Watch the video: Poland’s President Duda gives PiS the order to form a government – despite the election defeat
STORY: Polish President Andrzej Duda has given Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of the PiS party the order to form a government. Duda, who is also a member of the PiS, said this in a televised speech on Monday evening. The currently ruling national-conservative PiS (translated as Law and Justice) lost its absolute majority in the parliamentary elections on October 15th. However, it remained the strongest party. However, incumbent Morawiecki and his PiS have little chance of finding a partner to form a coalition. In contrast, three pro-European groups have sufficient mandates in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, to forge a government coalition led by Donald Tusk. Their strongest force is the liberal electoral alliance Citizens Coalition led by Tusk. There are also the Third Way and the New Left. The opposition had already feared that the president might delay the change of government in order to allow the PiS to remain in power for another few months.