(Adnkronos) – Pro-European Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki will face off in the second round of Poland’s presidential election on June 1, after a head-to-head in the first round yesterday. According to a poll conducted by Ipsos for public television Tvp, Trzaskowski won 31.2% of the vote, compared to 29.7% for Mr. Nawrocki, the candidate backed by outgoing President Andrzej Duda’s Law and Justice (PiS, conservative) party. “This result shows how strong and determined we must be,” Trzaskowski told supporters at the Sandomierz stadium in the eastern part of the country.
The vote highlighted the rise of the far right, with two representatives, libertarian MP Slawomir Mentzen and anti-Semitic MEP Grzegorz Braun, together garnering nearly 22% of the vote.
The vote is decisive for the future of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist and pro-European government, in office since 2023. The stakes are also high regarding abortion rights and the rights of sexual minorities. The nationalist candidate thanked his voters, saying a second-round victory would prevent the current coalition from “monopolizing” power in Poland.
