On June 1, 2025, the second round of Poland’s presidential election resulted in a surprise win for Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party, over Warsaw’s liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the ruling Civic Coalition. Trzaskowski had previously lost in 2020 to the incumbent President Andrzej Duda, albeit by a narrow margin of just over two percentage points – an impressive result, considering that Duda’s party, Law and Justice, was then in power and controlled the state apparatus and media. Yet, despite seemingly more favorable conditions for Trzaskowski this time around, Nawrocki still managed to prevail by just under 400,000 votes.
In Part 1 of this podcast, Professor Maciej Kisilowski examines the reasons for this electoral development as well as its implications for Poland’s political dynamics over the next few years. In particular, he addresses the issue of whether Polish liberals and progressives are capable of correctly identifying the prevailing sentiments in a deeply divided society.
Stay tuned for Part 2, in which Professor Kisilowski will lay out his proposals for a new constitutional settlement for Poland, aimed at addressing the roots and consequences of severe polarization of the Polish society.
Professor Maciej Kisilowski is Associate Professor of Law and Strategy at the Central European University in Vienna.
The conversation was conducted by Jan Młynarczyk. Alina Young edited the audio file.
