Warsaw
Donald Tusk is to form a new Polish government
Donald Tusk is the future head of government of Poland. photo
© Michal Dyjuk/AP/dpa
The transfer of power is in full swing: Parliament has commissioned the previous opposition leader Donald Tusk to form a government. Tusk wants to present his cabinet tomorrow.
Poland’s parliament has the former opposition leader Donald Tusk appointed as future head of government. 248 of the 449 MPs present voted for the head of the liberal-conservative Citizens Coalition (KO). This means that the change of power in Warsaw takes place almost two months after the parliamentary elections. The national conservative incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously failed in parliament with a vote of confidence for his new PiS government. Tusk wants to present his cabinet tomorrow.
In the election on October 15, three pro-European parties from the previous opposition, led by former EU Council President Tusk, won a clear majority of 248 of the total 460 seats in the Sejm. A coalition agreement was signed weeks ago, and the distribution of departments has also been clarified. The former ruling party PiS became the strongest faction, but fell short of an absolute majority.
Does Tusk pass the vote of confidence?
Despite this majority, President Andrzej Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PiS, commissioned Morawiecki to form a government and sworn in his cabinet at the end of November. The government, which had no chance from the start, remained in office for two weeks.
Now it’s Tusk’s turn. The 66-year-old from Danzig wants to present his cabinet tomorrow and make a government statement. Then he has to ask the question of trust. Since he has a solid majority, he will most likely pass. President Duda is expected to swear in the new government on Wednesday.