Polish president gives nationalists first shot at government

WARSAW, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will get the first shot at forming a government after his nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won last month’s election, the president said on Monday – a seemingly impossible task as it lacks a majority.

An alliance of pro-European Union opposition parties won a majority in the Oct. 15 ballot, but President Andrzej Duda had said before the election he would give the party with the largest number of seats the first chance to form a government.

PiS, in power since 2015, led in the election but lost its majority. With all other parties having ruled out forming a coalition with it, the party looks unlikely to be able to govern.

“After a calm analysis and consultations, I decided to entrust the mission of forming a government to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki,” Duda, a PiS ally, said in a televised address.

Duda’s decision was welcomed by PiS spokesperson Rafal Bochenek, who called it “a confirmation of the longstanding constitutional tradition of our country” in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

If Morawiecki is unable to win a vote of confidence in parliament, the chamber would then appoint another prime minister.

This would likely be former European Council President Donald Tusk, the mainstream opposition parties’ choice for prime minister.

Tusk, a former president of the European Council, had urged Duda not to delay in appointing him as prime minister, saying that a hold-up could damage his chances of unblocking funds earmarked for Poland that have been frozen by Brussels due to a dispute over judicial reforms.

Addressing a rally shortly before Duda spoke, Tusk said that he would become prime minister in the end, whatever Duda decided.

“This game… unnecessarily exposes Polish interests to tangible losses, but I will tell you once again, it will not change anything,” he said

The appointment of the Europhile Tusk would mark a huge shift for Poland after eight years of feuding with Brussels over issues ranging from migration to LGBT rights.

In addition to his promise that he will unblock European Union funds, Tusk has also said he wants to put those accused by his alliance of wrongdoing during PiS’s eight years in power, including Duda himself, before a state tribunal.

The liberal Civic Coalition (KO) grouping accuses PiS of subverting democratic standards by increasing political control over the courts and turning state television into an outlet for propaganda. The government denies the accusations.

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