Karol Nawrocki leads CBOS trust poll at 51% as Donald Tusk gains 7 points

President Nawrocki maintains top position despite drop

President Karol Nawrocki remains the most trusted political figure in Poland, according to the August 2026 survey conducted by the CBOS research center. The study recorded 51% of respondents declaring trust in the president, a decrease of 4 percentage points compared to the 55% recorded in July. Meanwhile, distrust toward the head of state increased by 3 percentage points to reach 36%. Despite these changes, Nawrocki remains the only politician in the ranking whose trust level exceeds 50%.

Government ministers gain ground in August poll

Ministers representing the ruling coalition saw broad improvements in their ratings throughout late August, narrowing the gap with the presidency. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz secured second place in the ranking with 44% trust (up 3 percentage points from July), while distrust toward him dropped 5 percentage points from 32% to 27%. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski took third place with 43% trust (up 2 percentage points), alongside a 7 percentage point decline in distrust, down from 36% to 29%. Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski returned to fourth place with 40% trust, reflecting a 6 percentage point increase, while distrust toward him fell by 8 percentage points to 40%.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk achieved the largest individual trust gain in the August survey. Trust in the prime minister rose 7 percentage points from 32% in July to 39%, while distrust fell by 7 percentage points from 53% to 46%. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also recorded improved ratings, with trust rising 4 percentage points to 30% and distrust declining 6 percentage points to 22%.

CBOS described the monthly changes across party lines:

After the July drop, the end of the summer brought an improvement in the ratings of the ruling coalition politicians, alongside a slight deterioration in the ratings of opposition politicians.

Opposition figures see falling ratings and elevated distrust

Ratings for opposition figures deteriorated across several metrics in the August poll. Confederation co-leader Krzysztof Bosak placed sixth overall with 34% trust, down 4 percentage points from July, with an identical 34% of respondents expressing distrust. The party's second co-leader, Sławomir Mentzen, recorded 31% trust and 43% distrust.

Figures from right-wing opposition parties occupied the highest positions in the distrust ranking. Confederation of the Polish Crown leader Grzegorz Braun registered the highest distrust level in the survey at 60%, an increase of 9 percentage points from the previous month. Law and Justice party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński followed closely with 59% distrust (up 5 percentage points). Former education minister Przemysław Czarnek received 54% distrust (up 3 percentage points), and former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki recorded 52% distrust (up 2 percentage points).

Survey methodology and sample composition

The CBOS survey was conducted between 20–30 August 2026 using a representative sample of 935 adult Polish citizens drawn from the national PESEL registry. The research institute employed a mixed-mode methodology to collect responses across the country. Face-to-face direct interviews accounted for 63.6% of the total sample, computer-assisted telephone interviews made up 19.4%, and online web interviews represented the remaining 17%.