Karol Nawrocki Sworn in as New Polish President
Jerusalem, 6 August, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Karol Nawrocki, who won the presidential election in the second round on June 1st, took the presidential oath before the National Assembly. Receiving the National Electoral Commission’s resolution, Nawrocki declared that he would be “the president of one Poland.” Among his priorities, he listed “tearing down the walls of hatred between Poles.”
On June 1, in the second round of the presidential election, Karol Nawrocki, supported by PiS, won 50.89 percent of the vote, defeating the Civic Coalition candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11 percent of the vote.
On June 2, Nawrocki thanked voters for every vote cast for him. “A difficult and at times brutal election campaign is behind us. Your votes resulted in my election to the office of President of the Republic of Poland. This is a great responsibility and obligation. I accept this decision with humility and respect,” he wrote on the X platform.
US President Donald Trump congratulated Nawrocki on his victory. “Trump’s ally won in Poland, sending shockwaves across Europe,” the American leader wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also offered her congratulations, expressing her confidence that “the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland.”
Receiving the National Electoral Commission’s resolution on the presidential election at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on June 11, Nawrocki pledged that he would work not only for his voters but also for those who voted for his opponents. He assured them that he would be “the president of one Poland.” Among his priorities, he listed “tearing down the walls of hatred between Poles” and renewing public debate. “Hatred cannot be an alternative to incompetent governance, nor can hatred be an alternative to political debate in the Polish parliament and the lives of many social groups,” Nawrocki said.
“I believe that with my presidency a new beginning will begin in Polish politics, without walls of hatred, but with a deep sense that thanks to this election, the citizens of the Polish state are regaining their voice,” he added.
At the Family Picnic under the slogan “Poland Won,” Nawrocki announced that on August 7th, the day after being sworn in as president, he would present his first initiatives. He also assured that he would be a hard-working president and a president of dialogue. “You will see, ladies and gentlemen, a hard-working president, a president who will not wait for weeks or months to implement the plan,” Nawrocki said. “On August 7th, I will present concrete initiatives that will fulfill the plan for which nearly 11 million Poles voted. And I will not let these Poles be deceived, as the president of Poland,” he declared.
At the end of June, Nawrocki also announced that after being sworn in as president, he would convene a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation on the western border with Germany. He emphasized that he would want to know all the statistics regarding illegal migrants.
The New President’s Office
At the end of July, the president-elect finalized the structure of his office. He announced that PiS MP Zbigniew Bogucki would head the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, with PiS MP Adam Andruszkiewicz serving as his deputy. PiS MP Paweł Szefernaker, who was the head of Nawrocki’s campaign staff, will head the presidential office. Szefernaker’s deputy will be Jarosław Dębowski, the current director of the IPN President’s Office, and Rafał Leśkiewicz, with whom Nawrocki worked at the IPN, will serve as the spokesman for the Chancellery of the President.
Marcin Przydacz, a current PiS MP, will be responsible for international affairs in Nawrocki’s office. Sławomir Cenckiewicz will be the head of the National Security Bureau, with Generals Andrzej Kowalski and Mirosław Bryś serving as his deputies. Nawrocki announced that Wojciech Kolarski, a minister in President Andrzej Duda’s office, will continue his work in his office.
His office will also include PiS politician Karol Rabenda, who will be responsible for energy, development, and strategic projects. Nawrocki’s office will also include Mateusz Kotecki, the current director of the Human Resources Office at the Institute of National Remembrance, who will be responsible for social affairs and interventions. Agnieszka Jędrzak will be responsible for the Polish diaspora and Poles abroad.
Nawrocki has repeatedly announced that his first legislative initiative will be a bill concerning the Central Communication Port. He is expected to present details of the project on his first day in office after being sworn in during a meeting with Kalisz residents. “We will provide top-class rail connections to Kalisz and dozens of medium-sized Polish cities,” Nawrocki said in one of his campaign ads.
After a July meeting with Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia, Nawrocki announced that he would also address agricultural proposals in his first month as president. “I believe we will also be able to prepare concrete tax solutions, so I will begin implementing the tax contract,” he said. He added that he will “fully implement ‘Plan 21’ for Poland, which received 10.5 million votes in the elections.” “I will launch legislative initiatives as early as August, but it will be a series of specific proposals lasting several months,” Nawrocki announced.
‘Plan 21’
“Plan 21” was announced on March 2nd at an election convention in Szeligi, near Warsaw. It is based on several pillars: the well-being of citizens, a normal and safe state, and development. Proposals include a VAT reduction from 23% to 22%, a 0% personal income tax rate for families with two or more children, “fair indexation of pensions,” and an increase in the second tax bracket to PLN 140,000.
Nawrocki discussed with Hołownia, among other things, the principles of the new media law, which he said he was very interested in. Asked on RMF about Nawrocki’s interest in changes to public media, Leśkiewicz replied that the president-elect was “curious about the solutions that are to appear in this media law” due to the president’s powers.
“This proposal includes guidelines regarding the members of the National Broadcasting Council. The draft bill changes the KRRiT’s structure, meaning nine members, three of whom are appointed by the president (…). There’s also the issue of eliminating the National Media Council, eliminating the TV license fee (RTV – PAP), and allocating perhaps nine hundredths of a percent of the budget from some reserve to finance public media,” said Leśkiewicz.
Historical memory is also important to Nawrocki. In early July, he appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the possibility of undertaking full-scale exhumations in Volhynia. He emphasized that the victims of the genocide were not crying out for revenge, but for a “cross,” a “grave,” and “memory,” and he was obligated to “speak with their voice.”
As Leśkiewicz reported, Nawrocki also demanded “a change in Ukraine’s approach to important and yet unresolved historical issues” in his conversation with Zelensky. According to Leśkiewicz, Nawrocki also reaffirmed his continued support for Ukraine in connection with the ongoing war, which is the result of Russian aggression.
German Reparations
During the election campaign, the president-elect assured that he would not abandon the issue of reparations from Germany. “As president of the Republic of Poland, I will be consistent, diplomatic, yet decisive – on behalf of the nearly 6 million Poles murdered by the Third German Reich (he demanded reparations),” he said at a meeting in Biłgoraj. “In me, Germany will see a partner in economic activities, but also a tough competitor in demanding what is owed to us,” he emphasized.
During campaign meetings, Nawrocki spoke out firmly, warning against the threats posed by the EU’s climate and migration pacts, and emphasized that Poland should strive for sovereignty and strength. He announced a referendum on the Green Deal and the unilateral termination of the migration pact to “keep those who threaten us out.” He also assured that he would do everything possible to coordinate the process of building the Polish army. His program proposed, among other things, an increase in defense spending to 5% of GDP, an increase in the number of reservists to one million within 10 years, and an increase in the army’s size to 300,000.
Nawrocki also announced a “mixed election system for the National Council of the Judiciary.” He stated that he would give politicians and the government until February 2026, and if the mixed election system does not come into effect, then in February 2026, “Polish citizens will decide in a constitutional referendum what the Polish justice system should look like.”
Nawrocki repeatedly emphasized the importance of the alliance with the United States during the campaign, arguing that Poland needs a strong president for difficult times, because only such a person will be able to improve relations with the United States. He declared that he would ensure Poland’s relations with the United States and ensure a loud, strong Polish voice in the EU. “We want to be in the EU, but we want to say that Poland is here. And we joined such a Union. A Union that must respect our homeland,” Nawrocki said.
