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Polish MPs to vote on confidence in Morawiecki gov't at 3 p.m. on Monday

06.12.2023 09:00
Poland's lower house of parliament, the Sejm, will vote on confidence in the new Cabinet of conservative Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at 3 p.m. on Monday, officials have announced.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki addresses parliament in November 2023.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki addresses parliament in November 2023.PAP/Paweł Supernak

Morawiecki is scheduled to make a policy speech in parliament at 10 a.m. on December 11 and ask MPs for a vote of confidence in his new Cabinet, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

This will be followed by a floor debate, with the vote set for 3 p.m., the Sejm Office announced late on Tuesday.

Morawiecki, Poland's head of government since 2017, was reappointed prime minister by President Andrzej Duda in November, but his conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party lacks a majority in the new parliament.

Poland could have a new PM on Monday: officials

If Morawiecki's Cabinet fails to secure a vote of confidence from MPs, the lower house will appoint another prime minister.

Lawmakers will have until 4:30 p.m. to submit candidates, who must have the backing of at least 46 MPs, the PAP news agency reported.

At 4:30 p.m., the lower house will launch the procedure of electing a new head of government, including a floor debate and a vote at 8 p.m., the Sejm Office said.

On the following day, the new prime minister will address MPs at 9 a.m., outlining his planned policies and the proposed team of ministers, and ask the Sejm for a vote of confidence in his Cabinet, the PAP news agency reported.

That vote is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12. 

A bloc of opposition parties has put forward Donald Tusk, leader of the liberal Civic Coalition (KO), as their candidate for head of government.

Tusk, a former top EU official, told reporters last Friday that he expected to be elected as Poland's next prime minister on December 11.

Poland's new parliament

Polish voters elected a new set of 460 MPs and 100 senators when they went to the ballot box on October 15.

Morawiecki's right-wing Law and Justice party won Poland's October 15 election, but lost its parliamentary majority and looks unlikely to stay in power for a third consecutive term.

A bloc of pro-EU opposition parties in mid-November secured a resounding victory in Poland's new parliament during its first key vote to elect a house Speaker.

Poland's opposition groups have signed an agreement to form a coalition government, pledging to restore the rule of law, promote green energy and relax abortion rules, among other policies.

Tusk was Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014.

(pm/gs)

Source: PAPPolish Sejm