In the presidential elections in Poland, young people voted en masse for eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki and sealed his victory. Why were the liberal forces in the country unable to win them over?
"I voted for Karol Nawrocki for a very simple reason: I don't want the ruling Civic Coalition (CC) to have unlimited power“, says 19-year-old Maciej from a small Polish town near Lodz. He is one of the young Poles who voted for the first time in their lives. The young man is among the nearly three million supporters of right-wing extremist Slawomir Menzen and his “Confederation“ party. This large group, mostly young voters, ultimately brought Karol Nawrocki the final success in the presidential runoff last Sunday (01.06.2025).
The battle was extremely contested: the Eurosceptic candidate of the opposition party “Law and Justice“ (PiS) received 50.89% of the vote, while Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, a representative of the ruling camp, garnered 49.11% approval.
Young Poles and the "Menzen" phenomenon
The second round of the presidential elections in Poland was marked by a battle for the votes of young voters between the ages of 18 and 39. In the first round, they had mostly preferred candidates not affiliated with one of the two major rival camps. Their favorite turned out to be the right-wing extremist Slawomir Menzen, who received 14.8% of the vote in the first round, finishing third.
The end of the bipolar model
What do young Poles want and why have the liberal forces in the country failed to win them over?
"We want to destroy the bipolar model that has divided Poland for two decades," says 19-year-old Maciej, adding that PiS and GK "have been governing without interruption for 20 years, only showering each other with accusations and threats."
Another Menzen supporter has a similar opinion: "I'm fed up with these parties in which politicians I know from the past are pulling the strings. "I want young blood to enter this isolated environment," says Michal, 37, from Toruń in northern Poland. He hesitated for a long time whether to vote at all in the second round, but in the end he went and cast his vote for the liberal candidate Trzaskowski.
Mateusz, 31, from Warsaw, an employee of a large concern, also voted for Trzaskowski in the second round. He criticizes the two major parties that have shaped Polish politics for years. Mateusz believes that their policies are not oriented towards the future, which is why he is following the development of the alternative formations - the "Confederation" and the Left with interest.
Sociologist Pawel Marchewski confirms the tendency not to support either of the two major political camps: "We are talking about voters who are against the two main political poles. They want something new and Menzen offered it to them," he explains. The sociologist says that even Nawrocki tried to distance himself from PiS before the decisive second round. “The details of his past as a hooligan and alleged contacts with the underworld, which have been revealed in recent weeks, may have even made him more believable in the eyes of young people. This has shown them that Nawrocki is not some pawn in the hands of PiS, nor is he the typical conservative intellectual from the “Civil Coalition“, says Marchewski.
"No" to migration, "yes" to the army
The scientist describes the country's young people as a heterogeneous group that is generally satisfied with their lives in today's Poland. They expect from the state, above all, better healthcare, greater internal security, lower living costs and strong control over migration. Unlike the older generation in Poland, young people are more afraid of migration than of the danger associated with Russian aggression.
What else is important to young Poles? "The economy," says 19-year-old Maciej, adding: "I trust a person like Menzen, who has a doctorate in economics and earns enough money not to be forced to strive for a parliamentary salary."
Other important issues that concern him are related to illegal migration and the army: "I don't want my country to look like Sweden, France or Germany, so that my female colleagues are afraid to leave their homes at night," explains Maciej. In his opinion, Poland should invest more in the production of ammunition and equipment for the army, but not send troops to Ukraine. In these areas of policy, Maciej is betting on Nawrocki: “With a president like Nawrocki, there is a greater chance that we will reject the harmful European migration pact and the "Green Deal". And we will be able to feel secure, as before“.
Discussions with youth
The information about Nawrocki's dark past apparently did not turn voters away from him. Maciej also believes that it was inappropriate to portray Nawrocki as a pimp or a gangster until he was convicted.
The presidential race in Poland also shows a change among young voters. Until recently, their behavior as a group was rather passive. But this is clearly changing, because if they want to be heard in an aging society, young people need to intervene more actively in the political debate. “The group of 18 to 39-year-olds is smaller than that of 60-year-olds in Poland,“ explains sociologist Pawel Marchewski. “Young people know that they need to be active and participate in the elections. They are looking for candidates who give them the feeling that they represent them.“