Le Monde: Nawrocki Aims to Dominate Polish Right, Eliciting Kaczyński’s Wrath

A recent Le Monde article examines how Polish President Karol Nawrocki has decoupled from Jarosław Kaczyński to dominate the Polish right, sparking political friction and anger.

Ambitions on the Polish Right

In an article published on Wednesday, August 5, the website of the French daily writes that Karol Nawrocki “does not hide his ambitions to dominate the entire Polish right, even if it means showing indulgence toward the growing far-right.”

“One year after his inauguration on August 6, 2025, Karol Nawrocki has become Poland’s most popular political leader. At the end of July, an IBRiS poll for the news portal Onet gave him 51 percent positive ratings, far ahead of Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz,” the newspaper reports.

Fulfilling Campaign Promises and Vetoes

“Le Monde”: Karol Nawrocki fulfilled one of his main commitments

According to “Le Monde,” Nawrocki “largely owes his popularity to the fact that he fulfilled one of his main campaign commitments—obstructing the work of Donald Tusk’s center-right government.” The newspaper notes that “the president has used his veto power 41 times since taking office.” It also points out that “so far he has only sworn in three of the seven Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the Sejm.” “The president also continued the ‘ambassadors’ war’ started by Duda,” the article states.

Foreign Policy Stance and Historical Memory

“In foreign policy, a field where the president and prime minister should—as Article 133 of the constitution explains—’cooperate,’ Mr. Nawrocki has also decided to mark his position,” writes “Le Monde.” In this context, it mentions the decision to strip Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. It notes that the backdrop was “a historical memory conflict related to the massacres of Polish civilians by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II.”

Independence from Kaczyński and Far-Right Ties

“Nawrocki managed to become completely independent from Jarosław Kaczyński”

The daily quotes Wawrzyniec Konarski, rector of the Vistula University of Finance and Business, who states that “Karol Nawrocki aspires to become the leader of the entire Polish right.” “Le Monde” then assesses that “this explains the fact that the president refrains from criticizing the far-right, which is growing in strength. He even seems to make concessions to its most radical leader, the pro-Russian and antisemitic MEP Grzegorz Braun. In December 2025, Mr. Nawrocki broke with the tradition, established since 2006, of celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.”

“Le Monde” also writes that Nawrocki “managed to completely emancipate himself—in record time—from his mentor Jarosław Kaczyński, the PiS leader.” “Karol Nawrocki, who is very ambitious, turned out to be completely autonomous,” Konarski told the daily. “This independence manifested itself in particular in the appointment on May 25 of Zbigniew Kapiński to the post of First President of the Supreme Court,” the daily evaluates, adding that this decision “aroused the anger” of Jarosław Kaczyński.