Overview

• Karol Nawrocki secured the presidency with 50.89% of the vote and will be inaugurated on August 6 with the power to veto legislation.
• Nawrocki’s ties to the Law and Justice party and inexperience fuel expectations that he will obstruct Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s judicial and social reform agenda.
• European Commission spokespeople have voiced concern that Poland’s EU-backed judicial overhaul could be delayed under the new president’s obstruction.
• In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders withdrew his PVV party from the governing coalition over demands for stricter immigration policies, causing Prime Minister Dick Schoof to resign.
• The Dutch government’s collapse has plunged the country into uncertainty ahead of early elections and a major upcoming NATO summit in The Hague.