Polish president launches talks with parties on new government formation

Polish President Andrzej Duda will begin consultations with parliamentary parties on forming a new government after Sunday’s elections saw a merger of the opposition do better than Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (PO), the centrist Third Way and the Left are ready to form a new government.

Indeed, the PiS’s presidential candidate faces a dilemma: either he appoints Tusk to the post of prime minister, or he entrusts incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with forming a new cabinet.

However, in the end, Duda decided on a compromise solution.

“Next week, the president will invite all committees one by one for consultations on the first step (of appointing the new government),” the president’s advisor on social affairs, Marcin Mastalerek, told private Radio ZET radio.

Under the Polish constitution, the head of state is obliged to appoint the prime minister, along with the other members of the Council of Ministers, within 14 days of the first sitting of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, which is expected to take place in mid-November.

However, the president need not take into account the results of the election even if one of the opposition parties had scored the highest marks at the polls, Duda could appoint PiS’ Morawiecki, whose government would still legitimately be in power despite the elections.

Some opposition politicians, however, blasted the president’s decision.

They argue that Duda should have immediately appointed Tusk as prime minister, as the three opposition alliances together won more votes in the elections than PiS.

Tusk served as prime minister between 2007 and 2014 before being appointed president of the European Council, a post he held until 2019.

Controversial nomination of judges

Meanwhile, Duda was also criticised for appointing 72 new judges on the day the official election results were announced. Many of the judges were closely linked to Zbigniew Ziobro, the controversial and anti-EU justice minister and leader of the Sovereign Poland party, which split from the PiS but remained its coalition partner until the end of the previous government.

Many experts believe that Duda’s move is aimed at helping PiS by ensuring its continued influence on the judicial system even if it loses power. During its eight years in power, PiS passed several controversial judicial reforms that the Court of Justice of the EU said undermined the rule of law in the country.

Tusk has long promised to reverse these reforms if returned to power and restore the independence of Poland’s judiciary and good relations with the European Commission.

Experts say Duda’s decision to appoint new judges could be counterproductive in terms of Poland’s chances of finally receiving funds from the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, which has been frozen due to concerns over the rule of law.

Tusk and his Civic Coalition believe they can agree with Brussels and convince the Commission to release the money earmarked for Poland in the RRF.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)