New Polish president starts term in conflict with PM Donald Tusk

Nawrocki, backed by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party that ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, slammed Tusk’s centrist government in his inaugural speech: “It is impossible to continue governing in this manner, and Poland should not look like it does today,” News.Az reports citing Politico.

Nawrocki is expected to stall Tusk’s reform agenda until the next parliamentary election set for 2027, meaning the Poland is likely to see two years of political conflict and deadlock.

PiS legislators clapped and chanted Nawrocki’s name during the speech, while Tusk and members of his Cabinet looked on solemnly.

“I want to speak to all Poles for whom today is a sad and disappointing day. I know very well how you feel. I understand you,” Tusk said in a video published just minutes before Nawrocki’s inauguration. “We all believed that honesty, goodness, and love would prevail. What has happened puts our faith to a serious test.”

Nawrocki also referenced the bitter election campaign, where he was dogged by scandals ranging from a football hooligan past to a property deal that triggered a criminal probe and accusations (which he denies) that he provided prostitutes to hotel guests while working as a security guard.

He said he won “in spite of electoral propaganda and lies. In spite of political theater and in spite of the contempt,” something he said he would “forgive as a Christian.”

The new president laid out his agenda until the end of his five-year term, and there are many areas that will clash with Tusk’s priorities.