Karol Nawrocki, the Polish conservative opposition’s presidential candidate, has pointed the finger at “European elites” for fueling the war in Ukraine—lumping Prime Minister Donald Tusk into that group, calling him “a butler for Europe’s elites.”
Campaigning on February 18, Nawrocki claimed the recent Munich Security Conference and Emmanuel Macron’s Ukraine summit in Paris exposed the failures of EU leadership. According to him, European decisions toward Putin paved the way for war. His argument aligns with the long-standing conservative view that countries like Germany bankrolled Russia’s military might by eagerly purchasing its gas.
He then appeared to conflate former U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2009 missile defense policy shift with a formal pact, alleging that “a deal with Putin” was made with Tusk’s blessing. While he did emphasize that Russia remains the aggressor, he warned against European elites jeopardizing Poland’s ties with the U.S.
Nawrocki doubled down on his attacks, branding Tusk “the butler” and pro-EU presidential rival Rafał Trzaskowski “the deputy butler.” He insisted that if Trzaskowski won in May, Poland would lose its independence and become a mere puppet of Brussels.
His stance on Ukraine’s EU and NATO prospects also sparked controversy. In January, he dismissed Kyiv’s candidacy due to its refusal to fully acknowledge the massacre of Polish civilians during WWII. That remark led President Zelensky to publicly criticize him, which some in Poland saw as foreign interference in the election.
Tusk and his allies slammed Nawrocki’s rhetoric, accusing him of parroting Kremlin propaganda by blaming the West for the war. On February 19, Tusk fired back online: “Nawrocki says Europe provoked the war. Jarosław [Kaczyński], this is your last chance to swap candidates—unless the Kremlin’s narrative is now PiS policy.”
Polls show Trzaskowski leading with over 30%, followed by Nawrocki at 25%, while right-wing Confederation candidate Sławomir Mentzen trails at 15%.
