Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he will ask parliament for a vote of confidence in his coalition government after his Civic Platform-backed Rafal Trzaskowski lost the presidential election.
In a speech on the evening of 2 June, Tusk said his government has a lot of work to do and “the first test will be a vote of confidence”, which he will ask for “soon”.
He also said he was ready to co-operate with the winner of the presidential election, Karol Nawrocki.
“I want everyone to see – including our opponents, both at home and abroad – that we are ready for this situation, we understand the seriousness of the moment and that we do not intend to retreat even one step,” Tusk said.
In Poland, the president has veto power over laws, and Nawrocki’s victory makes it harder for Tusk to push his pro-European agenda.
On the eve it became known that Polish conservative politician Karol Nawrocki, who is supported by the opposition right-wing party Law and Justice (PiS), won the second round of the presidential election held on 1 June.
According to the official tally of 100 per cent of the votes cast by the country’s electoral commission, Nawrocki won 50.89 per cent, while his opponent, Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who has pro-European and liberal policies, won 49.11 per cent.