Poland's parliament confirms Donald Tusk's government

After parliamentary elections - Poland's parliament confirms Donald Tusk's government

Poland's parliament has confirmed Donald Tusk 's new pro-European government. In a vote of confidence on Tuesday, 248 out of 449 MPs present voted in favor of the cabinet. 201 voted against.

Poland's new head of government Donald Tusk has announced a fundamental change in his country's European policy. Poland must become a leader in the EU through good cooperation, Tusk said in his government statement. He also emphasized that Poland would work within the EU and NATO for further support for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia.

A vote of confidence on the 66-year-old politician's coalition government, originally planned for the afternoon, was postponed until the evening because more than 250 MPs had registered questions. As Tusk's government can rely on 248 out of 460 MPs, the vote of confidence should not cause any problems. Tomorrow, President Andrzej Duda wants to swear in the new head of government and his ministers.

The three-party alliance consisting of Tusk's liberal-conservative Civic Coalition, the Christian-conservative Third Way and the left-wing alliance Lewica won a government majority in the parliamentary elections on October 15. However, the previous national-conservative PiS government had delayed the transfer of power for a long time with the help of Duda.

In his government statement, Tusk called for adherence to the principles of democracy and the rule of law. "What really forms a community is the rule of law, the constitution, the rules of democracy, secure borders and a secure national territory - these are the things we must not argue about," he said.

No more squabbling with Brussels

Over the past eight years, the PiS government has been in a permanent quarrel with Brussels over the reform of the Polish judicial system. The EU Commission had initiated several infringement proceedings against Poland and is blocking a multi-billion euro coronavirus aid fund. Tusk was confident that this would soon change. "Yes, I will bring the longed-for billions of euros from Brussels," said the former EU Council President, who was Polish Prime Minister from 2007 to 2014.

Under his government, Poland would achieve the position of a "leader within the EU" through good cooperation, said Tusk. "The stronger the European Community is, the stronger and more sovereign we are." One reason for the victory of the pro-European tripartite alliance in the parliamentary elections was that many voters in Poland wanted the country to play a decisive role in the EU.

Full support for Ukraine

Tusk emphasized that Poland remains an important and strong NATO member and a loyal, stable and self-confident ally of the USA. He announced that his government would persuade the West to provide more support for Ukraine, which was under attack. He said he could no longer listen to some Western politicians talking about being tired of the situation in Ukraine.

"We will loudly and resolutely demand the full mobilization of the free Western world to support Ukraine in this war." He is traveling to the EU summit in Brussels in a few hours. There he wants to find "different ways than before" to convince Poland's traditional allies of the need for help, Tusk continued.

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Poland has been one of the most important political and military supporters of its neighboring country. However, tensions had recently arisen between Warsaw and Kiev under the previous government.

Tusk also presented his cabinet. The new Foreign Minister will be Radoslaw Sikorski, a former member of the EU Parliament. The 59-year-old was already Poland's chief diplomat from 2007 to 2014, before which he served as Minister of Defense. Sikorski is considered a staunch transatlanticist. Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamisz will take over the defense portfolio and at the same time the office of deputy head of government. The 42-year-old doctor, who is little known abroad, is one of the leaders of the Third Way party. The new Minister of Justice will be 46-year-old constitutional lawyer Adam Bodnar. He was Poland's human rights commissioner from 2015 to 2021.