Poland's Donald Tusk faces no confidence vote after election failure
Poland's
prime minister
Donald Tusk
is expected to survive a vote of no confidence he called in a bid to shore up support after his
candidate lost the presidential election
.
But while the premier's position is not immediately on the line, Wednesday's parliamentary debate and vote are expected to expose further strains and ideological divides within his coalition.
Mr Tusk called the vote shortly after right-wing opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki was elected president, defeating the ruling coalition's front-runner and mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski.
The presidential battle turned into an unofficial referendum on Mr Tusk and the failures of his government almost two years after he won the parliamentary elections, relegating the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party into the opposition.
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Leaders of Mr Tusk's main coalition partners have pledged support ahead of Wednesday's vote. But that is 'only the first of several hurdles Tusk will have to overcome if he does not want to spend two more years running a lame duck government', said Adam Gendźwiłł, political science professor at Warsaw university.
Mr Tusk's coalition controls 242 of the 460 seats in Poland's Sejm, or lower house, with the next parliamentary elections not due until 2027. If he loses his 12-seat majority, he could continue as head of a minority government, but that would limit his ability to pass any significant legislation even further. Snap elections could only be triggered if a supermajority of 307 MPs decide to dissolve parliament.
By winning the presidency, Mr Nawrocki has scuppered Mr Tusk's plan to reset his reform agenda with an ally in the presidential palace.
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Polish government faces vote of confidence after Karol Nawrocki's wins presidential election
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In Poland, presidents can veto bills – a power already used by outgoing president Andrzej Duda, a PiS nominee considered to be more moderate than Mr Nawrocki but who has blocked Mr Tusk's judicial reforms.
The promise of those reforms also underpinned the European Commission's decision to unlock billions in EU funds frozen during a stand-off with the previous PiS-led government over rule of law concerns. Mr Nawrocki has not yet clarified what he plans to do about the judicial overhaul, which Mr Tusk has pledged to pursue.
Following Mr Nawrocki's win, the prime minister decided to fast-track a confidence vote to rapidly quell internal dissent.
In a national television address last week, Mr Tusk described the parliamentary vote as a chance to 'move forward' for his coalition.
'We want everyone to see – also our opponents at home and abroad – that we are ready for this situation, that we understand the seriousness of the moment,' he said. – The Financial Times Limited 2025
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