At stake isn’t just who will get to be president, however whether or not Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Trzaskowski’s social gathering boss, can get his agenda off the ground after almost two years of obstructionism by President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally. For PiS, the end result will decide whether or not the defeat the social gathering suffered within the 2023 parliamentary election was only a short-term setback.
Trzaskowski and Nawrocki are just about stage within the polls forward of the June 1 runoff, suggesting that even small shifts in voter attitudes or turnout may resolve the end result. Within the first spherical of the presidential vote on Could 18, Trzaskowski edged forward with just below 31.4 p.c of the vote, whereas Nawrocki adopted intently with 29.5 p.c.
The far right’s surprisingly strong showing among the many different contenders may show vital to the ultimate consequence. Sławomir Mentzen of the Konfederacja social gathering got here in third with 14.8 p.c, and the anti-Semitic and anti-EU agitator Grzegorz Braun unexpectedly secured 6.3 p.c to put fourth.
The far proper thus leapfrogged previous the centrist and left contenders, who solely garnered round 14 p.c collectively amongst three candidates.
Tight spot
That has positioned Trzaskowski in a good spot, needing to enchantment each to far-right and left-wing voters, whereas additionally mobilizing his core supporters to point out up in higher numbers at polling stations on June 1.
“Your mobilization is important as a result of it can actually be a razor-thin margin,” Trzaskowski mentioned through the debate. “Select a president who merely likes individuals. Select a president who respects others. Select a president for whom values like honesty and odd human decency are ideas that information his life,” Trzaskowski mentioned.
