Polish PM Donald Tusk seeks confidence vote
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a confidence vote in parliament, aiming to solidify his pro-European Union coalition’s mandate to govern.
The move comes as Tusk strives to regain political momentum following the recent presidential election defeat of his ally Rafal Trzaskowski to nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki, a loss that sparked speculation about the future of his government, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Tusk, whose fractious centrist coalition built around his Civic Platform party holds 242 seats in the 460-seat Sejm, or lower house, is expected to survive the vote, which could potentially trigger early elections, not scheduled until 2027.
“Governing Poland is a privilege,” Tusk told politicians ahead of the vote on Wednesday. “We have a mandate to take full responsibility for what’s going on in Poland.”
He listed higher defence spending and a cut in his government’s visa issuance for migrants as major achievements since he took power in October 2023 from the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS).
But a win is unlikely to bring the “new beginning” the 68-year-old leader is hoping for after this month’s presidential race left his coalition rattled, raising questions over his leadership against a backdrop of surging support for the far-right in the country of 38 million.
Following the presidential election, there has been growing criticism that Tusk’s government has underdelivered on its campaign promises, failing to fulfil pledges of liberalising abortion laws, reforming the judiciary and raising the tax-free income threshold.
Tensions within the governing coalition, particularly with the Polish People’s Party (PSL), which advocates for socially conservative values and wants more curbs on immigration, could spell more trouble.
President-elect Nawrocki, an admirer of US President Donald Trump, is also an EU-sceptic who is expected to work to boost the opposition PiS party that backed him.
An SW Research poll for Rzeczpospolita daily showed that about a third of Poles thought Tusk’s government would not survive until the end of its term in 2027.
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