CBS News said the inauguration “could set the country on a more nationalist course and cast doubt on the viability of the centrist government.”
The Washington Post called the conservative Catholic, backed by former U.S. president Donald Trump, someone who may block Tusk’s agenda, while Politico said he “is likely to try to stymie Tusk’s reform agenda.”
A Reuters dispatch from Warsaw noted that the conservative-populist Law and Justice party (PiS), ousted in 2023, hopes Nawrocki’s victory will propel it toward a comeback in the 2027 parliamentary election. CNN highlighted the new president’s ties to Trump’s MAGA movement and warned of “potentially cooler relations with Ukraine.”
Britain’s Financial Times judged Nawrocki’s parliamentary speech—vowing to oppose judicial reforms, question EU integration and seek constitutional changes—evidence of a “confrontational presidency” and “awkward coexistence” with Tusk. Right-wing lawmakers chanted “Karol” as he entered; the prime minister sat unsmiling, the paper said.
The FT also reported Tusk’s social-media appeal for unity after the presidential defeat and his pledge that ministers would act as “guardians of the constitution.”
The paper recalled that Nawrocki, a former amateur boxer and self-described reformed soccer hooligan, has voiced reservations over Ukraine’s EU and NATO bids, demanding recognition of wartime crimes against Poles while promising continued support for Kyiv’s war effort.
(jh)
Source: PAP, IAR