In his inaugural address to the parliament, the new 42-year-old president promised to be “the voice of the people”, of “those who want a sovereign Poland”.

Nawrocki is a declared admirer of US President Donald Trump, and in that context he stressed the importance of the bilateral alliance and promised that his country will play an active role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

With regard to Ukraine, the president opposes its accession to the military alliance and has denounced the aid that Warsaw gives to refugees from that country.

Internally, during his five-year term, he will have to deal with the pro-European government of Donald Tusk.

Already in his speech today the differences between the two powers came to light when he said that he is in favor of “a Poland that is in the European Union (EU), but it is not the European Union”.

Such words recall his campaign guidelines in which he opposed “any transfer of powers” from the Polish authorities to the EU and the signing of new European treaties “that weaken the role of his country”.

Karol Nawrocki was born in the port city of Gdansk. He holds a doctorate in history and a master’s degree in business administration.

He was director of the World War II museum in Gdansk from 2017 to 2021, and since that year he has been head of the National Memory Institute.

jha/ehl