Donald Tusk to return as Polish PM after Morawiecki loses vote of confidence

The Polish government led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has, as predicted earlier, lost a vote of confidence in parliament on December 11, which later in the day voted in favour of former European Council President Donald Tusk becoming prime minister.

As reported by Notes from Poland, this development ends eight years of rule by the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which stood for harsher policies on migration and a tougher approach with the European Union.

Morawiecki’s government was defeated in the lower house parliament, where only 190 MPs voted in favour of Morawiecki’s government while a majority of 266 were opposed.

The final step in forming a new government will be being sworn in by President Andrzej Duda, also a member of the PiS, which may take place as early as December 13.

The publication recalls, that while PiS won the most votes in October’s election, it lost its parliamentary majority. All major political parties rules out working with PiS, President Duda gave Morawiecki the first chance at creating a new government two weeks ago, arguing that traditionally the largest party has that opportunity.

The former PM presented his government's programme this morning to the lower house, the Sejm, where he defended the record of his party’s time in power, saying that it had replaced the previous “liberal” vision of Poland, which had left many Poles behind, with “solidarity” towards all citizens. Morawiecki also noted his government’s unprecedented investment in defence amid the growing threat of Russia.