12/13/2023 6:20 pm (current 12/13/2023 6:30 pm)
Polish President Duda and new Prime Minister Tusk ©APA/AFP PHOTO
Polish President Andrzej Duda swore in Donald Tusk's new pro-European government. “This is an important moment for Poland. I want to congratulate them on their victory in the political process,” Duda said on Wednesday, after the ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. The president, who comes from the former government camp of the national conservative PiS, emphasized his desire to work together.
Almost two months after the parliamentary elections, the change of power was completed. On Tuesday night, deputies expressed their confidence in Tusk's government. The tripartite alliance made up of the liberal-conservative Tusk Citizens' Coalition, the Christian-conservative Third Way and the left-wing Lewica alliance won a government majority in the October 15 parliamentary elections. However, the previous national-conservative PiS government delayed the change of power for a long time with the help of Duda.
The president initially tasked former prime minister and PiS politician Mateusz Morawiecki with forming a government, even though the party did not have a majority in parliament. As expected, Morawiecki failed Monday's vote of confidence. Only then, eight weeks after the election, was the path open for Tusk.
In his speech after the inauguration, Tusk recalled the record voter turnout and the people who waited until after midnight in front of many polling stations on election day to vote. “For two months, these voters, the same Poles, waited so patiently and with such enthusiasm for their historic decision to be implemented,” said Tusk, alluding to the delaying tactics of the national conservative camp. “When it comes to individual freedom and human rights, Poles never give up.”
With the beginning of Tusk's government came a fundamental change in Polish foreign policy. On Tuesday, the 66-year-old Danzig man called for a return to adherence to the values of democracy and the rule of law in his government declaration and announced good cooperation between his country and the EU. “What really shapes a community is the rule of law, the constitution, the rules of democracy, secure borders and a secure national territory – these are things we cannot argue about,” said the former EU Council President.
The national-conservative PiS government, which has now been replaced, was at odds with the European Union for years over its judicial reform. The EU Commission has initiated several infringement proceedings against the EU member and is blocking a billion-dollar Corona aid fund. Tusk announced that under his government Poland would assume the position of “leader within the EU”. It will also achieve the release of blocked EU aid funds.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted positively to the change of power in Warsaw. It is absolutely right that the former President of the EU Council wants to bring Poland back into the “heart of the EU”, said Scholz at the beginning of his government statement in Berlin on Wednesday. “That’s exactly where Poland belongs,” he emphasized. “We will now strengthen working contacts with our Polish friends very quickly and at all levels,” said Scholz. He expects Tusk in Berlin in the coming weeks.
Scholz emphasized the agreement between the two governments on fundamental issues. “Our two countries, Germany and Poland, have taken in more refugees from Ukraine than all other EU member states,” he said. They also intend to work closely on migration policy and the economy. Like Germany, Poland also wants the EU to expand to the east and southeast. Together they also want to strengthen the so-called Weimar Triangle with France.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) had already congratulated Tusk after his election by the Polish parliament on Tuesday. “With @donaldtusk, an experienced national and European politician will become the new Polish head of government. Austria has a strong partnership and friendship with Poland. I look forward to good cooperation. Congratulations and all the best!” wrote the ÖVP leader in a statement. post on X (formerly Twitter).