Aleksandra Tchórzewska, naTemat.pl: Karol Nawrocki will be sworn in as president of Poland on August 6, 2025. What is the emotion in society – fear, hope, pride, or possibly a sense of shame and occupation? And what do these reactions say about the condition of the Polish community and who we want to see as head of state?
Dr Renata Mieńkowska-Norkiene, a polytolist, sociologist: Part of society – 1 who did not support Karol Nawrocki – present feels shame and fear. These emotions are full justified due to the fact that it is almost certain that the fresh president will not facilitate the work of the current ruling coalition. It can be expected that it will impede its action through both veto and its own initiatives which may be incompatible with government plans. This in turn will make real obstacles to effective governance.
And this efficiency was besides very crucial in the campaign. It was this sense of chaos and inefficiency that buried the chances of the current ruling camp as its own president. Poles began to wonder if this government truly had a causative force – and this affected the elections.
Let us besides remember that in the first circular many of them voted for Mentzen or another candidates outside the mainstream to support Nawrocki only in the second round. This is crucial due to the fact that their choice was not always due to enthusiasm towards the candidate.
What about those who deliberately voted for Nawrocki?
They believe this presidency will bring something. That she would be strong, possibly even "cause". Although not everyone is certain that it will be a presidency according to the letter of the Constitution – book, classical.
Looking at the polls – and it is worth observing not individual results, but trends – you can see a clear phrase. erstwhile Nawrocki's name first appeared in the context of elections, many feared him. any thought it was the incorrect choice, and 1 3rd didn't know him at all. Today, Karol Nawrocki is already 1 of the leaders of trust rankings, even though he has not yet taken office. This shows how rapidly public opinion can change.
All this tells us something crucial about Poles: we are profoundly divided and we are dealing with clear social polarization.
In this context, presidential elections became the minute for many Poles to issue a yellow card to the government. A candidate was elected to whom they themselves do not have full assurance – they do not think he will be a large president, but they felt that for the strategy it was better if the president came from a different political camp than the government. It was besides a form of punishing the government for, for example, insufficient perjury.
Therefore, trust in Karol Nawrocki and the belief that he will be a good president is limited. For a large number of voters, it was not the first choice, but alternatively a political signal of opposition. This is another crucial reflection concerning the condition of the Polish society.
The 3rd crucial problem is the difficulty in terms of written text, especially among adult Poles. Have you heard of the PIAAC research?
Yeah, I've even had a conversation late about functional illiteracy.
You know that PIAAC investigation not only revealed problems with explanation of content, but besides pointed to the difficulty of maintaining attention erstwhile performing tasks. Many respondents did not even want to devote attention and effort that required focus and reflection. This, in turn, tells a lot about the public's approach to critical reasoning challenges.
The basic difficulties in knowing texts make people more susceptible to manipulation.
In everyday life, we frequently usage thought shortcuts and heuristics, looking for fast and simple solutions. possibly this is how the decision to elect the current president was made.
Add to this the results of erstwhile PIAAC studies from 2012, which indicated a much higher level of literacy among Poles. Since then, especially since 2015, we have been dealing with PiS presidents – frequently people from the alleged second suit, about which we knew very little. Earlier, the office of president was the culmination of a longer and more transparent political career. Meanwhile, both Andrzej Duda and – even more so – Karol Nawrocki appeared out of nowhere.
As a result, Poles must tell themselves who these people truly are, attributing their own hopes, fears and expectations to them.
People from nowhere to the highest office in the state... How could this work?
I think Jarosław Kaczyński recognized the situation very well – he pulled candidates from completely sidelines, which makes their media creation much easier. And we gotta admit that the Law and Justice have been successful in this respect, due to the fact that it is definitely better on social media.
Unfortunately, in the current geopolitical situation, especially in the context of the Russian threat, many – especially younger men – voted for Nawrocki besides due to his physicality and image of a strong, militant leader.
The president's muscles were a priority?
