Gliński, who is culture minister in the conservative government of Mateusz Morawiecki, made the declaration in an online interview on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
On Thursday, Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservatives, Law and Justice (PiS), announced the party's key candidates for parliament in the elections on October 15.
Gliński, a former deputy prime minister, was named as the party’s top candidate in the capital Warsaw, where he will run against Tusk, a former prime minister.
Gliński told the Super Express daily’s online programme on Friday: “The Law and Justice leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, has asked me to head the party’s ticket in Warsaw.”
Gliński said: “I am aware of the reality of the political situation in Warsaw, but I have taken on such political challenges several times before.”
The culture minister added that he was “ready to hold a public electoral debate" with Tusk, who tops the Warsaw ticket of his centrist Civic Coalition (KO), the PAP news agency reported.
Last month, Poland's lawmakers approved a government plan to combine parliamentary elections with a nationwide referendum on issues including illegal migration.
In the parliamentary elections, Poles will head to the ballot box on October 15 to elect 460 new MPs and 100 senators for a four-year term.
The Law and Justice party and its government coalition allies have maintained a clear lead over the opposition in most recent surveys, polling ahead of the Civic Coalition (KO) and the far-right Confederation group.
The ruling conservatives in 2019 won a convincing victory over opposition parties at the ballot box, securing a second term in power.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, niezalezna.pl
