With Ukraine’s conference call just around the corner, Donald Trump decided to include Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the call, over Prime Minister Donald Tusk, further highlighting the tensions between his direct competitors and the country’s top political leaders. The invitation could be interpreted as a political strategy, as it comes at a time when Poland is seeking to project an image of unity on the international stage.
Trump chooses Nawrocki at strategic meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump at the last minute requested MAGA-allied Polish President Karol Nawrocki join the Ukraine teleconference with European leaders on Wednesday, according to centrist Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Nawrocki’s bitter political rival who had been expected to attend. Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and Eurosceptic, is an ally of Trump’s right-wing populist MAGA political movement and visited the White House during Poland’s presidential election campaign this year.
“Just before midnight yesterday we received information, alongside our European partners, that the American side would prefer that Poland was represented by the president in contacts with President Trump,” Tusk told a news conference.
Internal rivalry gains international stage
Tusk’s replacement by Nawrocki was interpreted by the prime minister’s allies as a sign of Washington’s alignment with the new Polish presidential leadership. Nawrocki’s supporters, however, see the move as a reinforcement of the president’s international prestige and his closeness to the Trump administration, something that could open the door to more direct negotiations between Warsaw and Washington.
A Polish government spokesperson said on Tuesday that Tusk, a former head of the European Council of leaders, would attend the call with Trump. But Nawrocki foreign policy adviser Marcin Przydacz told reporters he had “no information that Prime Minister Donald Tusk had previously planned to participate.” He said Tusk’s team showed it did not have good contacts with the Trump administration because it was under the impression Tusk would take part.
Polish diplomacy under dual command
Government spokesman Adam Szlapka said Tusk was representing Poland in two calls on Wednesday with European leaders but not Trump. Przydacz said the offices of the president and prime minister would exchange information about the meetings. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke to Trump ahead of the U.S. president’s summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, stressing the need to protect Kyiv’s interests.
This dual representation could be detrimental to the country, as it weakens the clarity of Poland’s position on key issues, such as the war in Ukraine and negotiations with global powers. There is also a risk that internal disagreements will become more visible abroad, which could be exploited by adversaries to reduce Poland’s influence in important negotiations.
Krzysztof Izdebski, policy director at the Batory Foundation, said having two political opponents represent Poland created a risk of mixed messages.
“This shows that, even in foreign policy, in such a key issue of security, we are simply hostage to internal politics and a certain competition between various state bodies,” he said.
Unity in support of Ukraine, divergence on other issues
Nawrocki and PiS are strong supporters of Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces, as is Tusk and his government, but they differ on issues such as abortion, family values and the rule of law. Tusk said that he respected the U.S. request to keep contacts at the presidential level, but this should not be used to “play Poles against each other”.
Despite internal political disputes, the consensus on the need to support Ukraine remains a point of convergence between the government and the presidency. However, the way this cooperation is communicated to the world will directly impact Poland’s capacity to maintain an image as a reliable partner, capable of separating partisan interests from international strategic priorities.
GCN.com/Reuters