Conservative Morawiecki Tapped to Form New Polish Government, as Donald Tusk and His Liberals Call It a ‘Waste of Time’
After the mid-October election in Poland, the liberal coalition led by former EU President Donald Tusk declared victory, to the general jubilation of all the MSM vehicles, that welcomed the Slavic country ‘back to the EU’.
The problem is: newspapers do not decide the way things work out, the Polish constitution does.
And so it happened that Poland’s president tapped current Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki ‘to try to form a new government.’
Morawiecki’s Law and Justice party was the most voted, but lost its parliamentary majority. He is said to be unlikely to be able to form a new majority – but is he, really?
The decision by President Andrzej Duda will, at the very least, delay the formation of the anticipated new liberal government in Poland.
Turk alliance won enough votes in the Oct. 15 election to theoretically take control of Parliament and oust the nationalist and conservative government after eight years in power.
Associated Press reported:
“Duda, an ally of the current government, said Law and Justice should get the first chance to form a government since it remains the country’s biggest party. If Morawiecki fails, it will be up to Parliament to propose a prime minister and he will immediately endorse the candidate, the president added.
‘Following a calm analysis and consultations I have decided to task Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with the mission of forming a government’, Duda said in a televised address. ‘I decided to continue the good parliamentary tradition according to which the winning party is the first to be given the opportunity to form a government’.”
The liberal opposition criticized Duda’s decision, as you would expect, saying ‘it creates political uncertainty’ while ‘delaying the inevitable’: the formation of a government under Donald Tusk.
“If Morawiecki fails to win backing in Parliament, as expected, Poland might not have a new government in place until mid-December.
Duda must appoint the new Morawiecki government within 14 days of the first session of the new Parliament, which convenes next Monday. Morawiecki will then have a further 14 days to hold a confidence vote. Only then would it fall to Parliament to appoint its choice for prime minister.”
Tusk will have to wait weeks before having a chance to form a government – after Morawiecki fails, that is.
All other parties have previously and publicly ruled out entering a coalition with them, leaving them without any obvious path to retain power.
The Guardian reported:
“Constitutionally, however, the president chooses who gets the first shot at forming a coalition. Duda, who has long been aligned with PiS, has taken his time to make a decision, which has been seen by many as a time-wasting tactic.”
When Poland’s parliament reconvenes next Monday, Morawiecki will have two weeks to attempt to form a working majority.
“’The chance that we will create a parliamentary majority is very low, but that does not mean it is zero’, the deputy foreign minister, Paweł Jabłoński, said on Monday.
Duda said if Morawiecki fails to put together a government and the parliament chooses its own prime ministerial candidate, he would respect the process.
‘If the mission of the representative of Law and Justice fails, then in the next step, the Sejm will choose a candidate for prime minister, and I will immediately appoint him to this position. All constitutional rules and deadlines will be respected’, he said.”
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