Opposition president-elect outlines areas in which he is willing to “help” Polish government

President-elect Karol Nawrocki, who is aligned with the right-wing opposition, has outlined areas in which he believes that he can work with Donald Tusk’s government, including on national security, raising the tax-free income threshold, and introducing rights for unmarried partners.

However, Nawrocki reiterated his distaste for Tusk, calling him a “liar” who “spread disinformation about me” during the election campaign. The president-elect also made clear that he will not compromise on judicial reform and that he is “clearly pro-life” on abortion.

Speaking to newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Nawrocki, who won the presidential election run-off on 1 June and will be sworn into office in August, acknowledged that “cooperation with the government may be difficult”.

However, he pinned the blame for this on Tusk, who he said “did a lot to offend me and spread disinformation about me using the government media during the election campaign…Donald Tusk is a liar – he has lied to Poles on many issues”.

But “I will not be petty”, promised Nawrocki. “I intend to be guided in every decision by what I consider to be good for Poland – regardless of Donald Tusk’s attitude towards me or my attitude towards him.”

“As a historian, I know that, after every war, leaders must sit down at the table and – regardless of what happened on the front – sign an armistice,” continued Nawrocki, who is head of the state Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).

“I am not saying that I intend to sign a truce with Donald Tusk, but I think that there are matters in which I can help him,” said Nawrocki, whose presidential candidacy was supported by Law and Justice (PiS), the national-conservative main opposition party.

As one example, Nawrocki cited his support for raising the amount of income that is free from tax. In 2023, before coming to power, Tusk pledged to double the amount to 60,000 zloty (€14,000), saying that he would do so during his first 100 days in government.

However, as with most of the other 100 policies Tusk pledged to introduce in his first 100 days, that tax reform remains unfulfilled. Last year, finance minister Andrzej Domański said that it would have to wait until 2026 at the earliest.

Nawrocki told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna that “the government can count on me to sign a law introducing a tax-free amount of 60,000 zloty per year”. He added that, if parliament fails to pass such a law, he himself would, as president, launch a legislative initiative to introduce the policy.

The president-elect pointed to defence as another potential area of cooperation. “I think we should have a demarcation line with [defence minister] Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on the issue of security. There can be no unnecessary emotions in these matters. We owe this to Poles regardless of who they voted for.”

Nawrocki also said that he was “ready to discuss a law on the status of the closest person”. That was a reference to plans by the government to introduce civil partnerships, which would be available to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

During the campaign, Nawrocki expressed opposition to that measure but said he would support a law that allowed “close persons” to, for example, benefit from inheritance rights, joint settlement of taxes, mutual access to information and medical visitation rights.

The centre-right Polish People’s Party (PSL), the most conservative element of Tusk’s ruling coalition, last year also expressed support for such a law instead of one on civil partnerships. The current president, PiS-aligned Andrzej Duda, has said he would be willing to consider signing such a bill.

Nawrocki told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna that “there are also a number of issues in foreign policy in which I see room for cooperation”, including ending a deadlock between Duda and the government that has prevented the appointment of new Polish ambassadors.

However, like Duda, Nawrocki made clear that he is unwilling to accept the government’s nominations of Bogdan Klich – a former government minister – as ambassador to the US and Ryszard Schnepf – whose father was a communist officer involved in repressing Polish partisans – as ambassador to Italy.

The president-elect also reiterated that, when it comes to the question of abortion, he is “Catholic and clearly pro-life”. During the election campaign, Nawrocki made clear that he would not sign any law softening the current near-total abortion ban.

Speaking to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, however, he refused to specifically address that issue. Instead, Nawrocki pointed to the fact that Tusk’s coalition have, despite promising to introduce abortion reform, so far been unable to agree on legislation.

“There is nothing to even talk about, because there is no bill on the table,” said Nawrocki. He accused the government of “treating women instrumentally” by “dragging them out onto the streets [to protest] only to leave them with nothing after a year and a half in power”.

Meanwhile, when it comes to rule-of-law issues, where Tusk’s government has found its efforts to reverse PiS’s judicial reforms blocked by Duda, Nawrocki said that he “will take a position that is just as tough – if not tougher – than President Duda”.

“I do not see any room for compromise here and, if someone is to take a step back here, I will do everything to make the government do it,” declared the president-elect.

However, he also said that he has “specialists” working on proposals to break the deadlock over which judges should be legally recognised and that these would be put forward after he is sworn in as president in August.

Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl