WARSAW, 6 Nov. Polish President Andrzej Duda has already decided on the candidacy of the prime minister and will make a statement in the evening, said the head of the cabinet of the Polish leader Marcin Mastalerek.
Earlier, Duda said that there are two serious candidates for the post of prime minister in Poland — current Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and opposition leader Donald Tusk.
“After consultations and deep reflection, President Andrzej Duda has already made a decision on the issue of the so-called first step (introducing the candidacy of the prime minister to the Sejm — ed.),” Mastalerek wrote on the social network H.
He clarified that Duda will announce his decision in Monday evening.
“The decision is final, therefore… I recommend calmly observing the evening appeal,” wrote Mastalerek.
At the same time, Law and Justice politicians expect that the president will introduce Morawiecki's candidacy to parliament.
“I expect that the president will at the first stage entrust the mission of forming a government to Mateusz Morawiecki, although I am, of course, waiting for the president’s address scheduled for the evening,” Senator Stanislaw Karczewski, a member of the PiS Political Committee, told reporters.
«The President communicated with representatives of all factions. He knows what the situation looks like, he is also conducting certain negotiations, which not everyone knows about. Therefore, I think that this decision was made after a deep analysis,» Karchevsky added.
Previously, opposition politicians have repeatedly stated that they hope that Duda will nominate Tusk for the post of prime minister on the basis that it is the opposition factions that together have the majority of parliamentary mandates.
According to the results of the recent parliamentary elections, the ruling Law and Justice party in Poland received 194 seats in the Sejm, and the opposition Civic Coalition — 157, Third Way — 65, Left — 26. Another 18 seats were won by the coalition of nationalists and Eurosceptics «Confederation». This balance of power suggests that PiS will not be able to independently form a majority government, and if the opposition manages to unite, then it will have 248 seats in the Sejm out of 460 and will have a chance to form a government.
A new government will appear in Poland no earlier than the Sejm approves the candidacy of a new prime minister. Last week, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that the first meeting of the new parliament would take place on November 13.
According to the Polish constitution, after the election results are announced, the president nominates the prime minister, who in turn nominates candidates for ministerial positions. Afterwards, the Sejm considers the issue of a vote of confidence in this government. A vote of confidence is passed by an absolute majority of votes in the presence of at least half of the list of deputies.
In the event of a vote of no confidence in the government, the Sejm, within 14 days, elects the Prime Minister and the members of the Council of Ministers proposed by him by an absolute majority of votes.
If this time it is not possible to elect a prime minister, then the president appoints a new head of government. After this, the Sejm considers the issue of a vote of confidence. This time, a simple majority of votes is sufficient to pass it, provided that at least half of the deputies are present. Thus, the elected government may be a minority government.
If the vote of confidence in the prime minister is not passed this time, the president, in accordance with the constitution, shortens the term of office of the Sejm and calls new elections.