Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and supporter of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, has been sworn in as Poland’s President.
Nawrocki took the presidential oath in a ceremony in the Polish parliament to kick off a five-year term.
There was a White House delegation of US officials in attendance, led by the US small business administrator, Kelly Loeffler, who Nawrocki’s aides said presented Nawrocki with a personal gift from Trump.
Nawrocki’s election victory dealt a blow to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s hopes of cementing the pro-European Union course he has set for the country.
Nawrocki emerged victorious from a tumultuous campaign in which allegations regarding his past, including that he acquired a second property from an elderly man in return for a promise of care that he did not provide, frequently dominated the headlines.
Nawrocki denied accusations of wrongdoing, although he admitted to taking part in an organized fight between football hooligans, adding to the tough-guy image the amateur boxer had already sought to cultivate.
After the election, supporters of defeated liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski filed thousands of protests to the Supreme Court over irregularities at some polling stations. However, the irregularities were not enough to materially alter the result.
Nawrocki succeeds Andrzej Duda who in his farewell TV address last night, trumpeted his successes as the country’s President, saying that he fought against the impossibilism of political rivals and at the end of his 10 years in office leaves Poland as “a completely different country: stronger, safer, taken more seriously abroad, and serving its citizens better.”
In his inauguration speech, Nawrocki pointed to challenges encountered during the campaign that culminated in the June 1 runoff vote.
“The free choice of a free nation has brought me before you today – despite the campaign of propaganda, lies, political theater, and the contempt I encountered on the road to the office of President.
“And I forgave … as a Christian … I forgive all that contempt and what happened during the elections.”
Karol Nawrocki
He added that the elections sent a strong message – “a message from the sovereign people to the entire political class … that things cannot continue to be governed in this way, that Poland should not look the way it does today.”
Nawrocki Presidency To Fight Illegal Migration
Nawrocki outlined his manifesto, saying that his presidency will say “no to illegal migration, yes to Polish złoty, no to joining the euro,” and that he will block any attempt to raise the retirement age.
However, he declared that he will be “the voice of the nation” and will seek to operate “across” existing political divides.
He added that he wants Poland that is “part of the EU, but not becomes the EU” and wants Poland to stay sovereign. He stressed that he will not agree to any further transfer of competences to the EU.
He also made a pointed reference to Poland’s most important alliances, including with the US.
Additionally, Nawrocki outlined more areas where he is likely to clash with the government, as he called for a radical overhaul of the judiciary to “restore the rule of law.”
He asserted that he will be ready to block appointments of judges he does not see fit to perform their roles, saying they are “not gods, but meant to serve” the nation.
Nawrocki announced that he will create a council dedicated to repairing Poland’s constitutional order, and start work on a refreshed constitution to be adopted by 2030.
Poland is now bracing for a continuation of the deadlock seen under nationalist outgoing President Andrzej Duda, with Nawrocki able to use his veto powers to stymie a government agenda that includes rolling back judicial reforms implemented by PiS, which critics said undermined the independence of the courts.
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