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Poland's Morawiecki faces confidence vote as MPs poised to elect Tusk as new PM

11.12.2023 07:00
Poland's conservative prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki is set to deliver a policy speech to parliament on Monday, followed by a confidence vote in his new Cabinet; however, MPs are likely to elect Donald Tusk as the new head of government.
Mateusz Morawiecki (left) and Donald Tusk (right).
Mateusz Morawiecki (left) and Donald Tusk (right).PAP/Radek Pietruszka/Paweł Supernak

Morawiecki, Poland's head of government since 2017, was reappointed prime minister by President Andrzej Duda in November, but his conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party lacks a majority in the new parliament.

The prime minister will outline the policy of his new Cabinet at 10 a.m. on Monday, followed by a floor debate and a vote of confidence at 3 p.m.

If Morawiecki's government fails to secure a vote of confidence from MPs, the lower house will appoint another prime minister.

Poland to have new PM on Monday?

A bloc of opposition parties has put forward Tusk, a former top European Union official, as their candidate for prime minister.

Tusk's liberal Civic Coalition (KO) group is poised to take power in Poland, forming a coalition government with the centre-right Third Way alliance and the Left, after an election in October.

At 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the lower house, the Sejm, will launch the procedure to elect a new head of government, including a floor debate and a vote at 8 p.m., according to a schedule released by the Sejm Office.

On the following day, the new prime minister will address MPs at 9 a.m., outlining his planned policies and the proposed team of ministers, and ask the house for a vote of confidence in his Cabinet, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

That vote is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12.

Tusk's Cabinet is then expected to be sworn in by the president on December 13.

Tusk on Friday unveiled the lineup of his future Cabinet and urged the head of state to appoint his government on December 13, in time for a crucial EU summit starting in Brussels the next day.

He said the summit would make decisions "of great importance to Poland's interests."

EU leaders are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and protest by Polish haulers at the border with Ukraine, among other topics, according to officials.

Tusk was Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014 before becoming president of the European Council, a role he held until 2019.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAPonet.pl