Presidential election in Poland: “yellow card” for Donald Tusk’s government
In Poland, astonishment reigns in the press following the results of the first round of the Polish presidential election on Sunday, May 18. Liberal Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw, narrowly won (with 31.36% of the vote) against conservative national candidate Karol Nawrocki (29.54%). The far right, meanwhile, totaled more than 21%.
“Trzaskowski ahead of Nawrocki, but the dream of October 15 has ended,” headlined the left-wing online media OKO.press after the results of the first round of the presidential election, held on May 18, were announced. The media outlet is referring to the parliamentary elections of October 15, 2023, in which a coalition combining the center-right and the left triumphed, unexpectedly ousting the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) from power .
On Sunday, the “miracle” within the liberal camp was hardly repeated. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski did indeed win the first round, but only “by a hair’s breadth,” as the liberal daily newspaper announced on its front page. Gazeta Wyborcza , Monday May 19 in the morning.
This liberal in his fifties totaled 31.36% of the vote, while his opponent, historian Karol Nawrocki, supported by the PiS, was close behind with 29.54%. The far right, for its part, totaled more than 21% of the vote, thanks to ballots cast in favor of the nationalist and libertarian Konfederacja party, which came in third with 14.8%. To this must be added the votes (6.34%) of Grzegorz Braun, a notorious anti-Semite, who happens to have been a Konfederacja MEP since 2024 and seceded from the party for this election. The party
Courrier International
