Poland's new PM Tusk sets bold pro-EU agenda in parliament

Poland's freshly appointed prime minister, Donald Tusk, has hit the ground running. The head of the pro-EU, center-left coalition is trying to make up for time lost to delay tactics from the previous nationalist, conservative government.

On Tuesday, just one day after his appointment by the Sejm , the lower house of the Polish Parliament, Tusk delivered a statement.

"October 15 will go do down in history as a day of peaceful revolt for freedom and democracy," he said, calling for the restoration of national unity. "Strength in unity should be our first political imperative."

With a view to Poland's future role in the European Union, he promised cooperation and respect for the European institutions. Poland would regain its leading role in the EU, he said. "We are stronger and more sovereign when not only Poland but also the European Union is stronger and more sovereign," he emphasized.

"Stop pretending that friends and allies from NATO and the EU pose a threat to us," Tusk urged in his address to lawmakers. "This is a risky, if not crazy, game," he said, in a pointed message to his predecessors. The previous government often had a fraught relationship with Brussels, marred by disputes over respect for the rule of law in Poland and migration.

Playing for time

The leader of the Justice and Development (PiS), Jaroslaw Kaczynski, had been playing for time ever since the party lost its absolute majority in parliamentary polls on October 15, trying to delay handing over power for as long as possible.

In recent weeks, important posts were handed to PiS supporters and funds from the budget channeled to PiS-friendly institutions.

Mateusz Morawiecki, who had led Poland since 2017, proceeded for weeks as if he could form a government despite lacking the parliamentary majority to do so. Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who comes from the same political camp, tasked him with forming a government a month ago, notwithstanding his lackluster chances of success.

But almost two months later, the PiS's stalling finally came to an end. The Sejm elected Tusk as the head of government on Monday evening.

The former president of the European Council received 248 votes, 23 more than required. He was opposed by 201 members. The house cheered. The communist-era dissident and former President Lech Walesa sat in the guest gallery fighting back tears as Tusk turned around to form a heart with his hands. At the end, the Sejm deputies rose from their benches and sang the Polish national anthem.

Shortly before, Morawiecki had lost a vote of confidence in parliament, with only 190 members backing him compared to the 266 who voted against him remaining in office.

Morawiecki tried until the end to win over members from the opposing camp with promises, presenting himself as a peaceful politician, calling for dialog and appealing to parliament to "seek not what divides us, but what unites us" in the face of challenges.

The outgoing head of government described the past eight years as a series of successes. Looking to the future, Morawiecki identified the expansion of the armed forces to 300,000 soldiers, a move to nuclear energy and the construction of a major airport in central Poland as essential tasks. Morawiecki emphasized that his plan "will win in any case, if not now, then in the future".

Tusk's coalition consists of three blocs: his Civic Coalition (KO), the Christian Democratic Third Way (TD) and the New Left. On Tuesday, the new prime minister announced that he would shed light on the previous government's time in office – in particular PiS financial scandals – and investigate the use of EU funds and the manipulation of public media.

Tusk also spoke out in favor of continued support for Ukraine and announced that Poland would assume joint responsibility for solving the migration issue. The previous government was a vehement opponent of EU plans to redistribute arriving migrants more evenly among the bloc's 27 member states.

Kaczynski sees ‘end of Polish democracy'

The PiS leader saw things much more somberly. "This is the end of Polish democracy," Kaczynski said in reaction to Tusk's appointment. He also railed against Russia and the EU. "The plans that the European Parliament has adopted and that are being further shaped in the EU are a concept for changing the Polish state. It is to become a territory inhabited by Poles, but controlled from outside, from Brussels, basically from Berlin."

Speaking to Polish broadcaster TVN, political scientist Anna Siewierska-Chmaj said that "Kaczynski cannot resign himself to defeat."

On Wednesday morning, the new cabinet will be sworn in by the head of state, Duda. Tusk, as the new Polish head of government, could fly to Brussels in time for the EU summit with the Western Balkan states and the European Council on Wednesday evening.

He will be supported on the world stage by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who already occupied the same position from 2007 to 2014.

Anyone who believes that Tusk will be an easy negotiating partner in the EU could be in for an unpleasant surprise. When asked about EU reforms while on the campaign trail, including the restriction of the unanimity principle for making EU decisions, Tusk warned against falling into "integration enthusiasm". Migration policy may also be a sore subject. The Polish government's approval of the distribution of refugees in 2015, when Tusk's party was last in power, was a big part of how the PiS came to power.

This article was originally published in German.