3 Polish opposition parties led by former Premier Tusk agree to form coalition government

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – Three Polish opposition parties, led by Civic Coalition party leader Donald Tusk, on Friday agreed to form a coalition government, reducing the prospects of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party reining in for another term following the October general elections.

The PiS won 194 of the 460 seats in the Sejm or Polish parliament, while the opposition secured an aggregate majority of 248 seats in the October 15 parliamentary elections.

The Civic Coalition has 157 MPs, while the Third Way has 65 and the Left has 26. The Confederation is the party with 18 MPs in Sejm.

This allowed the opposition parties, led by former Prime Minister and European Council President Tusk, to form the next government.

The Civic Coalition, the Left, and the Third Way agreed on a 24-point plan that was signed by their leaders in a meeting in Warsaw.

Following the agreement, Left party Co-Chairman Wlodzimierz Czarzasty said they all agreed on a 24-point formula to govern the country.

They will have a joint majority in parliament to establish a coalition government and "repair the Republic of Poland," said a joint statement issued following the meeting.

The new government would hold the outgoing government accountable for alleged exploitation of EU funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, public media, and the rule of law, it added.

Earlier on Monday, President Andrzej Duda asked incumbent Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to work on establishing the cabinet ahead of the first parliamentary session on Nov. 13, after PiS emerged as the largest party with 35.38% of the vote in last month's polls.

However, all other parties already indicated that they would not join the PiS government, practically ruling out Morawiecki's chances to the government for another term.

According to the country's constitution, the president has 14 days to name a prime minister, which he did earlier this week. Morawiecki will then have a further 14 days to form a cabinet and win a vote of confidence. If he fails to do so, parliament has the right to designate a prime minister.

Meanwhile, the Together (Razem) party, one of the three-way Left political grouping, would support Tusk's new government but will not officially join his party, a party spokesman said in Warsaw on Friday.

During negotiations between the leaders of the opposition parties, each party offered its recommendations for changes that would go into effect during the next four years.

“We took these talks very seriously, but not on the principle that we were 100% sure our demands would be included in the agreement because we are realists,” a politician from Razem told Onet news service.

“However, the result is that the most important points that we requested were ultimately not included in the coalition agreement.”

This includes the so-called "Rescue Act," which calls for the legalization of abortion support and an increase in GDP spending on health care and higher education. Members of Razem also wanted provisions governing labor union activities.

The Left and People's Party (PSL) differ over abortion rights in Poland, which has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe after eight years of PiS rule.

Earlier on Nov. 6, Prime Minister Morawiecki offered PSL leader Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz his position, but on the condition that his party would support the continuation of a PiS government.