For many people, physical strength is associated with security. And – although it's frightening to me – they truly believe that in the event of an attack, the President's physicality could matter. possibly even more crucial than global alliances, which are the strong side of Rafał Trzaskowski – he builds relations with another countries, talks about belonging to the West, has good contacts in Europe and the USA.
Perhaps it was besides crucial that Nawrocki was seen for any time as "our", recognisable, even if not entirely politically. For many Poles specified associations are very important.
In addition, Nawrocki had good contacts with the president of the United States, which most likely besides affected the reception of his candidacy. He is simply a doctor, he has physical presence – and since he is to be a candidate who embodies strength, this physicality fits well.
And Nawrocki's election as president allowed Donald Tusk to be "punished".
Poles arranged it all in their own way – a small emotional, a small intuitive – and it turned out that Nawrocki should be the president. And... he stayed.
Do we truly not want to be co-creators of the future of Poland?
We are reluctant to take joint work for the country. We like sniveling – specified as helping Ukrainians or Solidarity in the past. In the context of civilian society, these are alternatively short-term impulse actions, whether with you or against you.
But then we anticipate you to take the initiative. We like this country to give us money alternatively of giving us tools to build social resilience.
In this sense, Nawrocki was a candidate of the PiS symbolic – he was expected to show that perpetration would be. Poles anticipate this origin from the state and that is why they elected specified a president. They'll require effect from him.
Of course, it is said that he will not be able to meet all expectations, due to the fact that there may be a "legislative desant". He'll most likely besides be actively explaining his vetoes and decisions. At the same time, Nawrocki himself has – and will have at his firm – an excellent squad of communication professionals, which should let him to effectively build the message and image.
However, it is worth noting that there is not a single female in this group, as is shown by a certain mash. Poles, especially younger men, frequently show a distance or even dislike of feminism and the function of women in politics. It's part of a alleged conservative backlash, or reaction to progressive social change.
All this makes Charles Nawrocki in the eyes of parts of society not a bad choice.
Supporters say of Nawrock: "The boy from the estate, he listened to rap, he loved a single parent with a child." Is that adequate to take office in the state?
Charles Nawrocki became a symbol of the fulfillment of wishful reasoning for many. The frustrations and problems many women face present have found their outlet. This combination of wishful approach and real expectations translated into support for the current presidential candidate. So I agree that this effect actually worked.
An crucial Ukrainian subject besides applied to this painting. We are witnessing fatigue – both the presence of refugees from Ukraine in Poland and the war going on behind our east border. All of this builds a sense of frustration among the PiS voters who feel that they have lost their government and must so be powerfully mobilized. And they are.
And then there was the panic of the episcopal, afraid of losing influence. This is 1 of the reasons why the Church is so active in politics present – even through the figure of Simon Holownia, who seems to represent its interests and the worldview line. You can see that the PiS and the Catholic Church, on each side, are trying to regain their influence.
Karol Nawrocki, although declaring autonomy, is inactive positioned in the orbit of the alleged Polish Catholicism – understood in the way that much of the believing citizens prefer.
Once a president had to be a individual of flawless opinion, without a scratch on his image. In Nawrocki's case, he's chasing the affair... Doesn't that offend the most crucial office in the country?
Initially, many voters approached him with fear, but in time his image stabilized and began to act in his favor. Moreover, even the scandals that appeared to be criminal did not harm him in practice – the problem was that the ruling organization could not usage these situations skillfully. There have been many errors, which combined with the expectations of Poles towards the presidential candidate and the strong mobilisation of the PiS electorate, which clearly recognized its typical in Karol Nawrocki, alternatively than any civilian candidate, worked in his favour.
It was the Law and Justice that initiated the communicative that all politicians were thieves and bandits, and since that is the case everywhere, it does not prevent us from choosing specified as are "ours."
Burdened over Karol Nawrocki – mostly justified – suspicions of abuse and irregularities, revealed in public space, strengthen the belief that politics is simply a sphere full of obscure interests.
