Polish president-elect Karol Nawrocki’s victory shows that conservative populism remains strong in that vital country. The results also reveal something that could be equally important to Poland’s future: conservative populism is itself changing.

The Law and Justice party (known as PiS after its Polish initials) has long dominated the Polish Right. Born in 2001 as the first dominant post-Communist political party, Solidarity Electoral Action, dissolved, PiS has always embraced social conservatism and an economic policy derived from Catholic social justice teaching. 

This blend of traditional morality and a Polish version of Germany’s social market economy propelled it to become the leading force of Polish conservatism by 2005. It has since maintained that position, seeing off potential challenges from personalist populist or conservative parties in the early to mid-2010s.