald further turbulence for the ruling coalition.

Around 370 thousand votes decided that Karol Nawrocki will become the new president of Poland. Experts interviewed by WNP have no doubt that this year's presidential elections were not only about choosing a new head of state. - It was a plebiscite on the government - Professor Maciej Górecki, sociologist and political scientist, has no doubts.

Hamletizing in the CPK case served Nawrocki well

Prof. Jarosław Szczepański is of a similar opinion. - The coalition did not fulfill its promises, which included settlements and stabilization of the system. There was also a lack of understanding, even after a year and a half, for the ongoing revolution of dignity, symbolized by CPK and infrastructure - he assesses.

Let us recall: The Sejm rejected, among other things, the citizens' draft bill obliging the government to implement the CPK in the version from the original multi-annual program. A social movement was formed around the bill (200,000 signatures were collected) and the association "Yes for CPK". Its leader, Maciej Wilk, supported Karol Nawrocki in the elections.

After the first round, Dr. Łukasz Kierznowski from the Faculty of Law at the University of Białystok also wrote about the government's ineffective actions. He pointed out that during its one and a half year term , the government had failed to implement any fundamental change in science.

Even the February meetings of the Prime Minister with scientists did not bring any breakthrough. So far, none of the declarations made there have translated into specifics.

Emotions towards Tusk's government? Indifference, disappointment, anxiety

The disappointment is confirmed by the conclusions of the exit poll conducted by OGB for TV Republika. According to the results published by the poll leader, 22% of voters surveyed on the day of the vote declared that they felt "indifference, apathy" when thinking about the ruling coalition, 21% - "disappointment, regret", 14.5% spoke of fear and anxiety, and 11.4% of anger and rage. In total, almost half of voters had negative emotions towards the ruling coalition.

The OGB also asked about the assessment of the government. 33.5 percent said they assessed it very badly, 13.7 percent declared the answer "rather badly". 22.7 percent declared that they had a neutral attitude.

- The question now is whether the Sejm will survive until autumn 2027. I think that the coalition partners will be afraid of announcing early elections, that they will delude themselves until the end that the government's rating will improve - says Prof. Górecki.

Alt-right tips the scales. "The revolution begins"

Prof. Jarosław Szczepański argues that the election of Nawrocki is only the beginning of changes.

- There was a large mobilization of the alt-right, which as one man supported the candidate. I think that the elections are the first edition of the demographic and generational war that will take place in Poland - he believes, adding that it has been confirmed once again that Poles as a nation are center-right.

Prof. Górecki admits that this time the election result was decided by men from smaller centers, who are more anti-government. - Mentzen and Braun's voters won. This is interesting because in the economic dimension, the Confederation's program is closer to KO than to PiS's social one. But the cultural dimension prevailed, in which PiS is more similar to Konfederacja - he says. He also adds that the behavior of some KO politicians also contributed to the defeat. - MP Gajewska, who showed up for DPS with a sack of potatoes, showed populism and contempt - he points out.

What's next for the government? While it was hard to imagine the coalition breaking up before the second round, opposition politicians are now calling for Donald Tusk's resignation. The Civic Coalition is in the midst of summing up. The prime minister has announced a televised address at 8 p.m.

According to Polsat News, the Prime Minister is to ask the Sejm for a vote of confidence.