Poland's PM Donald Tusk survives parliamentary confidence vote

Published connected 11/06/2025 - 17:13 GMT+2•Updated 17:17

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has survived a ballot of assurance successful nan Sejm, nan little location of parliament, pinch 243 MPs voting successful favour pinch 210 against.

There were nary abstentions.

Tusk requested a ballot of confidence in nan aftermath of the loss of Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, a adjacent ally, to blimpish Karol Nawrocki successful nan 1 June statesmanlike runoff.

Backed by US President Donald Trump, Nawrocki is group to switch outgoing President Andrzej Duda, different Law and Justice aliases PiS party-backed blimpish who many times blocked Tusk's betterment efforts.

"Anyone who is fresh to move guardant pinch me, pinch nan government, and supra each pinch our voters, sloppy of these momentary emotions, and build a amended Poland, should ballot coming for a ballot of assurance successful our government," Tusk said successful nan location earlier nan vote.

Tusk had agelong counted connected a Trzaskowski triumph to break nan organization deadlock created by Duda's vetoes.

Instead, he now faces an incoming president aligned pinch nan nationalist guidance and openly dispute to his government’s legislative priorities.

"We cannot adjacent our eyes to reality," he said. "A president who was reluctant to judge nan changes we projected for Poland and our voters is being replaced by a president who is astatine slightest arsenic reluctant to those changes and proposals."

But he besides based on that Trzaskowski's constrictive conclusion indicates that location is continued beardown support for those who stock his views.

The predetermination consequence rattled nan already uneasy governing coalition, which spans from centre-left to centre-right and has struggled to present connected cardinal run pledges, including liberalising Poland's abortion rule and legalising same-sex civilian unions.

Many besides blamed Tusk for contributing to Trzaskowski's loss. Much of nan disapproval has travel from wrong his coalition, arsenic his partners analyse whether they are amended disconnected sticking pinch him aliases risking a illness of nan coalition.

Some had moreover called for a caller premier curate to beryllium selected.

There are questions astir what Tusk tin realistically execute earlier nan adjacent parliamentary election, scheduled for precocious 2027, and whether nan conjugation will moreover past that agelong amid a surge successful fame for nan acold right.

Polish media and governmental analysts are debating whether this mightiness beryllium nan 68-year-old Tusk's governmental twilight.

"I cognize nan sensation of victory, I cognize nan bitterness of defeat, but I don’t cognize nan connection surrender," Tusk said.

As portion of his caller start, he announced plans for a authorities reconstruction successful July that will see "new faces."

He said a authorities spokesperson would beryllium appointed successful June, an acknowledgement that nan conjugation needs a measurement to coming a unified message.

So acold Tusk has sought to pass his policies to nan nationalist himself connected societal media and successful news conferences.

Tusk served arsenic Polish premier curate from 2007 to 2014 and past arsenic president of nan European Council from 2014 to 2019. He became Poland's premier curate again successful December 2023 successful a state deed by nan pandemic and ostentation and facing important governmental divisions.

In a motion of those divisions, half of nan parliament hallway was quiet connected Wednesday, pinch lawmakers from nan right-wing PiS statement boycotting his speech. Tusk said their absence showed disrespect to nan nation.

Most of nan powerfulness successful Poland's parliamentary strategy rests pinch an elected parliament and a authorities chosen by nan parliament. However, nan president tin veto authorities and correspond nan state abroad.