“Newsweek” published a conversation with prof. Tomasz Nałęcz. The interview is called "Nawrocks make absolute usage of the situation. Prof. Dudek was right” and includes an assessment of the first months of Karol Nawrocki's presidency and its consequences for the relation between the Presidential Palace and the government.
Professor Tomasz Nałęcz, historian, erstwhile Deputy talker of the Sejm and constitutional expert, evaluates the first six months of the presidency Karol Nawrocki as a clear departure from the function of the constitution for the head of state.
Instead of serving as an impartial arbitrator between the authorities and being above political disputes, Nawrocki, according to Nawrock, engages in a political game for his own position and the future of the right-wing camp.
Nałęcz emphasizes that although he expected the president to be subordinate to PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, in reality Nawrocki became independent and exploits Kaczyński's current weakness, building his own squad of advisors, mainly young people outside conventional organization structures. This political autonomy, according to Nałęcz, can transform the president into a real right-wing leader, which runs counter to the constitutional rule of the impartiality of the head of state. The holster concludes:
Professor Antoni Dudek, who warned Kaczyński about Nawrocki's ruthlessness, was right.
He besides points out that the relations between the Presidential Palace and the government are now more conflicted than always in the past of the 3rd Republic. alternatively of cooperation, we face confrontation: the President's blocking of nominations, political ambitions, and the usage of tools (e.g. veto rights) to hinder the government's life. This in turn leads to paralysis of state institutions, vacancies in diplomatic posts and weakening of the Polish position in diplomacy.
The prof. says:
Polarizing game is risky. The more apparent it will be that the president will usurp competence, the easier it will be for the government to convince Poles that matters in the country are not moving forward by the President, who is guided solely by the interests of his political camp.
The government would be in much bigger problem if Nawrocki behaved in regular relations with him as president Kwasniewski behaved in relations with the Buzek government: openness, kindness, and at the same time strong opposition where society disagrees with government proposals. In another words, if the presidential game were little violent and more sophisticated, it could be more effective. The election in 2027 will be examined.
In an interview, Nawrocki besides criticises Nawrocki's approach to constitutional boundaries of power: in his opinion, the president not only permits legal abuse, but besides confuses Poland's political strategy with the presidential one, which deviates from the assumptions of the parliamentary-office system. According to Nawrocki, he plays politically “as if all day of the regulation of the current coalition was a disaster”, alternatively of looking for areas of agreement and stability.
Nałęcz admits that part of the President's decision may be in line with his mandate, but warns that the continuing political confrontation not only polarises society but besides weakens democratic institutions and constitutional norms. According to the interviewer, the long-term effects of this kind may negatively affect Nawrocki's social support, especially in the context of subsequent elections and the assessment of the presidency from the position of citizens.
→ develop. ed.
10.02.2026
• Photo: Mariusz Barył / paper Tribunalska