Summary of the day
The conservative government of Mateusz Morawiecki lost a confidence vote in the Polish parliament, opening the way for a coalition under the leadership of Donald Tusk to take office this week and putting an end to eight years of rule by the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
After Morawiecki lost the confidence vote, Tusk was officially nominated to serve as Poland’s next prime minister.
Poland’s parliament then voted in favour of Tusk as the country’s prime minister. 248 MPs voted in favour, while 201 voted against.
In a policy speech this morning, Morawiecki called for a “Europe of homelands, not a Europe without homelands.”
Speaking in parliament after winning a vote to become prime minister, Tusk thanked Poles and said his new government will “right the wrongs” so that everyone “can feel at home.”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, congratulated Tusk, saying “Ukraine and Poland’s future lies in unity”.
The European parliament president, Roberta Metsola, said she looks forward “to working together for a prosperous Poland and a stronger Europe.”
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she looks forward to seeing Tusk at a summit of European leaders in Brussels this week
Updated
More congratulations are pouring in.
Congratulations to @donaldtusk on becoming the new Prime Minister of #Poland! I look forward to meeting you soon and forging ties between Poland 🇵🇱 and #Latvia 🇱🇻 bilaterally, at the EU, NATO and beyond. We stand together for Ukraine in free, secure and prosperous Europe.
— Evika Siliņa 🇱🇻🇺🇦 (@EvikaSilina) December 11, 2023
