On Wednesday, August 6, amid crowds and a show of force, the national-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS, in opposition since the October 2023 elections) sought to reassert itself in the streets of Warsaw as Poland's new president, Karol Nawrocki, took office. Thousands of supporters were expected to accompany him from his swearing-in at the lower house of Parliament at 10 am to his installation at the presidential palace.

Nawrocki was scheduled to travel to two small Polish towns on Thursday and Friday after taking office to unveil his priorities, which will likely include raising the lowest income tax threshold, a promise left unfulfilled by Donald Tusk's government.

Since June 1, when Nawrocki won the presidential election with 50.89% of the vote against Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw and a member of Tusk's centrist party, the PiS has relished the victory of its "citizen candidate," whom it endorsed. The new president is a 42-year-old historian from a working-class background. He is the father of three, a devout Catholic, an amateur boxer and a former hooligan. He was virtually unknown to the public in the fall of 2024, when his candidacy was announced.

You have 80.41% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.