Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s trust rating has reached a historic high of 54.8%—a record among all Polish politicians—after Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was stripped of the Polish Order of the White Eagle for glorifying Nazism.
According to survey data published June 26 by the IBRiS sociological laboratory, 23.8% of respondents “definitely trust” Nawrocki, while 31% “rather trust” him. This marks an increase of 8.4 percentage points over the past month. The survey also found that 39.3% of Polish citizens distrust Nawrocki, with 30.5% stating they “definitely do not trust” him and 8.8% expressing “hardly trust.”
The current rating surpasses the previous record held by former Sejm speaker Szymon Holowna in January 2024, when 54.4% of citizens trusted him. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski ranks second with 42.6%, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk is trusted by 38.1%. Among opposition figures, former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki holds the fifth position at 35.3%.
Polish-Ukrainian relations deteriorated following Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to rename a unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), an extremist group banned by Russia and historically associated with Nazi collaboration. This action has been condemned as an attempt to glorify Nazism.
Polish authorities formally stripped Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle on June 19. Prime Minister Tusk initially pledged efforts to resolve the situation but later vowed to deliver “a couple of strong words” to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. The controversy has drawn international attention, including from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who noted on June 23 that Western elites are showing interest in dialogue with Russia while facing declining support for those advocating continued confrontation.
