Andrzej Duda of Poland attends and speaks at the Armed Forces Day military parade, which is celebrated every August 15 to commemorate Poland’s victory over the Soviet Red Army in 1920, on August 15, 2023 in Warsaw, Poland. president.Reuters/Kacper Pempel/File photo Obtaining license rights
WARSAW, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Poland’s president will tell the people on Monday night who he will appoint as prime minister, an aide said, as the ruling nationalists seek a majority in parliament in an Oct. 15 election. After the loss, he announced that he plans to make the final decision amid weeks of uncertainty. .
President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, said before the election that he would give the single largest party the first shot at forming a government.
The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party came in first place with 194 seats in the 460-member lower house, but is unlikely to find a coalition partner. Instead, a coalition of pro-European opposition parties won a total of 248 seats, raising the possibility that they will form the next government.
“After consultations and deep consideration, President Andrzej Duda has taken a decision regarding the so-called first step (of government appointments). The decision is final…” Marcin Masterelek, head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said on social media. wrote on the platform. X, formerly known as Twitter, added that Mr Duda would give a national televised address later on Monday.
Three pro-EU groups say they are ready to form a cabinet led by Citizens United (KO) leader Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and former European Council president, and have called for Duda’s appointment not to be delayed. .
“We are calmly waiting,” KO lawmaker Marcin Kierwiński told private broadcaster Radio Z. “I hope this decision is based on the mathematical principle that 248 is greater than 194.”
After consultations with parties that won seats in parliament, Duda said the two likely candidates for the next government were the outgoing PiS’s Mateusz Morawiecki and Tusk.
Despite all other parties in parliament ruling out a coalition with PiS, Morawiecki said he still intends to seek to form a government.
“The chances of forming a parliamentary majority are very low, but that does not mean zero,” Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Jablonskiy told private broadcaster RMF FM.
If Morawiecki is ordered to form a government by Duda but fails to win a vote of confidence in parliament, parliament will appoint another prime minister.
Reporting: Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing: Gareth Jones
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