– A strong EU makes Poland stronger.
Poland’s newly elected prime minister, the liberal former EU chief Donald Tusk, makes an inaugural speech in Warsaw and presents his government.
– We are all stronger. . . when not only Poland is stronger but also the EU,” said Tusk, who was the permanent president of the European Council between 2017 and 2019.
The newly elected prime minister also promises a gathering of forces within his own government to get the world to continue helping war-torn Ukraine.
Turns around
The statements imply a clear Polish U-turn.
Since 2017, Poland has been governed by the nationalist right-wing Law and Justice (PIS) party. But late on Monday, parliament chose not to extend support to PIS Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a complex political game that has been going on since the October election.
PIS certainly became the largest party in the election. But Tusk’s alliance of pro-EU parties, the Citizens’ Coalition, managed to gather a majority in parliament.
That Tusk’s government formation has been delayed until now is due to parliamentary procedures: Polish President Andrzej Duda, who also belongs to Law and Justice, gave his own party the first attempt to form a government.
Shortly after the vote of confidence that brought down the PIS, the parliament nominated Tusk, who had previously been prime minister of Poland. 248 members gave the green light late on Monday and 201 voted against in the lower house of the Sejm with 460 seats. However, PIS is judged to be able to maintain a strong hold on the country because it has previously appointed allies to key positions in state administration and the judiciary.
Towards Brussels
During the day, pro-European Tusk presents his political program and presents his government. After that, another vote of confidence is held, this time about the new prime minister. If Tusk wins, his government can take office on Wednesday.
If the schedule holds, Donald Tusk, as the new Polish prime minister, can participate in the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
During the election campaign, Tusk promised to repair Poland’s relations with the EU, so that the EU pays out many billions of euros in frozen EU aid to the country. The EU has withheld aid citing a conflict over Poland’s lack of respect for the rule of law.