Donald Tusk, a leader of a centrist party, returned as Poland’s prime minister for the first time in nearly a decade after a vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-European Union government following eight years of stormy national conservative rule.
Tusk, a former EU leader who served as European Council president from 2014-2019 and has strong connections in Brussels, is expected to improve Warsaw’s standing in the bloc’s capital. He was Poland’s prime minister from 2007-2014.
Tusk’s ascension to power came nearly two months after an election which was won by a coalition of parties ranging from left-wing to moderate conservative. The parties ran on separate tickets, but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies.
For a more involved explanation from a Pole:
On th 15th of October, the ruling “United Right” coalition (or Law and Justice and satellites) lost the parliamentary election, getting 194 seats (231 necessary for majority in lower house). It became the most important election in modern Polish history, with 74.38% of registered voters voting, beating the 1989 elections that ended Communist rule in the country. After that, the slow process of transition to a new government began.
The President (Law and Justice) chose the date for the start of a new Parliament, and, in a controversial move, ignored the three committees that announced their intention to form a majority coalition government (with 248 seats total), instead giving the task of forming the government to Mateusz Morawiecki, the Prime Minister for the past two Parliaments (also Law and Justice).
For the past two weeks Morawiecki had to face the task everyone acknowledged was impossible: forming a majority in a Parliament where every party was against them, and they had no majority. Many see this appointment as an attempt, by his own party, to kill Morawiecki’s political career, as after the inevitable failure to form a new cabinet, he would be forced to shoulder the blame for the party’s failure.
In the background, the outgoing government tried it’s hardest to entrench itself in any position of power it could, giving positions to, as we say it, the “mediocre, passive but loyal”, any cousins that managed to get by without stealing anything so far, hardliners and so on. Their hope is, that the new government wouldn’t be able to completely clean house from the dregs of nepotism and corruption, and that they could latch on until (hopefully for them) next election.
Of main interest were positions related to state media, strategic enterprises and any positions that could sabotage any and all efforts of the incumbents.
So the party does not like Morawiecki. Some expected him, to take the last lifeboat on a sinking ship, and announce before his exposé (an address before the lower house, where the Prime Minister tries to convince it to give the new cabinet a vote of confidence), that he couldn’t form a cabinet, thus saving himself from the disgrace.
That did not happen.
Yesterday Poles all over the country, before TV sets, online, in cinemas (sic!) and over 400k live on YouTube (beating, or nearly beating the national record for the biggest live audience) were treated to the newest episode of our latest favourite Sitcom “Pierwsze posiedzenie Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej” (1st session of the Sejm (pronounced “same”) of the Republic of Poland) from 10 o’clock to just past 19 (7PM for computationally challenged), as Mateusz Morawiecki tried to convince a room full of haters that his cabinet will be great.
I could go on and on about all the insane shit that happened, all the hypocrisy of Law and Justice, but we all know where this ends up.
On the 11th of December, 2023, at around 16:20 (4:20PM) CEST, the Sejm, voting 190 for to 266 against, with 4 absent, decided AGAINST granting the 3rd Morawiecki cabinet the vote of confidence.
For the first time in modern history, the presidential pick for Prime Minister failed the vote of confidence.
Great! So what do we do now?
Now begun “the second constitutional step”, where the Sejm itself picked the Prime Minister from amongst their own.
The Marshall of the Sejm (Speaker) decreed, that the Convention of Seniors (marshall, deputy marshalls and representatives of all parties) will meet with him to decide upon a candidate.
An hour later, Donald Tusk was announced as the new Prime Minister.
The motion for his appointment was signed by 248 MPs, representing all members of the “democratic opposition” - Left to Centre-right parties in opposition to Law and Justice (no far-right, though they voted against Morawiecki).
Today the new Prime Minister had his exposé, and the new cabinet was formed. Poland enters a new era.
My comment might have been overly long and dramatic, but for majority of Poles this is an extremely important event, representing an end to 8 long years of indignity, corruption, nepotism, dismantling of democracy, trampling of our liberties and so, so much more evil.
So yeah. Hope I didn’t bore you to death.
And if you’re Polish yourself, and have voted in the elections:
Dziękuję.
Thank you so much for the detailed comment. Not too lengthy, especially not with all those important facts to keep note of, to drop them would have taken away from how historic this is/must feel to you and your citizens. Congratulations on participating in your democracy, and I’m so happy that the will of the people will be heard.
Sounds like a close story to what happened in Spain. Fascists failing to get majority despite their best efforts will never stop being amusing.
Law and Justice are more like Brezhnev era Communists than fascists. Racism isn’t really part of their agenda.
Confederation though, are honest to God Fascists.
Greetings from Hungary, where I’m sure you know we are in a similar situation where you were. I hope I’ll have this feeling some day that you guys are experiencing there right now. I very rarely cry but I think that day I defenitely will. Congratulations! You (and we all) needed this!