The difference, however, is that the PiS and its candidate remained closer to society, while the current power – despite the passing of almost 2 years – failed to convince citizens with real actions.
This besides affected the voters' decisions. I think the same may have been the case with many Holown voters who switched to the Nawrock side. besides Mentzen voters – as much as 86 percent of them supported Nawrocki, which was not apparent and amazed even me due to the fact that I expected a lower result.
After all, there was a conviction that firstly – this increases the Confederacy's chances of a very good consequence in the 2027 election, and secondly – Mentzen voters truly hatred Tusk. They're willing to support almost everyone, just to get his squad out of power. This disappointment is especially evident among entrepreneurs.
This profession, combined with strong mobilization around 1 candidate, worked decisively in favour of Nawrocki.
Looking at this situation, 1 thing can be seen: Poland has a deep deficiency of assurance in politicians. We choose the ones we fishy of having different faults, but who at least give us something. And that's more like the PiS than the Civic Coalition.
Does the president have a chance to build a national community with expressive, conservative and Christian views, which say "Poland for Poles" or "Stop illegal immigrants"?
I don't think that's gonna happen. Consider, for example, Andrzej Duda – although intellectually he may have been, according to some, somewhat weaker than Karol Nawrocki, he had a advanced opinion of himself. He did not avoid controversial statements on LGBT+, the European Union.
Although he did not manage to build a national community, at key moments he could go beyond his own limitations – his comparatively strong support for Ukraine can be an example. Karol Nawrocki presents a very different approach, which can origin problems, especially in the context of the increasing anti-Ukrainian moods in Poland.
Building a national community is 1 of the President's constitutional duties – not symbolic, but real and challenging. Neither Duda nor, in my opinion, Nawrocks will fulfill this obligation. In contrast, it is worth recalling the presidency of Bronisław Komorowski, who, despite any mistakes, was an effort to make a community and cooperation between different environments.
Let us callback the march of independency in the times of Bronisław Komorowski – the full society participated in it, regardless of views. Today, on the another hand, we have national marches and their tiny marginal alternatives on the sidelines, which is very sad. Andrzej Duda gave this consent, but on the another hand Poles seemingly did not want patriotism in an inclusive version, due to the fact that the expectations of exclusionary patriotism, or nationalism, prevail.
Nationalist and disfellowshipping sentiments have already been fueled by Duda, but Karol Nawrocki will do this even more intensively, aiming to perpetuate this message.
What political direction and alliances can we anticipate from president Karol Nawrocki?
There are many indications that Karol Nawrocki will effort to get closer to the Confederate alternatively than to the PiS itself, which focuses on receiving this formation of voters. His task, commissioned by Jarosław Kaczyński, is to send political signals towards the Confederate elites, build bridges and formulate messages to tame this organization and incorporate it into a wider task of the right.
The function of Nawrocki may come down to the function of a circumstantial "transmission belt" — a individual maintaining current, informal communication with the leadership of the Confederation, regardless of what Jarosław Kaczyński officially says to Sławomir Mentzen. This is not a fresh strategy: the PiS had already sent friendly signals towards Krzysztof Bosak.
In this context, Nawrocki is to be a political instrument for rapprochement with this more extremist part of the right, which may prove to be an effective strategy before the next parliamentary elections. specified a model of action may aid weaken the Confederate from within or drag any of its back to the United Right side.
Is this inactive within the limits of constitutional powers?
The problem is that specified activity balances on the border of constitutionality. The president, who engages straight in the current organization game, risks exceeding his powers. Unfortunately, social attachment to constitutional standards is becoming weaker in Poland, although it should be 1 of the primary duties of the head of state.
The full situation besides raises a wider question: should the office of the President, so profoundly embedded in organization logic today, be cast in general by universal elections? The PiS turned the presidency into a plebiscite populism machine. As a result, an office that should by definition stabilise the political strategy is increasingly destabilising it. This, in my opinion, requires a major revision.
I believe that the presidency of Karol Nawrocki will be a major challenge for the current power.
