Tusk Faces Critical Confidence Vote Amid Political Unrest

Warsaw, Jun 11 (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is set to face a crucial vote of confidence in the parliament on Wednesday. This move is an attempt to regain political momentum after his coalition suffered a significant blow in the recent presidential runoff.

The request for the vote comes after a tight race on June 1, where Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly lost to Karol Nawrocki, a right-wing nationalist candidate supported by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Tusk, who currently holds significant sway in Poland, is anticipated to survive the vote in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament. His government coalition commands a parliamentary majority, holding 242 seats in the 460-seat chamber.

Despite this, the close nature of the presidential election has unsettled his coalition, which is composed of the centrist Civic Coalition, the Left party, and the center-right Polish People's Party. Tusk described the confidence vote last week as a tactical offensive maneuver rather than a defensive one, stating, “The vote of confidence should be a new opening.” Yet, there is growing discontent among coalition members, who blame Tusk for Trzaskowski’s loss and are reassessing their alliance with him.

The political discourse in Poland is increasingly questioning Tusk’s potential to bring about meaningful changes before the next parliamentary elections set for late 2027. Journalists and analysts are discussing whether Tusk, now 68, could be experiencing the twilight of his political career amid the rising influence of far-right factions. Tusk previously served as Poland’s Prime Minister from 2007-2014 and later as the President of the European Council from 2014-2019. He returned to lead the country again in December 2023, stepping into a nation fatigued by the pandemic, inflation, and deep-seated political divides. A recent Polish Newsweek cover even asked, “Is it the end of Tusk?”

Should Tusk’s coalition fail to hold, it could lead to the formation of a caretaker government and potentially trigger early elections. Such a scenario might return power to the national conservative Law and Justice party, potentially in coalition with the far-right Confederation party, whose candidate came third in the recent presidential race.

Tusk had been counting on a Trzaskowski victory to break the gridlock caused by President Andrzej Duda’s repeated vetoes of his reform agenda. However, with Nawrocki set to assume office, a strong opposition to Tusk’s plans is expected.

In the wake of the presidential election, criticism against Tusk’s government has intensified. Many accuse him of failing to deliver on campaign promises, with significant criticism emerging from within his coalition. Joanna Mucha, a deputy education minister from the centrist Third Way alliance, expressed her frustration on Facebook. She attributed the loss to Tusk’s party for neglecting polling data and depending on ineffective campaign consultants and efforts that failed to extend beyond its liberal base.

Mucha criticized that Law and Justice’s success in backing Nawrocki stemmed from a focused, data-driven campaign with a fresh candidate, while Trzaskowski, who lost the 2020 presidential race, now bears the added burden of public discontent with the current government.

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