A recent poll reveals 39.1% of Poles approve of President Karol Nawrocki’s performance, while he continues to utilize his veto power on key legislation.
Nawrocki’s Approval Ratings
A SW Research poll conducted for “Wprost” found that 39.1% of respondents are satisfied with Karol Nawrocki’s performance as President of Poland, with 18.3% responding “very good” and 20.8% “good.” Conversely, 38.6% of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction, with 10.2% answering “badly” and 28.4% “definitely badly.”
Demographic Breakdown of Support
Nawrocki enjoys his strongest support among those aged 25-34 (51.5%) and under 24 (50.2%). Dissatisfaction is highest among respondents over 50 years old (52.7%). 41.8% of men and 36.7% of women view his decisions positively, while 40.9% of men and 36.4% of women hold negative views.
Education and Location Influence Opinions
Supporters of Nawrocki’s actions are primarily individuals with basic and secondary education (49.6%), while skeptics tend to have higher education (44.5%). He received his best ratings from residents of towns with populations under 20,000 (46%), and his worst from cities with over 500,000 residents (52.4%).
Presidential Vetoes
Since the beginning of his term, Nawrocki has vetoed 29 bills, the latest concerning an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure. Presidential Spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz explained the decision was made “out of concern for the safety of citizens and the effectiveness of the state in combating the most serious crime.” He argued that adopting individual solutions was insufficient grounds for signing the bill, and the new regulations could hinder criminal proceedings and create “procedural chaos.”
SAFE Program Veto and Concerns
The most recent controversy stemmed from Nawrocki’s veto of a bill implementing the SAFE program. Nawrocki stated, “SAFE is a mechanism whereby Brussels, through the so-called principle of conditionality, can arbitrarily suspend funding, and our country will still have to repay that debt. Therefore, it must be clearly stated: security on condition is not security. Poland’s security cannot depend on foreign decisions,” and proposed his own “Polish SAFE zero percent” program.
Financing Debate and EU Agreement
Donald Tusk expressed doubts about the financing of the proposed program, which relies on profits from the National Bank of Poland (NBP), which have not been recorded in recent years. Consequently, the Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of National Defense, Minister of Finance, and Economy to sign an agreement regarding the EU’s SAFE program on March 13th.
Constitutional Tribunal Concerns
“The failure to administer the oath to newly elected judges will undoubtedly cause even greater turmoil in the Constitutional Tribunal. This is clear evidence of disrespect for the rule of law. Politics is above the law, the president is above the constitution,” writes Agnieszka Kublik in Wyborcza.pl.
