A run-off election to elect Poland’s new president happens tomorrow, with citizens choosing between two candidates with starkly different ideas for the future direction of the country.
Driving the news: Polls show a neck-and-neck race between Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, and Karol Nawrocki, a hard-right nationalist candidate. The first round of voting between 13 candidates saw the two win 31.4% and 29.5% of the vote, respectively.
- Trzaskowski is backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, while Nawrocki is the favoured candidate of the former ruling and still-powerful Law and Justice (PiS) party.
- Nawrocki has also nabbed an endorsement from another influential Donald: Donald Trump, who has teased stronger U.S.-Poland military ties if Nawrocki wins.
Big picture: While the PM has the power to set policy in Poland, the president holds the power to veto legislation. For Tusk, whose coalition doesn’t have enough voting power to overturn a veto, the new president could make life easy or very difficult for his government.
Why it matters: The result will set the course for how Poland fits (or doesn’t) with the rest of Europe. Tusk’s election victory in 2023 put the country on a path to eliminate the Euroskeptic policies of the PiS party and bring Poland closer to the EU. A Trzaskowski win would likely mean an even tighter bond.—QH