Polish presidential election to test if PM's pro-EU vision is Trump-proof

18/5/2025 12:42

Poles vote on Sunday in a presidential election that will decide whether Warsaw follows the pro-European path set by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, or takes a step towards bringing back nationalist admirers of U.S. President Donald Trump.



Trump's return to power has energised eurosceptics across Europe, and Sunday's ballot will be the sternest test of Tusk's pro-European vision since he came to power in 2023, ousting the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.



The election pits Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO), against conservative historian Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS.

Trzaskowski has been cast as the frontrunner, likely to face Nawrocki in a run-off, due on June 1 if no candidate wins over 50%. Media blackout laws forbid the publication of opinion poll results from Saturday morning until voting ends on Sunday.



Also competing are far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen from the Confederation party, Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia of the centre-right Poland 2050 and Magdalena Biejat from the Left.