Although neither of the two main political factions in Poland (the ruling coalition of The Left, the liberal KO and the moderate right Poland 2050 versus the populist right coalition headed by Law and Justice) have confirmed their candidates for 2025's presidential elections, there is considerable discussion about the possibility of joint candidates.
As Rzeczpospolita and the Polish Press Agency PAP have reported, Rafał Trzaskowski has been "confirmed" by a recent opinion poll that found that 50% of those asked felt the ruling coalition should field a joint candidate and that 55% felt it should be Trzaskowski.
Trzaskowski is perceived as a popular figure in elections since he stepped in at the last minute in the 2015 presidential elections and almost caught up Law and Justice's candidate Andrzej Duda who had been leading by a large margin.
Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, is perceived as a liberal candidate but is also Catholic and is not known for harsh polemics against his opponents.
While several names have been touted by the opposition, two of the top three - Mateusz Morawiecki and Beata Szydło (both former prime ministers) - are controversial within Law and Justice itself. Mateusz Morawiecki has never been fully accepted into the "monastery" ("Zakon" - the inner circle of Law and Justice) and Beata Szydło has recently had an open fight with party chair Jarosław Kaczyński who recommended a "young, male, international candidate" - i.e. not her.
In this context a new favourite has emerged on the populist right: Karol Nawrocki who currently heads the important and controversial Institute for National Remembrance (IPN).
In interviews, Nawrocki has been much less confrontational and divisive than other Law and Justice candidates - the former education minister Przemysław Czarnek or the former defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak. He is not a very well-known personality in Poland, but the same was true of the candidacy of the current president Andrzej Duda.
Sources: RMF24, PAP, Rzeczpospolita, Polish Radio
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