Polish opposition alliance says it is ready to take power with Tusk as PM

Leaders of the three-way opposition alliance that won an overall majority in Poland’s elections have said they are ready to take power with Donald Tusk as prime minister, as the country’s president began consultations on forming a new government.

“Today we confirm our readiness to fully cooperate and create a new majority in the next parliament,” Tusk, a former prime minister and European Council president, said on Tuesday, adding that he would be the coalition’s candidate for premier.

The three groups aiming to form the next government – Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO), the centre-right Third Way and the New Left – urged President Andrzej Duda, a close ally of the ruling nationalist Law & Justice (PiS) party, not to delay the process.

PiS had already “wasted eight years of our lives”, said Szymon Hołownia of Poland 2050, part of the Third Way group. “They took us back 50 years, instead of pushing us forward. That’s why we appeal to President Duda not to waste another second.”

The centrist Third Way’s co-leader, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said the parties were “determined to form a majority”. He added: “Together we will nominate, today and tomorrow at the president’s office, our candidate for prime minister, Donald Tusk.”

Duda began talks on Tuesday with parliamentary party leaders on Poland’s future government, more than a week after PiS lost its majority in one of the most consequential European political turnarounds of recent years.

Although the national conservative party came first in the 15 October ballot on 36%, it has no viable path to power. Between them, the mainstream opposition parties won a clear majority, marking a huge shift in Polish politics after eight years of PiS-led governments.

As the largest party, representatives of PiS including the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, were the first to meet Duda on Tuesday, with Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO), which finished second with 30% of the national vote, due to follow later.

Third Way and the Left – which, with KO, won a majority of 248 MPs in the 460-seat lower house – were due to meet the president on Wednesday, Duda’s office said, as well as the smallest parliamentary party, the far-right Confederation.

Under Poland’s constitution, the president names a candidate prime minister, who then forms a cabinet that is put to a confidence vote. Duda said before the elections he would follow tradition by giving the first shot to the party that won most votes.

If he follows through, PiS would have about a month to form a government. Analysts have said the nationalist party may well try to do so, either to give it time to remove potentially incriminating evidence or simply to complicate life for the opposition.

Since PiS appears to have no partner with enough votes to secure it a majority, however, it would most likely lose a parliamentary vote of confidence in its proposed new cabinet – at which point MPs would nominate their own candidate for premier.

During its years in power PiS has illegally eroded the rule of law in Poland, rolled back abortion rights and targeted minorities with hateful propaganda, prompting a feud with the EU over issues ranging from judicial independence to LGBTQ+ rights.

Tusk is expected to visit Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday for talks on unlocking almost €36bn from the EU’s post-pandemic recovery funds that have remained blocked because of rule-of-law concerns under the PiS-led government.

The opposition coalition has pledged to roll back the current government’s measures undermining judicial and media independence and end Poland’s “devastating conflict” with the EU, although analysts have warned the task will be difficult.

“It’s normal that from day one we do everything to return Poland to its rightful place in the international arena,” KO’s parliamentary leader, Borys Budka, said last week. “Fortunately, Tusk guarantees the restoration of very good relations with the EU.”