Speaking to private broadcaster TVN24 on Thursday evening, Tusk described Trzaskowski's opponent, Karol Nawrocki, as "the last person in public life" who should be seeking the presidency.
He framed the closely contested election as a stark moral choice.
'Good vs. evil'
"Politics is rarely this clear," Tusk said. "But now it is: good versus evil, human rights versus violence, war and peace, chaos or order. Either a clear, pro-Western, European direction—or swaying between Russia and the West."
He argued that Nawrocki had been "hired" by opposition Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński "to sabotage the Polish government," and accused the PiS-backed candidate of preparing to wage "a more serious version of our internal political war."
'Political warfare instead of progress and security'
Referring to the latest Opinia24 poll, which showed Nawrocki with 47 percent support to Trzaskowski’s 45 percent, Tusk said the deciding factor will no longer be the candidates themselves, but public mobilization.
"If the democratic side is as engaged as in October 2023, Trzaskowski will win; if not, he will lose," Tusk told TVN24, referring to the 2023 parliamentary vote, which delivered a victory for his centrist Civic Coalition (KO) and ended eight years of right-wing rule in Poland.
He added that if Nawrocki wins, Poland faces "two and a half years of political warfare instead of progress and security."
Tusk also accused Nawrocki of having links to criminal circles, claiming that his associates were known for violent intimidation tactics against women.
'Direct ties to the criminal underworld'
He called it unprecedented that someone "with direct ties to the criminal underworld" is now running for president.
The prime minister reserved his strongest condemnation for Nawrocki’s recent declaration, made during a livestream with far-right leader Sławomir Mentzen, that Poland would never support Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
''Nothing short of treason'
"That is nothing short of treason," Tusk said, calling it "one of the biggest scandals of this campaign."
He pointed out that support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and NATO membership had previously united even political rivals, including himself and the late president Lech Kaczyński.
"Now Nawrocki throws that consensus in the trash," Tusk said, predicting the move could hurt Nawrocki’s standing with voters.
'I’m not planning a coup'
Tusk told TVN24 that he will not try to bypass democratic norms if Trzaskowski loses.
"I’m not planning a coup," he said. "But I am preparing for a Poland governed by President Trzaskowski and the October 15 parliamentary majority, because I’m genuinely optimistic."
He reflected on the year and a half since the 2023 parliamentary elections, saying Poland had begun to shake off a period of "fear, corruption, and lies."
While admitting that his government has not yet achieved all its goals, he said too much progress had been made to risk backsliding.
"If power were unified, we could deliver on our promises faster and more easily," he added, citing challenges in nominating ambassadors, restoring judicial independence and advancing women’s rights due to a hostile president.
"It’s hard to govern when the head of state is working to sabotage you in every matter."
Tusk urged voters to attend Sunday’s "Great March of Patriots" in Warsaw, which will feature appearances by Trzaskowski, Tusk himself, and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
"This election is a test we must all pass," he said.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP