Trump victory boosts Polish right-wing opposition

The "Independence March" successful Warsaw, which has been held annually connected Poland's Independence Day since 2010, is simply a large lawsuit successful the Polish right-wing nationalist calendar.

This twelvemonth was nary different: On Monday, tens of thousands of Poles marched done Warsaw, marking the restoration of the Polish authorities connected November 11, 1918, aft 123 years of overseas rule.

The march began with prayers and, similar each year, determination was a oversea of red-and-white Polish flags and immense clouds of fume from burning torches, flares and fireworks.

There were besides plentifulness of banners: galore captious of the EU, galore denouncing termination and 1 proclaiming "We are the powerfulness down Greater Poland."

Warsaw authorities said that 90,000 radical took portion successful the march, which snaked done the halfway of the superior to the National Stadium.

PiS joins the march

The national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, which has been successful absorption since losing past fall's election, did not instrumentality portion successful the march successful caller years due to the fact that it considered the event's utmost right-wing organizers excessively radical.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, person of Poland's national-conservative absorption PiS party, attended the 'Independence March' connected MondayImage: Mikolaj Janeczek/IMAGO

This time, however, Kaczynski and his closest allies marched enarthrosis to enarthrosis with the nationalists.

"We privation the patriotic campy to beryllium united, we privation the patriotic campy to locomotion unneurotic successful this march and successful different governmental undertakings," said Kaczynski.

The Polish regular paper Gazeta Wyborcza saw different information successful PiS's involvement, writing: "Because of the upcoming statesmanlike election, Kaczynski seeks solidarity with the close wing."

Kaczynski resurrects his anti-German rhetoric

On the eve of the march, Kaczynski repeated his disapproval of Donald Tusk's center-left conjugation government, which has ruled the state since December 2023.

"For a twelvemonth now, our authorities and our system is being destroyed. The program of a overseas authorities — Germany — is being implemented; but the power of Putin, too, is becoming much apparent," helium said.

For years, anti-German rhetoric has been a modular diagnostic of his party's speeches and campaigns.

Polish close overjoyed astatine Trump victory

After being ousted from authorities astatine the ballot container past fall, PiS went done a crisis.

Rifts wrong the enactment — specified arsenic differences betwixt erstwhile PM Mateusz Morawiecki and the "hawks" allied with erstwhile Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro — emerged.

Flares and flags were successful abundance astatine the 'Independence March' successful WarsawImage: Omar Marques/Getty Images

Some members of the enactment adjacent dared to knock Kaczynski for the party's electoral loss.

But since Donald Trump's triumph successful last week's US statesmanlike election, the antecedently deflated PiS has been buoyed by caller hope.

When it became wide past Wednesday that Trump had been reelected, the euphoria successful Poland's national-conservative ranks was unbridled.

Lawmakers from PiS and the utmost right-wing Confederation enactment stood up successful parliament, clapped and chanted "Donald Trump, Donald Trump" for respective minutes. Some adjacent posted photos of themselves connected societal media wearing the reddish "Make America Great Again" shot caps truthful fashionable among Trump supporters.

Polish authorities openly captious of Trump

Mariusz Blaszczak, caput of the PiS parliamentary party, called connected Tusk's authorities to resign for backing Kamala Harris and offending Trump.

Prime Minister Tusk and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski person been precise captious of Trump successful the past.

"If Trump had won the past predetermination (2020), determination would beryllium nary NATO contiguous — thing helium himself declared. His dependence connected Russian concealed services is beyond doubt," Tusk said during the predetermination campaign.

Polish absorption hopes for Trump's support

Dominik Tarczynski, who is simply a subordinate of the European Parliament for PiS, attended a fig of Trump run events and was unfastened successful his enactment for the US president-elect. Tarczynski has boasted astir forwarding to Trump's squad accusation astir anti-Trump statements made by Polish ministers.

Polish PM Donald Tusk precocious said that if Trump had won the US statesmanlike predetermination successful 2020, 'there would beryllium nary NATO today'Image: Omar Marques/Getty Images

PiS is banking connected enactment from the incoming US medication successful its absorption to Tusk's government.

There are besides adjacent ties betwixt PiS and US Vice President-elect JD Vance, who supported PiS successful its fight with Tusk's authorities astir nationalist media successful Poland successful aboriginal 2024.

Trump's triumph has "put an extremity to the disruption wrong PiS and this party's combat for survival," says governmental idiosyncratic Rafal Chwedoruk.

Polish president blessed astir Trump's reelection

It is, however, Poland's President Andrzej Duda who stands to payment astir from Trump's instrumentality to the Oval Office.

Duda, who was a PiS state earlier becoming president, has agelong been a adjacent state of Trump. During Trump's archetypal word successful bureau (2016–2020), Duda openly sought the favour of the American president. During Trump's sojourn to Warsaw successful July 2017, the American president bolstered Poland's relation successful Europe.

Duda was dilatory to congratulate Joe Biden erstwhile helium won the US statesmanlike predetermination successful 2020, which caused a heavy rift successful Polish-American relations. It was lone with Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine 2 years aboriginal that the crystal betwixt the Biden medication and the PiS authorities began to thaw.

Duda acceptable to alert to Washington

Duda and Trump spoke connected Monday, with the US president-elect sending well-wishes connected Poland's Independence Day and thanking Polish Americans for their enactment successful the election.

Duda has said that helium volition beryllium flying to Washington earlier Trump's inauguration connected January 20.

Relations betwixt Polish President Andrzej Duda (front right) and Donald Trump (front left) are strong, and Duda is expected to alert to Washington to spot the president-elect earlier his inauguration successful JanuaryImage: Stefan Jeremiah/AP/dpa/picture alliance

In his Independence Day address, Duda praised America's value for the restoration of the Polish authorities 106 years agone and Poland's information successful Europe today. "It is simply a tube imagination — arsenic immoderate radical deliberation — that Europe tin guarantee its ain information today," helium said.

Who volition beryllium the adjacent Polish president?

Given that a caller Polish president volition beryllium elected adjacent May, Duda volition not person overmuch clip to deepen ties with Trump.

The statesmanlike predetermination is seen arsenic the astir important governmental lawsuit successful Poland successful the coming years.

Duda is utilizing his veto to artifact astir each of the left-wing wide government's plans. A triumph for Tusk's campaigner is, therefore, cardinal to ensuring his government's quality to act.

There are, astatine present, 2 imaginable candidates wrong the Civic Coalition (KO) led by Donald Tusk: Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski, who is presently seen arsenic the favorite, and Foreign Minister Sikorski, who unexpectedly threw his chapeau into the ringing recently. The coalition's statesmanlike campaigner volition beryllium chosen successful a superior predetermination connected November 23.

PiS has besides yet to prime its campaigner and is expected to bash truthful earlier the period is out.

One imaginable campaigner is erstwhile Education Minister Przemyslaw Czarnek, who has adjacent ties to the Catholic Church and is highly captious of Germany. During his clip successful office, helium cut German lessons successful schoolhouse for children of the country's German minority from 3 hours to 1 hr a week.

This nonfiction was primitively published successful German.