President Karol Nawrocki could achieve more in international politics if he found room for compromise with the government, says political scientist Bartłomiej Nowak from Vistula University and the Pulaski Foundation. According to Łukasz Tolak from Civitas University, some kind of agreement between them will be necessary in the future.
Nowak emphasized that Polish foreign policy is conducted by the government, and the president, as a rule, does not have executive functions, and represents Poland in several important organizations – which, however, results from custom rather than directly from the law.
– First of all, it plays an important role in relations with NATO because it is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. It plays an important role in relations with the United States because the protocol equivalent of the president of the United States is the president of (…) Poland. And he represents Poland at the general assembly of the United Nations, he recalled.
He noted that the situation in the European field is unstable, because although European policy is conducted by the government, at the end of the term of office of the previous president, Andrzej Duda, the so-called the Competence Act, which gives the president expanded powers in European politics.
Nowak noted that Nawrocki's Eurosceptic attitude was generally known already during his election campaign. – However, at the moment, the context of how the United States behaves towards its European partners has changed significantly, especially in the negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine. And in this situation, it is not appropriate for the president to maintain such a harsh course towards the EU, because it is not in the interest of the Polish raison d'état, he said.
As he noted, the president “is trying, on the one hand, to take this into account and, on the other hand, to differentiate himself and nuance himself from the government, using rhetoric that will be more easily acceptable to right-wing voters.”
The expert noted that the president did not omit the most important EU countries in his visits abroad, but – as he assessed – his visits did not have any particular impact there. According to him, this is due to the limited competences of the head of state to represent the Polish position and visible discrepancies with the government's position.
– The president's most important and significant speech on EU-related issues was a lecture in Prague on the future of the European Union. The government avoids talking about the future and reform of the European Union, which would include changes to the treaties. And the president, somewhat to my surprise, moved towards a bolder change to the treaties. He also proposed abolishing the position of the President of the European Council, which would automatically strengthen the role of the European Commission, i.e. a supranational body. This does not seem consistent with the general position the president has presented so far – Nowak emphasized.
In his opinion, the US attitude towards peace negotiations regarding Ukraine has spoiled Nawrocki's plans, also in terms of contacts with the US administration. The expert notes that although an important visit of the Polish president to the USA and a meeting with Donald Trump took place in September, after presenting 28 points of the so-called peace plan, which did not translate into the actions of the American leader, it was difficult for Nawrocki to flaunt any associations with the US president.
According to the expert, the president did not take advantage of his chance to fight to be invited to Washington together with European leaders and Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning of September.
Nowak emphasized that the president's visit to the White House was a bilateral visit and important words were said there that American troops would remain in Poland.- And it was important, but in the context of bilateral relations, but it does not appear that it helped the president significantly strengthen his international position – he said.
According to Nowak, Nawrocki does not have many established international contacts, and his background does not have much diplomatic experience. The expert notes that the president, after a strong start in the foreign sphere, which included visits to Washington, Paris and Berlin, has not achieved as much in the international arena as he could have if he had found room for compromise with the government.
– This cooperation could strengthen both sides, because Nawrocki needs a certain foreign policy apparatus, and the government needs good contacts at the highest level in the USA, which Nawrocki happens to have – he emphasized. He stressed that if the president found room for compromise with the government, he would have the opportunity to increase his strength in the international arena. As such, he pointed to the issue of the G20 summit, which is to be held at the end of next year in Florida, and the issue of staffing Polish diplomatic missions.
He noted that an example where both sides had already benefited – both the government and the president – was President Nawrocki's speech during the UN General Assembly. – He had a good speech there, and he sat at the Assembly together with Minister Sikorski. And this is what cooperation should look like, because we are in too difficult a situation for the government and the president to weaken each other, he noted.
According to the expert, Nawrocki is a “fighter type”, but he is also able to draw conclusions and learns extremely quickly. – And I think that the president will see that if he is not truly active, people will stop being interested in what he is doing abroad. I hope that the president will draw conclusions from this situation. And if he made some concessions, for example when it comes to the policy of appointing ambassadors, he could come to terms with the government in various areas and create fields that he would be able to manage better and which would be his advantage, such as relations with the US, he noted.
Łukasz Tolak from Civitas University pointed out that the president's greatest achievements in the foreign sphere were his activity in relations with neighbors (the Baltic countries, Finland) and Nawrocki's attempts to position himself as an advocate of the Polish cause in the USA. He emphasized that this was possible due to the much closer profile of views of Presidents Trump and Nawrocki compared to the government of Donald Tusk.. – In the latter case, no matter how effective the efforts of the presidential office and the president himself are, this option should be taken into account by the government due to the specificity of the current administration in Washington – noted the expert.
He noted that Nawrocki's view on the desired shape of the EU and his personal views are a significant obstacle to the foreign and security policy of the government coalition. As he emphasized, this results “from clearly opposing interests on the domestic political scene and the fact that a significant part of the president's electorate, which ensured his victory in the elections, has a decidedly critical attitude towards the EU resulting from both ideological differences and propaganda activities undertaken by extreme circles and often, consciously or not, supporting the rhetoric of the Russian Federation.”
According to Tolak, in certain circumstances the president's skepticism could be used to achieve the goals of Poland's foreign policy. – However, this would require precise communication and coordination of the activities of the government and the KPRP, which – for political reasons – is not likely to happen. In my opinion, the president's actions are currently aimed at building his position in national politics. This is due to the dynamics of political life and attempts to build one's own position – emphasized the expert.
However, he noted, due to the Polish constitutional order, in the long run it is impossible to build a strong international position in permanent opposition to the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Tolak, the prolonged deadlock and permanent clash means at least the president's co-responsibility for the failure to implement foreign policy goals that are critical for state security or for a significant weakening of the effectiveness of its implementation.
According to the expert, the current change in US foreign policy paradigms does not allow assessing the effectiveness of Nawrocki's actions in terms of contacts in the US and building Poland's security. Tolak assessed that in the context of the new US security strategy, there is a need to review and adapt Polish foreign and security policy. – However, some kind of agreement between the government and the president will undoubtedly be necessary, because the challenge is of critical importance for the security of the Republic of Poland – he noted.
He assessed Nawrocki's current activity in relations with neighbors (except Ukraine) as neutral. As for contacts with Kiev, Tolak noted, the president's views are clearly different from the Polish policy implemented in recent years. According to the expert, this is due to Nawrocki's own perspective on Polish-Ukrainian relations and the views of the presidential support. – A certain advantage is the visit of the President of Ukraine to Warsaw, where President Nawrocki managed to achieve some successes while avoiding serious tensions and crises. However, we should be aware that relations with Ukraine will be extremely important for the interests of the Republic of Poland in the coming years. The president's views and statements may constitute, although I hope this will not happen, a source of serious challenges, he added. (PAP)
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