Poland's PiS party picks historian Nawrocki for president
25/11/2024 6:08
Poland's main opposition
party, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS), picked historian
Karol Nawrocki on Sunday as its candidate for next year's
presidential election, hoping to hold onto the presidency after
losing control of parliament.
A pro-European coalition headed by Prime Minister Donald
Tusk defeated PiS in a parliamentary election last year, but
Tusk's centrist government has not been able to pass major
reforms with PiS ally Andrzej Duda as president. That situation
could continue if a PiS-aligned candidate wins again.
Nawrocki, 41, the head of Poland's Institute of National
Remembrance, was a key figure in PiS efforts to promote
patriotism through teaching history that critics said
whitewashed the difficult parts of Poland's past.
He will face Tusk's presidential candidate, progressive
Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, in the race, which could prove
crucial in the government's push to undo a PiS court overhaul
that the European Union said subverted democratic norms.
Polish presidents have the power to veto laws passed by
parliament.
"Because we must defend Poland, we must defend our values,
we must not allow our symbols to be taken away and our
sovereignty to be limited," Nawrocki said during the
presentation of his candidacy on Sunday.
As director of the World War Two Museum in the coastal city
of Gdansk, Nawrocki changed its main exhibition to emphasize the
scale of Polish suffering and stories of Poles who had protected
Jews during the Holocaust, resulting in lawsuits against him by
the museum's creators.
A significant body of research suggests that, while
thousands of Poles risked their lives to help Jews, thousands
also participated in the Holocaust. Many Poles do not accept
such findings.
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