Nationalist historian becomes Poland's president

Poland's new nationalist president Karol Nawrocki called for a "sovereign Poland" and promised to "fight those who are pushing the nation towards decline" as he was sworn in on Wednesday.

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Nawrocki, 42, a supporter of US President Donald Trump, won a June I election in a major blow for the pro-EU government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former European Council president. “I will be the voice of those who want a sovereign Poland that is in the EU, but a Poland that is not the EU,” he told lawmakers after taking his oath of office. “We must fight those who are pushing the nation towards decline and degradation,” he said, citing Ignacy Paderewski, a Polish prime minister from the early 20th century.

Nawrocki, a historian and political novice, has branded Tusk's government the “worst” in the history of post-communist Poland. Outside the parliament, thousands of people came to show their support for Nawrocki. “He doesn't grovel before Brussels,” Jan Smolinski, 75, a retired miner, told AFP, adding: “He's a true Pole, flesh and blood”. Marietta Borcz, a 57-year-old dental assistant, said it was “important” to her that Nawrocki “is Catholic and will uphold Christian values”.