Karol Nawrocki sworn in as Poland's president, opening cohabitation with Tusk

Karol Nawrocki was sworn in as President of Poland on 6 August 2025, taking the oath before the National Assembly, the joint session of the Sejm and the Senate. He succeeded Andrzej Duda after winning the runoff election in June 2025, backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS) and by a historian's profile as former head of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the state body that archives communist-era records.

His arrival began a period of cohabitation, in which the president and the government come from opposing camps. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition controls the parliament and the cabinet, while the president holds a veto over legislation and influence over judicial appointments.

The relationship was soon marked by frequent disputes, especially over the courts and efforts to change the judiciary after the PiS years. Nawrocki's veto power meant the governing coalition could not pass many of its plans without his consent. This balance of power shaped later political manoeuvring, including debate among coalition parties and talks with opposition groups such as Konfederacja about how to govern and what changes to the constitutional order were possible.