Poland has just turned the page on eight years of nationalist populist government. Donald Tusk, leader of the coalition of pro-European forces, was elected Monday evening as Prime Minister by the Diet.
In the lower house of parliament, 248 deputies voted for him and 201 against. Controlled by the pro-EU alliance, the Diet rejected earlier Monday the proposal for a new government from the nationalist populists in power since 2015.
Tusk wants “everyone to feel at home in Poland”
After his election, the former head of the European Council thanked the Poles for their trust shown during the October 15 elections. “This is a great day for all those who, for many years, believed that things would get better, that we would drive away the darkness, the evil,” he said. “From tomorrow, we will be able to right the wrongs, so that everyone feels at home in Poland,” he added.
Responding to Donald Tusk, the leader of the populist Law and Justice (PiS), Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called him a “German agent”. He has long accused the Civic Coalition and Donald Tusk himself of representing German and Russian interests.
Even if the coalition of pro-European forces won the legislative elections of October 15, it was to the outgoing nationalist power that President Andrzej Duda, his ally, first entrusted the task of forming a government. But, made up of the Civic Coalition (KO, center), the Third Way (Christian Democrat) and The Left, the pro-European coalition has 248 deputies, facing 194 elected representatives from PiS and 18 others from the Confederation (far right), on a total of 460 seats.
Ursula von der Leyen satisfied
This Tuesday, Donald Tusk is expected to present his own policy speech and his government, and immediately submit to the vote of confidence, before taking the oath of office on Wednesday to complete the procedures required by the Constitution. He therefore intends to be able to represent his country at the next European summit, Thursday and Friday in Brussels.
“I look forward to working with you, starting with the important European summit this week,” reacted Monday evening on X the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. During the election campaign, Donald Tusk made a point of releasing billions of euros in European aid which had been frozen due to long-standing tensions between Brussels and the outgoing government.
Expectations are enormous for this future pro-European government, but populist nationalists will remain a powerful opposition and will continue to control several state institutions. Analysts speak of “a spider’s web” woven by the PiS around the State, all the more solid as the presidential mandate of Andrzej Duda does not end until 2025 and he can at any time exercise its right of veto on laws adopted by parliament.