Poland’s right-wing President has been largely successful at transforming his office into an assertive centre of resistance to the liberal centrist-led government, frustrating its agenda through extensive use of constitutional powers. He has emerged as the leading unifying figure on the fragmented Polish right but faces new challenges moving towards the next election. Scuppering the government’s reform agenda Last month, Polish President Karol Nawrocki marked the first anniversary of his inauguration following a surprise victory in the May-June 2025 presidential election over Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the liberal-centrist Civic Coalition (KO), Poland’s main governing party since autumn 2023 led by prime minister Donald Tusk.

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The biggest-ever split within Poland’s main right-wing opposition party is a serious self-inflicted wound, signalling a more fragmented conservative landscape and complicating the right’s path back to power. While it provides a tactical boost for the Tusk government, there is still every chance of a conservative comeback if the right-wing parties co-operate effectively. Radical right challengers At the end of last month, the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Poland’s ruling party between 2015-23 and currently the main opposition grouping, saw the biggest split in its 25-year history.

YouTube video by TALKING WITH TVP WORLD

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The parliamentary survival of Poland’s agrarian party is on a knife-edge as it has lost much of core rural-agricultural electorate, and its distinctive identity is overshadowed in the governing coalition. The party’s ability to clear the electoral representation threshold could determine whether pro-government groupings secure a majority at the next election. A class-based rural-agricultural party In December 2023, a coalition headed up by liberal-centrist Civic Coalition (KO, until last autumn Civic Platform: PO) leader Donald Tusk took office following eight years’ rule by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, currently the main opposition grouping.

Nature kindergarten, Bee in the Woods, founder & Sussex alumna, Lucy Owen-Collins, has been awarded an MBE for her services to Early Years education.

So far, practice theory has not considered in detail how practices contribute to the constitution of time. This paper aims to address this lacuna by investigating what role emotions play in this proce...

Decolonizing Queer Migration - Iranian Voices in Exile; Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book offers an unprecedented study of how forced migration shapes gender and sex...

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We examine the prospects for Poland’s ruling coalition ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election. Plus: we head to Paris to...

Poland’s ruling coalition is likely to survive until the scheduled 2027 parliamentary election despite presidential veto constraints and internal frictions because access to state resources incentivises cohesion. However, its re-election prospects depend on whether the election focuses on the government’s domestic record or national security narratives. Little prospect of an early election In December 2023, a coalition headed up by liberal-centrist Civic Coalition (KO) leader Donald Tusk took office following eight years’ rule by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, currently the main opposition grouping.

The inside story of a climate summit unlike any other

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A interdisciplinary arts hub connecting University of Sussex to Brighton & Hove and the wider international arts community.

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An event by the Catalysts for Decolonisation Research Lab. Speakers Manuela Boatcă (University of Freiburg, Germany) Aleksandra Lewicki (Sussex European Institute) About this event In this event, Prof...