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Polish finance minister resigns

07.02.2022 17:00
Tadeusz Kościński has stepped down from his role as Poland’s finance minister, a spokeswoman for the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party said on Monday.
Tadeusz Kościński
Tadeusz KościńskiPAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will double as finance minister until a permanent replacement is found for Kościński, Anita Czerwińska told reporters.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

She made the announcement after senior ruling party politicians held a four-hour meeting in Warsaw to discuss possible changes in the government amid reports of poor handling of a tax reform by officials.

Anita Czerwińska Anita Czerwińska is spokeswoman for Poland's governing Law and Justice (PiS) party. Photo: PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik

Kościński's resignation comes after Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński recently told reporters that officials responsible for the tax reform “on the political and semi-political level didn’t quite handle their responsibilities" in the right way.

He added: “Maybe it was due to a lack of sufficient qualifications, maybe also due to a lack of goodwill.”

Kaczyński, who is a deputy prime minister, was also quoted as saying at the time that "those responsible will face consequences," the state PAP news agency reported.

Poland's conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Poland's conservative leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

Potential candidates to succeed Kościński include Development and Technology Minister Piotr Nowak, according to Polish news outlets.

Poland's new Development and Technology Minister Piotr Nowak. Poland's Development and Technology Minister Piotr Nowak. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

The Polish prime minister last month said the government would make alterations to a package of new tax rules to increase citizens' gains from his ruling conservatives’ wide-ranging Polish New Deal programme.

He at the time hailed the tax reform as a set of "unprecedented tax cuts, the biggest in the history of the Republic of Poland."

(gs)

Source: PAP