Poland’s parliament has appointed Donald Tusk as prime minister after rejecting a last-ditch attempt by the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party to remain in office, Ednews informs referring to the Financial Times.
Lawmakers voted by 248 to 201 in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, to back Tusk two months after he and his coalition partners secured a pro-European majority in parliamentary elections in October.
Hours earlier outgoing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki lost a vote of confidence, bringing to a close eight years of PiS government that were marked by repeated clashes with Brussels over Poland’s eroding rule of law.
Tusk will have to wait until December 13 to be signed into office by President Andrzej Duda, who is a PiS appointee and has played along with the rightwing party’s stalling tactics since the elections.
On Monday, Duda started a two-day visit to Switzerland — and according to Polish law, he needs to be physically present when presiding over the government changeover in Warsaw.