Polish opposition parties rebuff PM's efforts to form new coalition govt

[November 22, 2023]  WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish opposition parties have all rebuffed overtures by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to help form a coalition government, following last month's election, lawmakers said on Wednesday, wrecking his already slim chances of staying in power.  

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during the first session of the newly elected Polish parliament in Warsaw, Poland November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

Morawiecki's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party came first in the Oct. 15 election but fell short of a majority. President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, gave him the first shot at building a new government.

Morawiecki has urged other parties to join with PiS in forming a broad "Coalition for Polish Affairs" and vowed to implement their policy proposals. Opposition lawmakers said they had received letters to join coalition talks but Morawiecki's appeal has gained no traction.

"I am surprised because I have publicly told the prime minister many times that this farce is unnecessary, that it is unnecessarily prolonging the agony of this government," Marek Sawicki, a lawmaker from the centre-right Polish Peasants' Party (PSL), was quoted as saying by state-run news agency PAP.

PSL fought the election as part of a grouping called Third Way, which has agreed to form a pro-European coalition government with the New Left and the liberal Civic Coalition (KO).

Together, those three parties can command a majority in the lower house Sejm, as demonstrated in the chamber's election of Third Way's Szymon Holownia as its new speaker.

The New Left's Krzysztof Gawkowski posted a picture of the invitation from Morawiecki on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "I would like to inform you that we are not going anywhere," he wrote.

The only remaining party in parliament is the far-right Confederation party, which had been tipped before the election as a coalition partner for PiS. But a lower-than-expected result meant that even its support would not have given PiS a majority.

Confederation co-leader Slawomir Mentzen said he he had also declined an invitation from Morawiecki to help form a government.

"I said throughout the election campaign that I wanted to end, not extend, PiS rule," he wrote on X "I haven't changed my mind."

If Morawiecki is unable to win a vote of confidence, parliament will then appoint another government. The Third Way coalition that is poised to take power has selected KO leader Donald Tusk as its candidate for prime minister.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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