Why an anti-Ukrainian radical has gained popularity in Poland and what it could mean
Grzegorz Braun has become one of the main sensations of the recent presidential elections in Poland.
A politician long known as a professional provocateur who built his political brand on anti-Ukrainian, antisemitic and conspiratorial narratives, Braun unexpectedly came fourth in the election.
According to the latest polling data, Grzegorz Braun's party has a real chance of independently entering the Sejm (Polish parliament).
Read more about who Grzegorz Braun is and why his popularity in Poland is growing in the article by Stanislav Zhelikhovsky, PhD in political science and international expert: Ukrainophobe, antisemite and provocateur: how Grzegorz Braun became a 'star' of Polish politics.
In 2019, Braun became one of the leaders of the small but soon widely recognised party Confederation of the Polish Crown, which joined the broader political alliance Confederation for Freedom and Independence.
This alliance united right-wing nationalists, ultraconservatives and monarchists under one banner and served as Braun’s political platform for some time.
He became one of the most recognisable faces of the united Confederation.
In 2024, Braun was elected to the European Parliament, after which he again made headlines with his radical rhetoric and performative protests.
However, the beginning of 2025, a presidential election year, was marked by a split.
In January, Braun was officially expelled from the parliamentary Confederation, as the party sought to "clean up" its image ahead of the key electoral event.
Yet this expulsion opened up a new political window of opportunity.
He ran his campaign on hardline talking points: anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, calls to halt migration, promises to impose a total abortion ban and "cleanse" Poland of foreign influence, and attacks on international organisations like the EU (he supports a "well-prepared Polexit"), the WHO and others.
Braun tore down Ukrainian flags, burned the EU flag, vandalised a parliamentary exhibition on tolerance and physically attacked a doctor he accused of performing abortions. Despite widespread predictions of marginalisation, he won a surprisingly high 6.34% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election – over one million votes.
This result opened the door for Braun to pursue an independent political career. Recent polls show that his Confederation of the Polish Crown now has a good chance of entering the Sejm.
And while the Polish Sejm’s administration has barred Braun from entering the parliamentary grounds, he could return there after the next elections.
However, his 10 July appearance on Radio Wnet may prove to be a turning point. Even the most provocation-weary politicians were shocked.
During the interview, Braun questioned the very existence of gas chambers in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. He also repeated age-old conspiratorial claims about alleged ritual murders, a classic trope of antisemitic propaganda.
Prosecutors are now "conducting a review," and this won’t be the first attempt to bring Braun to criminal justice.
The far-right politician currently faces charges in seven separate cases, but as expected, he denies all allegations.
Will criminal prosecution bring an end to Braun’s political career or only give it more momentum?
The story of Grzegorz Braun is not just about a scandalous politician. It is also a serious warning about the vulnerability of Polish politics to radicalisation – a trend that poses significant risks not only to Poland itself but also to other countries, especially Ukraine.
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19 of July 2025
