Jacobin Radio: How the Right Won in Poland w/ David Ost

David Ost, professor of politics and Hobart and William Smith, joins Suzi to unpack Poland’s June 1 presidential election. The race was tight, but in the end, Karol Nawrocki, the far-right, hardline nationalist with MAGA-style politics and Trump’s backing, narrowly defeated Warsaw's liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.

After voters rejected Trumpist candidates in recent elections in Canada, Australia and Romania, Polish voters went the other way, swinging back to the hard right just two years after electing liberal leader Donald Tusk. What does this election reveal about the continuing attraction of the authoritarian and nationalist right to working class voters?

Ost argues that Tusk in power promised a program of radical changes, but delivered too little, dampening enthusiasm and turnout, echoing the troubles of Biden and Harris in the US. There was also the liberal-left campaign which focused on Nawrocki’s negative personal qualities, including criticism of his tough working class background, rather than his reactionary, xenophobic, chauvinist agenda — missteps that fed class resentment and fueled the far right.

Populism has shown to have staying power, and center-left governance has failed to offer a durable counter. Is Poland a warning to liberal democrats everywhere? What are the implications for Ukraine, Europe and the globe?

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.