Marek Sawicki from the agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL) made the comment in a media interview on Wednesday night, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Sawicki, who is set to open the inaugural session of Poland’s new parliament on Monday, told private broadcaster TVN24: “On November 13 or 14, President Andrzej Duda will officially entrust the mission of forming a new government to the current Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Mateusz Morawiecki will have 14 days to form a new Cabinet, but it is by no means certain that it will happen.”
The opposition lawmaker added that, after being tapped to establish a new government, Morawiecki could "immediately inform the president that he resigns from the mission as it is not possible to secure the backing of a parliamentary majority for the new Cabinet.”
Sawicki said that such a move by Morawiecki “is very likely,” given the balance of forces in the new parliament and the insufficient number of seats won by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The politician added that the lower house, the Sejm, would then appoint a new prime minister, “in all likelihood Donald Tusk,” the leader of the liberal Civic Coalition (KO), the main opposition bloc.
Sawicki also said that Tusk, a former prime minister and ex-president of the European Council, “will be ready for this.”
Sawicki told TVN24 that the opposition parties that have a combined majority in the new parliament “have been in talks” and that Tusk, their candidate for the next prime minister, “has already picked his Cabinet.”
The politician added that Szymon Hołownia, the leader of the centre-right Poland 2050 grouping, was likely to become Poland's new lower-house Speaker, the PAP news agency reported.
Poland set to appoint new gov't
Poland’s ruling conservatives won the parliamentary election on October 15, but lost their parliamentary majority to an alliance of four pro-European Union opposition parties, led by Tusk’s Civic Coalition.
President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday that the task of forming a new government would be given to Morawiecki.
As all other parties have ruled out entering into a coalition government with Morawiecki's Law and Justice, the current ruling party, in power since 2015, looks unlikely to be able to govern.
If Morawiecki is unable to win a vote of confidence in the lower house, the chamber will appoint another prime minister.
This will likely be Tusk, who has been named by the four opposition parties as their choice for head of government.
Tusk was Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, TVN24