Andrzej Duda will first meet with politicians from the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party at noon on Tuesday, state news agency PAP reported.
Later in the day, the Polish head of state will host representatives from the main opposition grouping, the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), according to his aides.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the president will meet with politicians from the Third Way alliance, made up of the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL) and the centre-right Poland 2050 grouping, as well as with the leaders of the New Left and Confederation groups, the PAP news agency reported.
In a recent interview for Tygodnik Solidarność weekly, Duda said he would ask the parties about their "policy ideas in the economy, investment, energy and defence," among other areas.
The president said he would also ask each party if they were confident of gaining the support of parliament for their prime ministerial candidate, the PAP news agency reported.
Law and Justice officials have said that outgoing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki would also be their party’s candidate to lead a new Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the Left have announced their intention to form a coalition government led by Donald Tusk, who was prime minister from 2007 to 2014 and also held a top EU job as head of the European Council from 2014 to 2019.
Both Morawiecki and Tusk were expected to take part in Tuesday’s talks with the president, the PAP news agency reported.
The ruling conservatives won Poland's October 15 election, but lost their parliamentary majority, increasing the likelihood of an opposition government.
The governing Law and Justice party, allied with two smaller groupings in a United Right coalition, claimed 35.4 percent of the vote and 194 seats in elections to the lower house of parliament.
Meanwhile, the largest opposition bloc, the Civic Coalition, led by the Civic Platform (PO) party, won 30.7 percent of the vote and 157 seats.
The Third Way alliance finished third at the ballot box with 14.4 percent of the vote and 65 seats, and the opposition New Left party finished fourth with 8.6 percent and 26 seats.
The far-right Confederation group, with 7.2 percent of the vote, also crossed the 5-percent voter support threshold that Polish parties need to clear to enter parliament. It secured 18 lower-house seats.
The Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the New Left together hold 248 seats in the 460-seat lower house.
In addition to seizing control of the lower house, the opposition won 66 senatorial seats, while the ruling conservatives secured 34 seats in the upper house of Poland's bicameral parliament.
The 100-seat upper house, the Senate, is less powerful than the lower chamber, but it can delay or amend legislation. The Sejm, the lower house, needs to muster an absolute majority to override Senate amendments.
Poland to appoint new government
Under the Polish constitution, the new parliament must convene for the first time within 30 days of the election.
The president then has 14 days to nominate a candidate for prime minister. Once named, the nominee has 14 days to secure a vote of confidence from lawmakers. If this attempt is unsuccessful, parliament then selects its own nominee for prime minister.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl
