Poland Elects Trump-Friendly Conservative In Blow To EU Bureaucrats

Polish voters elected a conservative nationalist aligned with the Trump administration to the presidency Monday, dealing a blow to European Union (EU) bureaucrats, according to CNN.

Karol Nawrocki, a member of the right-wing populist Law and Justice Party (PiS), won a narrow victory with 50.89% of the vote over Rafał Trzaskowsk, the liberal mayor of Warsaw, according to CNN. Nawrocki is expected to have good relations with the Trump administration once he takes office, and the election results are likely to stymie Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s vision to more closely align Poland with the EU.

Nawrocki now holds the presidential veto power, which will likely stifle Tusk’s liberalizing ambitions substantially, according to CNN. In May, Nawrocki visited the White House and President Donald Trump, posing for photos and exchanging pleasantries several weeks ahead of the election.

The PiS is staunchly anti-immigration, which made Poland stand out among EU nations during the Syrian Refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016. The party also backs relatively generous welfare programs and is skeptical of Poland’s involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war.

Tusk is now unlikely to be able to repeal Poland’s near-total abortion ban during Nawrocki’s tenure, as well as its comparatively