The Polish parliament on Monday appointed former opposition leader Donald Tusk as the future head of government. 248 of the 449 MPs present voted for the head of the liberal-conservative Civic Coalition (KO). Current incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized his successor in a final speech.
Incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously failed with his new cabinet in parliament. In a vote of confidence on Monday, only 190 of 456 MPs voted for Morawiecki’s national-conservative PiS government. 266 against.
Morawiecki used his last appearance as head of government to criticize Tusk. His liberal policies as head of government from 2007 to 2014 made Poland subject to foreign interests and put pressure on the economy, he said. In his speech, the right-wing conservative politician outlined a vision of a Poland that would become a “country of well-paid specialists” and have a “living standard at the level of Western Europe, without repeating the mistakes there.”
A member of Tusk’s Citizens’ Coalition (KO) stood with her back to him during Morawiecki’s speech as a sign of protest. Tusk responded to the PiS head of government’s swan song on the X platform (formerly Twitter) with the following words: “Ready, ready, ready! (“Set, go!”).
Standing ovation for Lech Wałęsa
Poland’s first democratically elected president after the fall of communism, trade union leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa, was present in the Sejm and received a standing ovation from the opposition. The 80-year-old wore a sweater with the words “Constitution” written on it. In doing so, opponents of the ruling party PiS express their criticism of the party’s rule, which they regard as a democratic backsliding.
In the parliamentary elections on October 15, three pro-European parties from the previous opposition, led by former EU Council President Tusk, won a clear majority of 248 out of 460 seats in the Sejm. A coalition agreement has already been signed. The PiS received only 194 seats and has no coalition partner.
Despite this majority, President Andrzej Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PiS, tasked Morawiecki with forming a government and was sworn into his cabinet at the end of November. The constitution stipulates that the head of government must submit a motion of confidence in parliament within fourteen days of being sworn in. Only if he fails will it be Parliament’s turn to elect a government from its majority.
The government will be sworn in on Wednesday
Tusk has announced that he will make a government statement on Tuesday and in turn ask for a vote of confidence. The presidential office said on Saturday that President Duda “has no intention of delaying.” The new government could therefore be sworn in on Wednesday morning.
It is eagerly awaited to see how the relationship between the former close EU allies Poland and Hungary will develop under Tusk. The Hungarian online portal nepszava.hu wrote on Monday that the relationship would cool down.
The portal referred to statements by Tusk that Poland was dealing with a Hungarian government that had openly sided with the Russians. It remains to be seen what he (Tusk) can do in such a situation. Tusk wants to try to negotiate with the Hungarian Prime Minister. However, he does not believe he can change Viktor Orbán’s position, given his close relations with Russia and Vladimir Putin.
Source: Krone
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