He is now the head of the Polish government. Almost two months after its victory in the legislative elections, the lower house of the Polish Parliament elected Donald Tusk, leader of the coalition of pro-European forces, as Prime Minister this Monday, December 11.
Controlled by Donald Tusk’s pro-EU alliance, the lower house had rejected, earlier in the day, the proposal for a new government from the nationalist populists, in power since 2015. Because even if the coalition of pro-European forces had indeed won the legislative elections of October 15, it was first to the outgoing nationalist power that President Andrzej Duda, his ally, entrusted the task of forming a government. This delayed the end of the populist nationalist camp’s eight years in power by almost two months.
The now ex-Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki therefore presented his general policy speech to Parliament on Monday, but immediately lost the vote of confidence by 266 votes against and 190 for.
At the European Council this Thursday?
Made up of the Civic Coalition (KO, center), the Third Way (Christian Democrat) and the Left, the pro-European coalition has 248 deputies, compared to the 194 elected representatives of the Law and Justice party (PiS) and the 18 others of the Confederation (far right), in a hemicycle which has 460 seats.
Once elected, Donald Tusk should, according to official announcements, present this Tuesday, December 12 his own general policy speech and his government, and immediately submit to the vote of confidence, before taking the oath on Wednesday to complete the procedures required by the Constitution and formally end eight years of nationalist rule in Poland.
Donald Tusk therefore intends to be able to represent his country at the next European summit, Thursday and Friday in Brussels, which must mark the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine and financial and military aid from Europe for kyiv.
“I am happy that Poland is returning to the path of development,” said the historic leader of Solidarity and former Polish president Lech Walesa, who attended the parliamentary debate, after the vote. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, welcomed the election of Donald Tusk and called for “unity” against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.