Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk intends to call a parliamentary vote of confidence in his government following the victory of opposition-backed Karol Nawrocki in Sunday’s presidential election, media reported Monday.
“I want everyone to see, including our opponents at home and abroad, that we are ready for this situation, that we understand the gravity of the moment, but that we do not intend to take a single step back,” said Tusk on Monday evening, according to Onet.
Nawrocki, a right-wing populist who counts U.S. President Donald Trump among his allies, will aim to use the presidency to block Tusk’s domestic agenda.
His election victory casts doubt on whether Tusk’s government can make meaningful progress on social security reform and restoring the rule of law, or on hot-button issues like allowing same-sex partnerships or loosening Poland’s strict abortion rules.
Declaring that the presidential elections “have not changed and will change nothing,” Tusk noted his government already has experience dealing with an uncooperative president and that there is an emergency plan for dealing with this scenario.
Tusk expressed openness to working with Nawrocki if he proves to be cooperative, but said it would be a “surprise” if that is the case. Current President Andzrej Duda has used his veto power to thwart Tusk’s efforts to make reforms on the rule of law.
The vote of confidence, first reported by Polsat, is intended to show “opponents at home and abroad that we are ready for this situation, that we understand the gravity of the moment, but that we do not intend to take a single step back.”
Tusk is in a good position to survive the vote, given the presidential election has had no bearing on parliamentary arithmetic — though there are rumblings of discontent among his ruling coalition.
Parliament speaker (and failed presidential candidate) Szymon Hołownia on Monday afternoon said the election result was “a yellow card — maybe even a red one — for this government and this coalition.”
Hołownia’s Poland 2050 party has 35 MPs in Tusk’s coalition.
This article is being updated.
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