Poland's new president nods to the far right in his first 100 days

WARSAW, Poland -- In his archetypal 100 days successful office, Poland ’s caller President Karol Nawrocki has positioned himself arsenic the defender of the Polish federation and idiosyncratic whose bureau mightiness beryllium sympathetic to the country’s increasing acold right.

With his diversion physique and impeccable suit, Nawrocki projected an old-school representation of a protector arsenic helium kissed the hands of retired older women during an lawsuit this period astatine a room successful Sochaczew, 1 of the tiny towns helium has made a constituent of visiting.

That entreaty to Poland’s much blimpish voters helped the 42-year-old Nawrocki triumph the presidency successful June. His fans accidental helium stands for traditionalist values.

He has declared himself against LGBTQ+ “privileges” and “aggressive left-wing radicalism.” He has pledged to defy NATO rank for neighboring Ukraine and has not visited that state since taking office.

Now, experts say, helium appears to beryllium positioning himself to person much accidental successful the regular moving of Poland — putting him connected a collision people with the centrist premier minister.

With a inheritance arsenic a historian, Nawrocki was hardly known to the nationalist erstwhile the person of Poland’s largest absorption party, the blimpish Law and Justice, chose him to beryllium its statesmanlike candidate. He was heading the Institute for National Remembrance, a authorities probe body, astatine the time.

Up until the archetypal circular predetermination results became clear, astir pundits expected wide Warsaw politician Rafał Trzaskowski, moving for the centrist governing confederation led by Donald Tusk, to triumph by a comfy margin.

But Nawrocki’s underdog profile, contempt media revelations that included alleged past links to transgression figures and his information successful a thoroughfare brawl among shot fans, helped to marque him relatable to voters. He denied the transgression links but not the brawl, saying helium had taken portion successful galore “noble, masculine” combats successful his life.

“Many radical shrugged astatine his past successful the end,” said Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, a sociologist from Warsaw’s Kozminski University. “Maybe we don’t emotion this, but this antheral is simply a bloke from the hood, helium came from a humble inheritance and yet made an awesome vocation against the odds.”

Contributing to Nawrocki’s occurrence was knowing the popularity of right-leaning alternate media channels, which person been increasing successful Poland successful absorption to mainstream media agelong thought of arsenic liberal, said Michał Szułdrzyński, editor-in-chief of blimpish regular Rzeczpospolita. Nawrocki gave hours-long interviews to YouTube transmission Kanał Zero and to the transmission of Sławomir Mentzen, the person of far-right enactment Confederation.

An endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump besides helped Nawrocki successful the election.

The narration betwixt the 2 presidents makes consciousness successful the discourse of the “process of MAGA-ization of the Polish right,” Szułdrzyński said.

Nawrocki has already visited the White House arsenic Poland’s president. As they sat broadside by side, Trump declared helium does not mean to propulsion U.S. troops retired of Poland, different motion of enactment for the caller president and his aims. “We’ll enactment much determination if they want,” Trump said.

In precocious October, erstwhile the U.S. announced it was reducing the fig of its troops connected NATO’s eastbound flank, which had been deployed successful effect to Russia’s increasing subject aggression, the beingness successful Poland was near unaffected.

The aboriginal overseas argumentation occurrence further cemented Nawrocki’s reputation.

In his archetypal period successful office, Nawrocki vetoed 7 draught laws favored by the Tusk government, rapidly wielding 1 of the powers of his bureau against his governmental rival.

By comparison, erstwhile president Andrzej Duda, an state of the Law and Justice enactment that backed Nawrocki for president, vetoed 8 specified draught laws successful 20 months, according to Szymon Hołownia, the talker of the little location of parliament.

The draught laws Nawrocki vetoed included 1 connected enactment for Ukrainian refugees and different allowing windmills to beryllium built person to homes.

In his inauguration code Aug. 6, Nawrocki promised to beryllium “the dependable of those Poles who privation a mean Poland, a Poland committed to its values.” He said helium would enactment large infrastructure projects and reason amerciable migration and the adoption of the euro.

The predetermination results indicated that a conjugation of Law and Justice and the acold close would triumph wide elections successful 2 years, and that the equilibrium of powerfulness wrong the close is shifting successful favour of much extremist parties.

Poland’s erstwhile president, Duda, was wide seen arsenic a “yes man” for Law and Justice person Jarosław Kaczyński, the astir almighty antheral successful the state astatine that time. But the emergence of the acold close and the caller president’s combative benignant look to bespeak Nawrocki volition instrumentality a antithetic path.

“Nawrocki managed to play the nationalist paper successful a precise shrewd way,” Chmielewska-Szlajfer, the sociologist, said. “He became precise affable with Confederation and present this is the paper helium tin usage to negociate with (Law and Justice).”

Observers accidental Nawrocki is good positioned to yet regenerate Kaczyński arsenic the caller person of the Polish right.

Speaking astatine a ceremonial during Poland’s nationalist time connected Nov. 11, Nawrocki vowed to defy the state becoming a “parrot of nations,” passively echoing Western models.

He aboriginal joined implicit 100,000 participants successful an Independence Day march organized by a nationalist relation that included far-right groups. Marchers carried banners with slogans including “Stop immigration. Time for deportations” and “Stop the Ukrainization of Poland”.

Polish emblem successful hand, Nawrocki effortlessly blended in.