Polish prime minister Donald Tusk faces vote of confidence in parliament
Update:
Date: 2025-06-11T07:10:37.000Z
Title: Tusk
Content: is starting his speech now.
Curiously, most MPs from the main opposition party, Law and Justice, are not in the chamber.
Update:
Date: 2025-06-11T07:06:16.000Z
Title: Morning opening: Embattled Tusk seeks fresh start
Content: Polish prime minister Donald Tusk will face a vote of confidence in parliament this afternoon as he seeks to bounce back from his party's presidential election defeat two weeks ago.
Warsaw centrist mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, Tusk's deputy in the Civic Platform party, unexpectedly lost the presidency to right-wing populist Karol Nawrocki, backed by the opposition Law and Justice party, sparking questions over the government's future.
Unusually, the vote was called by Tusk himself in a bid to shore up his fragile coalition, demonstrate a clear political mandate to govern, and reset the narrative ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election.
But the build up to today's vote revealed bitter personal and ideological divisions and disagreements within the coalition, as leading politicians publicly blamed each other for the government's shortcomings and poor delivery on their flagship promises.
The government, which came to power in late 2023, promised to reverse the erosion of democratic checks and balances that had marked the eight-year rule of the Law and Justice party (PiS).
But it faced a politically hostile presidency in the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda, who yielded the blocking power of veto. With Nawrocki elected for a five-year term, the government has to learn how to live with a difficult president or face a complete paralysis.
On paper, the governing coalition has a clear majority in the Sejm, with 242 MPs in the 460-seat chamber.
But some government lawmakers indicated they were not happy with the prime minister, and would like to see radical changes in the top team and its priorities. Others were reportedly approached by PiS leaders looking for an alternative, right-wing majority in the parliament.
What could possibly go wrong.
Tusk is scheduled to kick the debate off shortly, with the main vote expected around 2pm Warsaw time (1pm BST).
I will bring you all the key updates here.
It's Wednesday, 11 June 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
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