The streets of Warsaw , typically lively even in political disappointment, fell into an eerie quiet after Poland’s presidential runoff. It wasn’t just the typical hush of resignation, though.

As Warsaw-based Israeli journalist Hagay Hacohen told The Jerusalem Post just days after Karol Nawrocki ’s victory, even the subdued bustle of daily life seemed to pause. On trams and buses, conversations stopped. Phones went silent.

The capital, which had thrown its support behind the Civic Coalition’s candidate and the city’s mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, seemed shocked in shared disbelief.

This reaction captured the psychological weight of the result. Nawrocki’s narrow win, securing just over 50.8% of the vote, marked a stunning reversal of the liberal optimism that swept Prime Minister Donald

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