Poland’s southeastern town of Jasionka hosted the first Polish edition of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on May 27.

The gathering took place just days before a tight presidential election between liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian backed by the radical right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party boasts ties to President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

Trzaskowski and Nawrocki are virtually level in final polls before the vote, which is due on June 1. The election will largely determine the fate of the incumbent government of Donald Tusk, who has so far failed to enact his agenda because key legislation continues to be blocked by President Andrzej Duda, an ally of PiS.

Duda took to the stage at CPAC to offer the participants an analogy between the ongoing presidential campaign in Poland and Trump's campaign in 2024.

“Our guests from the US understand well what it means when a presidential race is drawing to a close and a patriotic, conservative candidate becomes the target of relentless, ruthless attacks — attacks that are brutal, thuggish, and layered with deceit,” Duda said.

“We need you to elect the right leader … and turn Europe back to conservative values,” Kristi Noem, US Homeland Security Secretary and a close Trump ally, told the event.

Noem also called Trzaskowski “an absolute train wreck of a leader,” and stressed that electing Nawrocki would guarantee continued American military support for Poland. “You will have strong borders and protect your communities and keep them safe,” Noem said.

Defence and security feature high on the presidential campaign’s agenda in Poland, a country that has strong ties to the US – not least because of multi-billion arms purchases – although Tusk and his government were shaken by Trump’s re-election in 2024.

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp opened the conference with a speech asserting that conservatives globally are engaged in a struggle against “globalists,” whom he described as opponents of faith, family and freedom. 

Schlapp also hinted at Nawrocki being the best choice for Poland, as did John Eastman, a conservative lawyer known for his role in Trump’s failed attempts to overturn the 2020 US election, according to a report by Reuters.

Eastman warned of a cultural and ideological decline spreading across the continent, adding that “Poland is poised to play a critical role in defeating this threat to Western civilisation.” 

“That is why the election this coming Sunday is so important," Eastman said.

CPAC’s event in Poland followed similar meetings in Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Mexico City and Israel, part of an effort to expand the global conservative movement. 

Jasionka was a symbolic choice to host the event. The town lies in the southeastern Polish region of Subcarpathia, a PiS stronghold. The local military airport is also the West’s crucial hub for supplying military and humanitarian help to Ukraine.