Closing summary
Right-wing opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki narrowly won Poland’s second round presidential election, official results showed, dealing a huge blow to prime minister Donald Tusk’s reform agenda.
Nawrocki was backed by the right-populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland until Donald Tusk’s parliamentary election victory in late 2023.
The defeat of the government-preferred candidate, pro-European Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, puts a spanner in the works for Tusk’s government, locking it in a political stalemate with a hostile president for the next five years.
Leaders of the parties forming the governing coalition are set to meet for talks on how to respond to the setback later today, with media suggestion that Tusk could even call a vote of confidence in his government to prove that he still commands a majority in the parliament (12:24, 15:05 and 15:24)
His media statement is expected 8pm local time (7pm BST).
I will keep an eye on Tusk’s statement tonight, so make sure to check our website later tonight to see if there’s an update on this.
But for now, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa in Warsaw.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron is the latest European leader to congratulate Nawrocki on his win last night.
In a social media post, he said:
Congratulations @NawrockiKn on your election. Let us together strengthen the bond that unites Poland and France, in the spirit of the Treaty of Nancy and the friendship between our countries. Let us continue to build a strong, independent, competitive Europe that respects the rule of law.
