POLAND: Nawrocki’s Controversy & more – 8th May 2025

Witam from BA! This is the Rorshok Poland Update from the 8th of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Poland.

Let’s start off with presidential elections, which will take place on the 18th of May. On Friday, the 2nd, Onet, Poland’s biggest online news site known for investigative journalism, revealed that Karol Nawrocki, the presidential candidate from the opposition Law and Justice party, actually owns two apartments—not just one as he had said earlier.

It also turned out that he used public money to cover part of his MBA program and English courses. On top of that, he has links to people with criminal records, including a convicted pimp and violent offender connected to the Bandidos biker gang.

The Civic Coalition, the ruling party, is now questioning whether Nawrocki is trustworthy enough to be president and if he can be transparent and honest.

Speaking of Nawrocki, on Wednesday, the 7th, the Parliament announced plans for new laws to protect elderly people from property fraud after the recent controversy involving Nawrocki, who said he received a property as a gift from old man after he took care of him, but this old man said Nawrocki never visited him.

PM Tusk asked the Minister for Senior Affairs and the Minister of Justice to come up with ideas to strengthen legal protections for seniors against scams.

Poland currently has some laws to protect seniors, like the Penal Code against financial abuse, the Civil Code to cancel unfair contracts, and help from the Financial Ombudsman for unauthorized transactions.

The proposed law, called Lex Nawrocki, aims to stop fraud targeting vulnerable older adults, especially those with conditions like dementia.

Going back to the elections for a bit, on Tuesday, the 6th, Poland's foreign ministry announced that there will be 511 polling stations worldwide for the presidential election, with more locations in countries where more Poles live. For instance, the UK will have 108, Norway seventeen, and Sweden ten.

There are two ways to vote abroad: Poles abroad can register through the eWybory website or via a consulate until the 13th of May or get a voting certificate from a consulate by the 15th of May.

Switching gears to security. On Wednesday, the 7th, PM Tusk met with Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, in Warsaw to strengthen cooperation in defense and border security.

They talked about tackling illegal migration at Poland’s eastern border, with Tusk asking for Germany’s support in extending asylum restrictions in the country. Both leaders agreed that Russia is the main security threat to Europe. Tusk said Poland aims to have the strongest army in Europe and asked Germany to extend Patriot missile deployments in Poland.

They also talked about improving infrastructure, like faster trains and possibly new military bridges. This meeting marked a new, stronger partnership between the countries.

In another security update, on Monday the 5th, Poland started building a new warship called Burza as part of its plan to upgrade the navy and better protect the Baltic Sea. It’s the second of three new frigates that will replace the old ones the country got from the US in the nineteen eighties.

A Polish-led team partnered with Babcock, a British company specializing in defense and energy projects, to build the ships based on a UK design customized for Poland.

The ships will have modern weapons and technology to guard trade routes, protect energy sites, and support NATO missions. The project’s cost increased from eight billion złoty (which is about two billion dollars) to fifteen billion złoty (about four billion dollars) after project updates in twenty twenty-three.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Defence Minister, said during the opening ceremony in Gdynia, that the Baltic Sea is key to Poland’s and NATO’s security, and that a strong navy isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential.

Since we mentioned the Baltic Sea, on Saturday, the 3rd, Poland launched a new military operation to protect and watch over the airspace above it, following several incidents of Russian aircraft violating it.

Kosiniak-Kamysz said the operation includes sending additional aircraft and helicopters to northern Poland to strengthen air defense, improve response times, and boost surveillance.

This effort is part of NATO’s broader plan to secure the Baltic region, including the Baltic Sentry naval mission and NATO air patrols.

On legal news, on Wednesday, the 7th, the European Commission started legal action against Poland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Spain, and Portugal for not fully following the Digital Services Act. The law requires EU countries to appoint someone with enough power to handle online content, political ads, and penalties.

Four of the countries picked someone, but didn’t give them full authority. Poland hasn’t chosen anyone yet but says it’s working on it. The Commission gave them two months to fix this or they will face the EU court.

On the same day, the Commission reminded nineteen countries, including Poland, to adopt new cybersecurity rules, which were due in October twenty twenty-four.

Next up, the latest in business. On Monday, the 5th, Santander, a large global banking group based in Spain, sold forty-nine percent of its Polish bank and fifty percent of its asset management business to Austria's Erste Group for about seven billion dollars.

The deal, which still needs regulatory approval, will wrap up by the end of twenty twenty-five. Santander is making this move as part of a strategy to focus more on growing in North and South America. Erste Group, which already has a presence in several Eastern European countries, will expand even more with this acquisition.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the 6th, President Duda blocked a bill on lowering health insurance contributions for self-employed entrepreneurs, saying it could hurt fairness and the stability of Poland’s healthcare system.

The bill, which PM Tusk’s government supported, wanted to cut the contribution rate for entrepreneurs starting in twenty twenty-six.

While supporters said it would help business owners, some people argued it would make things unfair for workers and put more pressure on the healthcare system.

Duda’s veto means lawmakers will have to edit the proposal.

The country is also moving forward with an exhumation process. On Saturday, the 3rd, the Polish Press Agency shared that Polish and Ukrainian experts dug up the remains of over twenty people and parts of thirty more in Puzhnyky, in western Ukraine.

In February nineteen forty-five, Ukrainian nationalists killed between fifty and 120 ethnic Poles during a time of intense ethnic violence as different groups clashed toward the end of World War II.

This is the first exhumation since twenty seventeen when Ukraine lifted its ban on Polish-led searches for wartime graves, marking a significant step toward healing the relationship between the countries.

Radosław Sikorski, the Polish Foreign Minister, praised the work, calling it a Christian duty for both sides. There might be similar investigations in other places, and Ukrainian teams could even go to Poland for their own investigations.

On Friday, the 2nd, Poland celebrated Flag Day, a national holiday. President Andrzej Duda awarded Polish citizenship to people who made important contributions to the country during an official ceremony in Warsaw. He said that he is proud that the Polish flag, which represents solidarity, is raised in moments of national pride, such as when Polish athletes win.

Duda also said he gets emotional seeing Polish flags in homes abroad and thanked the Polish diaspora for raising new generations, building economic ties, and connecting professional groups.

And to wrap up this edition, on Saturday the 3rd, Poland marked the 234th anniversary of its seventeen ninety-one Constitution. Poland’s constitution was the first modern one in Europe.

Foreign Minister Sikorski thanked Poles abroad for preserving traditions and strengthening Poland’s global image, especially those like Andrzej Poczobut, a Polish journalist imprisoned in Belarus for criticizing Belarus’s government. He said he hopes the government’s new plan to work more closely with Poles abroad will bring everyone together and help promote the country worldwide.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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