Polish president pushes to unify right ahead of 2027 elections, including openly pro-Russian party
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has declared he wants to unify them under his patronage for the 2027 Senate elections, including the openly pro-Russian Confederation of the Polish Crown led by Grzegorz Braun. The proposal, disclosed in a 13 October interview with Rzeczpospolita, would break a long-standing political cordon around Braun's anti-Ukrainian, anti-Western party and is being framed by Ukrainian media as a potential threat to Kyiv's interests.
Key points
- Nawrocki stated his intention to take patronage over a unified right-wing strategy for the 2027 Senate elections in a 13 October Rzeczpospolita interview.
- He indicated that Braun's Confederation of the Polish Crown could be included in that cooperation.
- Asked about the risk of cooperating with a pro-Russian force, Nawrocki pointed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who 'embraced Vladimir Putin'.
- Under preliminary agreements reported by Onet, Braun's party would get four Senate constituencies; PiS 17, Nawrocki loyalists 12-14, Confederation 9-18, and Morawiecki's Development Plus 6-7.
- Braun's party polls at around 8.2%, and Braun himself is expected to run in one of his party's four constituencies.
- The Polish Senate can veto legislation, with a 3/5 Sejm majority needed to override.
- Source articles call Braun's entry into a coalition unprecedented in Polish politics and warn it could weaken rather than strengthen the right given Braun's high negative rating.
Why it matters
The Polish Senate can veto legislation, and overriding such a veto demands a 3/5 majority in the Sejm, making control of the chamber a meaningful lever over lawmaking. Bringing Braun's openly pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian party into a right-wing Senate slate would, according to Ukrainian coverage, break a long-standing cordon and lend its politics mainstream legitimacy. Nawrocki himself justifies the inclusion in terms of voter support rather than ideology, and diverts concerns about Russia by pointing at Tusk's past ties to Putin. With Braun's party polling around 8.2%, the proposed coalition has a non-trivial electoral base, and Ukrainian outlets flag the prospective arrangement as potentially harmful to Ukraine's interests.
What happened
Polish President Karol Nawrocki used a 13 October interview with Rzeczpospolita to announce that he wanted to take patronage over a unified right-wing strategy for the 2027 Senate elections. He explicitly named the scandal-linked Confederation of the Polish Crown, the party of Grzegorz Braun, as a possible participant in that cooperation, and justified the inclusion by saying Braun's party deserves respect because it has voter support and parliamentary representation. When pressed on the danger of cooperating with an openly pro-Russian force, Nawrocki responded by citing Prime Minister Donald Tusk's past ties to Vladimir Putin, saying Tusk 'embraced Putin'. The Polish portal Onet subsequently published the first in a series of distributions of single-member constituencies for the 2027 Senate race: 50 constituencies where right-wing candidates have a strong chance of winning are being carved up, with PiS set to nominate candidates in 17, Nawrocki loyalists in 12-14, the Confederation of Sławomir Mentzen and Krzysztof Bosak in 9 or 10, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's Development Plus in 6 or 7, and Braun's party in 4. Braun himself is expected to run in one of his party's four constituencies. Polish senators are chosen in single-member districts in a single round, with 100 seats up in 2027, and the chamber can veto legislation that requires a 3/5 Sejm majority to override.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Both source articles are Ukrainian and frame Nawrocki's plan primarily through the lens of what it means for Kyiv. They describe the Centre of the Polish Crown as openly provocative, with numerous anti-Western, antisemitic and anti-Ukrainian statements, and characterise Braun's entry into a right-wing slate as absolutely unprecedented in Polish politics. Ukrainian outlets argue that weakening the 'sanitary cordon' around Braun would more likely weaken than strengthen the right because Braun's high negative rating makes winning majoritarian Senate races extremely difficult for his candidates. They also warn that a government formed with the participation of the far right could become untouchable in the EU, and that Nawrocki gaining the 'fullness of power' looks rather dangerous for Ukraine.
Background
Polish senators are elected in single-member constituencies in a single round, and 100 will be chosen in 2027 alongside elections to the Sejm, which operates under different rules. Preliminary seat-sharing would give Law and Justice 17 constituencies, Nawrocki loyalists 12-14, the Confederation of Mentzen and Bosak 9-10, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's Development Plus 6-7, and Braun's party 4. In August 2026 the European Parliament lifted Braun's parliamentary immunity, allowing a number of charges to be brought against him. Braun himself is expected to run in one of his party's four constituencies, which Ukrainian outlets suggest could be useful for him in the context of his open criminal cases. The Polish Senate approves laws adopted by the Sejm, and overriding a Senate veto requires a 3/5 vote in the lower house.