What a Joy – Poland's New President and the Legacy of the Fist

From a president, one expects composure, judgment, at least the appearance of moral integrity. But what if, instead, a bouncer takes office - with a criminal record on his back, old acquaintances in shady circles, and a firm determination to block Europe from the inside out? In Poland, that's exactly what happened on June 1, 2025: Karol Nawrocki, 42 years old, ex-hooligan, ex-boxer, Trump admirer - and as of August, head of state of an EU member country.

50.89 percent of the vote was enough to narrowly defeat the liberal challenger Rafał Trzaskowski. Since then, not only Brussels is asking: Who is this man - and what does he want to make of Poland? Nawrocki holds a PhD in history, at least. His career began in public service, at the institute for investigating communist and Nazi crimes. As museum director in Gdańsk, he gave history a new framework - national, Polish, scarcely European. He sees himself as a defender of Poland’s true legacy - which for him means: no EU overreach, no migration, no gender pedagogy. "Poland first, the Poles first!" he shouted from a stage in Koszalin. The tone: Donald Trump, translated into Polish grievance rhetoric.

Nawrocki wants to immediately withdraw from the European migration pact, sabotage the EU’s Green Deal, and return to clear-cut gender roles in education policy. "No ideology in our forests," he said. Yes, that's how you can rhetorically oppose climate protection in Poland. Overall, Brussels is a problem, Berlin a danger - and Germany, of course, remains indebted for history. Nawrocki won't let go of reparations. When Donald Tusk bowed during Friedrich Merz's visit, that was, Nawrocki said, “the posture of a butler.” Nawrocki, on the other hand, wants a "proud Poland, over a thousand years old" that listens not to Paris or Berlin, but to itself - and to the United States of America. Or more precisely: to Donald Trump. The new Polish president has already visited the White House. The symbolism was clear, the political closeness too. Nawrocki wants close cooperation with the U.S. administration but at the same time firmly rejects NATO membership for Ukraine. He would not ratify such an agreement. Domestically, the course remains conservative to reactionary. Abortions? Only in cases of danger to life or following rape. "I am for life, from the beginning to natural death," said Nawrocki. And how to deal with lives that don't fit his worldview, he apparently practiced early: as a young hooligan for Lechia Gdańsk, on fields and in back alleys.

In a conversation with right-wing populist politician Sławomir Mentzen, Nawrocki openly recounted that as a young man he regularly took part in hooligan fights. "Male hand-to-hand combat," he called it. His time as a bouncer at a luxury hotel on the Baltic Sea is also documented - including the allegation that he arranged prostitutes for hotel guests. That he vouched for a known right-wing extremist almost seems like a side note. The list of scandals is long: there’s also the story of how he came into possession of an elderly man's apartment, raising more questions than answers. But none of this stopped him. On the contrary - it seems to be part of his political myth: the man from the streets, who knows the rough life, who is not one of those arrogant elites. That precisely this anti-elitism has now reached the highest office in the country is a mirror of the times. A mirror in which one hesitates to look.

Meanwhile, Brussels wonders what the next five years will bring: a Polish veto against everything that sounds European. An alliance with Trump that fractures Europe's unity. And a president who knows his way around a fist better than a constitution. Welcome to the new Poland - what a joy.