Polish president Andrzej Duda will meet parliamentary party leaders next week, his office said, as the country waits to see whom he will task with forming a government after the ruling nationalists lost their parliamentary majority.
Pro-European Union opposition parties won a majority in Sunday's ballot, a huge shift for Poland after eight years of feuding with Brussels over issues ranging from judicial independence to LGBTQ+ rights.
It also represents a setback for right-wing populism in the EU.
Duda will hold consultations at his palace next Tuesday and Wednesday, the president's office said on social media platform X, adding that the meetings would be held separately with each group, starting with those that got the most votes.
Duda said before the poll that he would give the first shot at forming a cabinet to the group or party that won most ballots.
The ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party came first in the election but is unlikely to secure a third term in government for want of a coalition ally.
Lengthy process ahead
The leaders of the three parties that are seeking to form a coalition have called on Duda not to delay making a decision.
"Representatives of the president's office said that the president has time, but Poland does not have time and this majority expects these decisions to be made quickly," said Michal Kobosko, deputy leader of Poland 2050, part of the centre-right Third Way.
However, Duda's aides have said the president is in no hurry to make a decision.
"The president knows his responsibilities and will not give in to pressure," aide Malgorzata Paprocka told Rzeczpospolita daily.
"A government will be formed within the timeframe laid out in the constitution, with respect for the will of citizens."
This means the process of forming a new government in Poland, the largest country in the EU's eastern wing, could take weeks or even months.
(with Reuters)
