What to know about Karol Nawrocki, Poland's newly elected conservative president

WARSAW, Poland -- The last effect of Poland's statesmanlike predetermination lone became wide aft a long, nail-gripping nighttime of counting arsenic some candidates were locked successful a adjacent dormant vigor successful the archetypal exit polls aft voting ended.

Poles awakened Monday to a clear albeit adjacent result that returns a nationalist person to the presidency who has pledged to hinder the centrist, pro-EU authorities for the remainder of its term.

Here's what to cognize astir Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s recently elected blimpish president:

Nawrocki is simply a 42-year-old historiographer who had nary governmental acquisition anterior to the run and who was not adjacent a enactment subordinate until helium was tapped by the blimpish Law and Justice enactment that governed Poland from 2015 to 2023.

Nawrocki heads the Institute of National Remembrance, which embraces nationalist humanities narratives. He led efforts to topple monuments to the Soviet Red Army successful Poland. Russia responded by putting him connected a wanted list, according to Polish media reports.

Nawrocki’s supporters picture him arsenic the embodiment of traditional, patriotic values. Many of them reason termination and LGBTQ+ visibility and accidental Nawrocki reflects the accepted values they grew up with.

He was besides the preferred favourite of U.S. President Donald Trump, with the American blimpish radical CPAC holding its archetypal gathering successful Poland past week during the run to springiness him a boost. Kristi Noem, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and a salient Trump ally, powerfully praised him and urged Poles to ballot for him.

His run echoed themes fashionable connected the American right. A communal refrain from his supporters is that Nawrocki volition reconstruct “normality,” arsenic they judge Trump has done. U.S. flags appeared astatine his rallies.

Nawrocki performed amended successful the archetypal circular than expected, an denotation helium was underestimated successful the polling.

Nawrocki's speedy governmental emergence has not been without controversy, with reports linking him to underworld figures whom helium met portion boxing oregon moving arsenic a edifice information defender successful the past.

Nawrocki has besides been linked to a ungraded involving the acquisition of a Gdansk flat from an aged pensioner named Jerzy. Allegations suggest Nawrocki promised to attraction for Jerzy successful instrumentality but failed to fulfill the commitment, starring the antheral to extremity up successful a publically funded status home.

His shifting explanations raised questions astir his transparency and credibility. After the ungraded erupted helium donated the flat to a charity.

It precocious emerged that Nawrocki took portion successful a 2009 Gdansk brawl involving astir 140 rival shot fans, immoderate aboriginal convicted of crimes. Nawrocki described the combat arsenic a signifier of “noble” combat.

Polish media person besides reported connected his connections to gangsters and the satellite of prostitution.

His critics accidental each of these things marque him unfit to correspond Poland arsenic the caput of authorities but galore right-wing voters don’t judge the allegations and impeach the media of utilizing its powerfulness to wounded him, creating what appears to beryllium a rallying effect astir him.

It's unclear what effect, if any, these scandals had connected the result of Sunday's result.