WARSAW: Karol Nawrocki, a nationalist historian with an interest in the underworld, is running for Poland's presidency with the backing of the conservative main opposition party.
The 42-year-old has been endorsed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which was in power from 2015 to 2023.
The party is closely allied with outgoing President Andrzej Duda -- who has backed Nawrocki -- and is a longtime rival of the governing Civic Coalition.
Nawrocki is currently polling in second place, at around 25 percent of the vote, behind pro-European Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, on 30 percent.
Nawrocki’s campaign slogan is “Poland first, Poles first”, reflecting his views on the nearly one million Ukrainian refugees living in the EU and NATO country.
While Nawrocki has pledged to continue Poland's support for neighbouring Ukraine against Russia's invasion, he has denounced the benefits accorded to the refugees.
In January, he said Poland “can’t afford measures that will strike our own economy, agriculture, Polish wallets”.
He said in a campaign video in April that “social benefits will be above all for Poles” and that “in queues for doctors and clinics, Polish citizens must have priority”.
Nawrocki also claimed in May that Ukraine “has not shown gratitude for what Poles have done” for the country, and accused its President Volodymyr Zelensky of “insolence”.
Photos with Trump
Nawrocki is an admirer of US President Donald Trump and has said Poland should focus on shaping and leading Europe's relations with the US leader.
Nawrocki met Trump at the White House two weeks before the election and claimed Trump told him: “You will win”.
Some lawmakers from the governing coalition have accused Trump of election interference.
Days before the vote, Nawrocki received an endorsement from Romania's far-right presidential candidate George Simion.
Nawrocki has called for controls on the border with Germany to keep out migrants, and would like Berlin to pay wartime reparations to Poland.
The tail end of the campaign saw Nawrocki mired in a scandal.
While arguing against a property tax, he claimed to only own one flat. Later it was revealed he had acquired a second one in a convoluted deal with an elderly man.
Nawrocki was born in the port city of Gdansk, where he played football and boxed in his youth and went on to earn a PhD in history and an MBA.
He served as the director of the World War II museum in Gdansk from 2017 to 2021.
Since 2021, he has led the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) for investigating Nazi and communist-era crimes.
His research interests include Poland's anti-communist opposition, organised crime during the communist era and sports history.
Last year, Russia added Nawrocki to its wanted list for his alleged efforts to remove Soviet-era monuments in Poland.
Dual identity
Nawrocki has written several books, including one under a pen name that landed him in an unusual scandal.
In 2018, he secretly published a book about the communist-era gangster Nikodem Skotarczak using the pseudonym Tadeusz Batyr.
That same year, “Batyr” went on state television and with his face blurred and voice altered said Nawrocki had inspired his work.
Nawrocki for his part wrote on social media that Batyr had reached out to him for tips, adding: “He thanked me with an interesting book, which I recommend.”
But local media recently uncovered that Batyr and Nawrocki were one and the same.
One TikTok user said: “Maybe they’ll substitute Batyr for Nawrocki in the runoff. In any case, the one backs the other. That’s two votes already.”
Politicians from rival camps had a field day with the revelation.
Nawrocki has also been accused of links to gangsters and neo-Nazis.
He has decried the charges as “deep manipulation”, saying his contacts with the individuals in question were limited to professional purposes.
“No one has ever heard a good word from me about Nazism,“ he said.
Nawrocki speaks English, and boxes in his spare time.
He has two children and an adult stepson with his wife, Marta.
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