Is Poland Turning Right-Wing? The Chances of a Conservative Alliance
Updated: Nov 17, 2025
The Polish presidential election that took place in June resulted in a narrow win for Karol Nawrocki, a right-wing historian aligned with the Law and Justice Party, who won 50.9% percent of the votes. Since then, the October 15 Coalition that still claims parliamentary majority gained in parliamentary election in 2023, has battled the new president’s veto on issues such as continuing support for Ukrainians who don’t work in the form of the 800+ programme or liberalisation of wind farm regulations on land. The presidential veto is a strong tool in Polish politics, it has the power to scrap legislations and slow down the parliament’s work, as the Sejm (lower house of parliament) can only overturn a veto if three-fifths disagree with it. Andrzej Duda, the previous Polish President, who also came from the Law and Justice Party, was also known for his willingness to veto legislations proposed by the parliamentary majority. It was, perhaps, one of the many reasons for the impression that two years after the new parliament was formed, not much changed.
Polarisation runs deep
In the first round of the presidential election, many went to the voting ballot with a hope to stop choosing the ‘lesser evil’. Soon after, they had to do the very thing they dreaded - vote for a candidate out of the lack of other options. After the election, with a close 1.78% gap between Rafał Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki, the society seems as divided as ever. On one side, the so-called defenders of ‘Polish and family values’ strongly believed that the liberal candidate, Trzaskowski, would sell Poland out to the European Union, hence they mocked him with the name ‘Bonjour’ and voted for Nawrocki. On the other side were the people who believed that Nawrocki, a candidate who was involved in many scandals (shady links to the hooligan world, controversial property takeover from an elderly man, allegedly enabling prostitution at the Grand Hotel) is a danger to the worldwide perception of Poland and a threat to democracy. Polish society has proven to be deeply polarised, with families avoiding to bring up politics, in fear of a brewing opinion fight. Teenagers radicalise themselves through social media, without confirming their sources and without intentions of breaking their filter bubbles. The notion of “Duopol” - Poland led by the two main parties, Law and Justice and Civic Platform - is alive and well.
The likelihood of a conservative coalition
It’s worth noting how after the election the right-wing movement in Poland received significant gains. Confederation, a radical right party that put Sławomir Mentzen as a candidate in the presidential race, has established its position as the “third force” in Polish politics, winning 14.81% of the votes. To cement radical right’s position in Polish politics, Grzegorz Braun, who is known for being a radical antisemite, an anti-European Union activist, and yet, a member of the European parliament, came fourth with 6.34%. Two politicians that came from Confederation background have increasing support.
Mentzen has strategically made Nawrocki and Trzaskowski fight for his electorate’s votes in the second round of the election, when he invited both politicians to make an appearance on his YouTube channel and to sign an official declaration of eight promises, including not approving any laws to increase taxes or not sending any Polish troops to fight in Ukraine. Nawrocki didn’t hesitate to sign the document. After Mentzen's thoughtful move, some concerns arose, concerning how conservative goals of Confederation and Law and Justice might align. Some predict that there might be a chance for a conservative coalition.
Neither Civic Platform or Law and Justice could gain parliamentary majority on their own in the future election in 2027. Nethertheless, a coalition between Law and Justice and Confederation is not a future set in stone. Sławomir Mentzen is known for his frequent critique of Law and Justice’s corruption and especially of Jarosław Kaczyński - the Law and Justice Party chief and Mateusz Morawiecki - ex prime minister. Kaczyński said that it’s a misunderstanding that Mentzen is involved in politics in a recent confrontation and the politicians are known for their verbal jousts.
At the moment, Civic Coalition is a leader in polls, with 38.12% of support, according to an OGB study. Law and Justice is at estimated 29.81% and Confederation at 15.5%. One explanation for this could be that Civic Coalition is profiting off other parties’ discouraged electorate. However, everything can change with how turbulent and unstable the Polish political scene is at the moment.