The veto vote Nawrocki win threatens Warsaw's place at Europe's top table

Radical-right historian could destabilise the coalition government of the pro-EU prime minister Donald Tusk

- Jon Henley

The victory margin of the nationalist Karol Nawrocki in Poland's presidential elections last Sunday may have been wafer-thin, but it marks a huge upheaval in the country's political landscape whose impact will be felt not just in Warsaw but across the EU.

Backed by the previous ruling conservative Law & Justice (PiS) party and, openly, by Donald Trump's Maga movement, Nawrocki, a radical-right historian, defeated his liberal rival, the capital’s mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski, by 50.89% to 49.11%.

His win means PiS could seriously destabilise the coalition government of the centre-right prime minister, Donald Tusk, and threaten the country's newfound place at Europe's top table. Tusk's election in 2023 brought to an end eight years of PiS rule and signalled Poland's return to the European fold.

Nawrocki's victory hands him a presidential veto that will make it difficult for Tusk's government to pass promised legislation rolling back the judicial and other changes implemented by PiS that led to repeated clashes with Brussels.