Sovereigntists across Europe are jubilant about Karol Nawrocki’s victory in the Polish presidential election—a win, also, for the wider populist movement, which the Left has long tried to write off as dead.
The mood could not be more different in Brussels—or, indeed, in Brussels-friendly capitals—where official statements are as kind as they must be for diplomatic reasons while also pointing to underlying anxieties. Politico, the favorite outlet of Eurocrats, admitted that with Nawrocki’s win, “mainstream Brussels has lost a role model for how to counter populism.”
In Hungary, by contrast, prime minister Viktor Orbán praised the “fantastic victory” and wished Nawrocki luck, while foreign minister Péter Szijjarto called the result a “fresh victory for [European] patriots” more broadly.
What a nail-biter! Congratulations to President @NawrockiKn on his fantastic victory in the Polish presidential elections. We are looking forward to working with you on strengthening the Visegrad cooperation. Powodzenia, Panie Prezydencie!
France’s Marine Le Pen also hailed the win as “a rebuff to the Brussels oligarchy, which intends to impose a standardisation of legislation on member states, contrary to any democratic will,” and defeated right-wing Romanian presidential candidate George Simion wrote that “Poland WON.”
Face à une Commission européenne dont les politiques autoritaires et les visées fédéralistes brutalisent les souverainetés nationales, la victoire de Karol Nawrocki à l’élection présidentielle polonaise est une bonne nouvelle. Elle est un désaveu pour l’oligarchie de Bruxelles…
The message from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was expectedly cooler, noting that “we are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy and values,” and expressing confidence “that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland”—not enough confidence, however, for this simply to go unsaid. Her comments behind closed doors are likely to have been much harsher.
I’m confident that the EU will continue its very good cooperation with Poland.
We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values.
So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 2, 2025
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier also called on the two countries to “cooperate closely based on democracy and rule of law,” and in doing so appeared to suggest that he doubted this would be the case.
Borys Budka, who represents Donald Tusk’s party in the European Parliament, has also warned that this victory is not the end of the matter, claiming that PiS now seeks to “overthrow the legal government” and will block what he described—and what the Commission would likewise describe—as “good initiatives.” Tusk has called a confidence vote in an attempt to shore up his position against this threat.
The Brussels elite is likely also concerned about the boost this victory could give to other conservative movements across the continent. Reports already say it may increase the momentum of the Czech Republic’s eurosceptic opposition leader, Andrej Babis.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
