“I have decided to entrust the mission of forming a government to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki,” President Andrzej Duda said in a televised address. Mateusz Morawiecki’s Law and Justice (PiS) party came first in the general elections on October 15, but without obtaining a majority and has little chance of forming a coalition.
“If the mission of the representative of the Law and Justice party (PiS) does not succeed, the parliament will choose in the next phase a candidate for the post of Prime Minister and I will appoint him without delay,” added President Duda.
“The president said he would nominate Morawiecki”
The liberal opposition, led by Donald Tusk, came in second place, but if it allied with two small parties, the centrist Third Way and the Left, it could gather 248 seats, out of the 460 in Parliament.
It is unclear with whom PiS could govern, in the absence of reliable partners to form a coalition. Mr Tusk, a former Prime Minister and former President of the European Council, accused Mr Duda of “playing for time”.
“The president said he would nominate Morawiecki… So, as I said, they will try to steal a few more days,” Tusk told a public meeting in the southwest city of Wroclaw. from the country.
35 billion euros in European funds
During the election campaign, Mr. Tusk pledged, if he comes to power, to restore ties with the EU and unblock frozen European funds. Brussels has blocked Poland’s access to 35 billion euros in EU funds due to an impasse over judicial reforms.
Poland’s relations with EU governing bodies have collapsed since PiS came to power, due to what is seen in Brussels as Warsaw’s backsliding on democracy.