Tens of thousands gather for rival presidential marches in Warsaw one week ahead of vote

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Tens of thousands of people today gathered in Warsaw for simultaneous marches held by the final two candidates in Poland’s presidential election, Rafał Trzaskowski, who represents the main centrist ruling party, and Karol Nawrocki, who is supported by the conservative opposition.

The pair will face off in the second-round election run-off in exactly one week, on 1 June, having emerged as the top two among the 13 candidates who stood in the first round one week ago on 18 May.

Trzaskowski, who as well as being deputy leader of the Civic Platform (PO) party is also mayor of Warsaw, was joined at his march by leading figures from PO’s allies in the ruling coalition.

That included three of his defeated presidential rivals, Szymon Hołownia of the centrist Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), Magdalena Biejat of The Left (Lewica), and Joanna Senyszyn, an independent left-wing candidate, all of whom spoke from the stage in support of Trzaskowski.

PO Prime Minister Donald Tusk also addressed the crowd, telling them that “Poland is on the threshold of greatness today” but that his government can only “change Poland as we promised” with Trzaskowski in the presidential palace.

Since coming to power in December 2023, Tusk’s government has seen parts of its agenda stymied by opposition-aligned President Andrzej Duda, who wields the power of veto. Duda’s second and final five-year term ends in August this year.

Meanwhile, the recent victor in Romania’s presidential election, Nicușor Dan, a pro-EU centrist, also joined Trzaskowski on the march. Last week, he defeated nationalist rival George Simion – who has campaigned alongside Nawrocki – in a run-off vote

“Last week all of Romania won, next week all of Poland will win,” said Dan, speaking in Polish. “I believe in a strong Poland in a strong European Union.”

At his march, which took place in parallel to Trzaskowski’s but heading in the opposite direction, Nawrocki told his supporters that “Poles want change, they do not agree to the government controlling everything”.

His event was attended by leading figures from Law and Justice (PiS), the main opposition party, including its leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Ahead of the march, he had called on his supporters to help “stop the evil that we are witnessing almost every day”.

“We must remember that we are not fighting only for the presidency; we are fighting first and foremost for Poland,” declared the PiS chairman.

Meanwhile, figures from the far-right Confederation (Konfederacja) party, whose candidate Sławomir Mentzen finished a strong third, with 14.81% of the vote, in the first round, avoided both Trzaskowski and Nawrocki’s marches.

The two remaining candidates will be hoping to win the support of as many of Mentzen’s voters as possible in the second round. This week, Nawrocki met with Mentzen and signed a declaration proposed by the far-right leader containing eight pledges, including opposing Ukraine’s entry to NATO.

On Saturday, Trzaskowski also accepted an invitation to appear on Mentzen’s YouTube channel. He refused to sign the declaration, though he expressed his support for four of its points: no tax increases, no restrictions on the use of cash, not sending Polish soldiers to Ukraine, and not restricting access to firearms.

Next week’s vote looks set to be close. Of the three opinion polls published over the last week, one puts Trzaskowski two percentage points ahead, one puts Nawrocki two ahead, and the other has the pair tied.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Dawid Zuchowicz and Robert Kowalewski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.