Polish PM Tusk Calls Confidence Vote After Presidential Defeat
PM Donald Tusk. X/ @RFI_Vi
June 3, 2025 Hour: 7:37 am
This step aims to demonstrate the ‘unity and courage’ of the center-liberal coalition to continue pursuing its reform agenda.
On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that his coalition government will face a vote of confidence in Parliament on June 11. He described the move as “offensive, not defensive,” following a presidential election in which the ultranationalist Karol Nawrocki defeated his liberal-backed candidate.
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Tusk is taking this step to demonstrate the “unity and courage” of the entire center-liberal coalition to continue pursuing its reform agenda despite the election of an ultraconservative president who has pledged to follow in the footsteps of the current head of state, Andrzej Duda.
For Tusk, the confidence vote is an opportunity for a “new offensive momentum” for the coalition. He stated that the vote will be followed by a “periodic evaluation of the government’s work and of individual ministries” beginning in July.
This evaluation aims to “identify areas for improvement” and could lead to cabinet changes, although “those who have done their jobs well have nothing to fear,” he said.
In a televised interview Monday, the Polish leader declared that his center-liberal coalition is “not willing to retreat even a step” and acknowledged the possibility of a “difficult cohabitation” with the new president.
Tusk said he has an “emergency plan” to govern even if Nawrocki tries to block “beneficial changes” included in his program starting Aug. 6, when Nawrocki assumes the presidency. He emphasized that his goal is to ensure “everyone, both inside and outside the country, understands the gravity of the moment.” However, Tusk’s initiative has not been welcomed by all members of his coalition, which includes parties ranging from center-left to center-right.
Szymon Hołownia, speaker of the lower house and leader of Poland 2050 — one of the coalition’s main parties with a Christian democratic orientation — called the confidence vote a “bad idea” and a “theatrical gesture” on Monday.
Hołownia argued that the government already holds a majority in the lower house and that, instead of a confidence vote, it should “seek a new opening and present the people with a work plan.”
He said the government would survive until the 2027 parliamentary elections because there is no alternative but advocated for showing the country “a fresh start” after what he called the “yellow card” of the presidential election, in which liberal candidate Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly lost.
Hołownia also expressed willingness to cooperate with Nawrocki, stressing the need for stability — a sentiment echoed by Tusk on Monday night, though Tusk also warned again of the possibility of “difficult cohabitation” with the new president.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
