Support for Poland's president soars to historic high, survey finds

Public trust in Polish President Karol Nawrocki has risen to the highest level recorded since the survey began, a new poll conducted by IBRiS for Onet says.

Nawrocki topped the trust ranking among Polish politicians with a positive rating of 54.8%, including 23.8% of respondents who said they "definitely trust" him and 31% who said they "rather trust" him. The figure represents an increase of 8.4 percentage points from a month earlier, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

A total of 39.3% expressed a negative opinion of the president, with 30.5% saying they "definitely do not trust" him and 8.8% saying they "rather do not trust" him.

The result surpasses the previous all-time record of 54.4% set by Szymon Hołownia, then Speaker of the Sejm and leader of the Poland 2050 party, at the height of his popularity in January 2024.

According to Onet, the increase in Nawrocki's approval rating may be linked to the recent diplomatic dispute with Ukraine following his decision to revoke the Order of the White Eagle previously awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The dispute stems from Kyiv's decision to grant one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the honorary title "Named After the Heroes of the UPA," a move that reignited long-standing historical disagreements between Poland and Ukraine.

According to the report, Zelenskyy responded by returning the Polish state award to Warsaw by mail. The Ukrainian president argued that Nawrocki "is continuing his political struggle within his own country through hatred of Ukrainians."

Nawrocki rejected that characterization, saying the dispute "does not concern Poland's domestic policy" but rather reflects differing perspectives on historical issues.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski ranked second in the survey, with 42.6% of respondents expressing trust in him, while 51% said they did not trust the foreign minister.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk placed third with a trust rating of 38.1%, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous month. However, 57.6% of respondents said they did not trust the head of government.

The IBRiS survey was conducted by telephone between June 19 and June 21 among a representative sample of 1,100 adult Polish citizens.

By Vafa Guliyeva