Tusk government in office - all set for a new Poland?
Donald Tusk is once again Poland’s prime minister. On Tuesday he was sworn in as head of his new government comprising the liberal-conservative Civic Coalition (KO), the agrarian conservative Third Way party and the New Left. His predecessor Mateusz Morawiecki (PiS) failed in a vote of confidence on Monday. Commentators voice relief, but also point to numerous hurdles.
Big responsibilities, big challenges
Interia sees the new head of government facing a Herculean task:
“Donald Tusk has a threefold responsibility. He must show that he is not only capable of managing the chaos he has inherited, but also of transforming it in practice and effectively. Secondly, he must muster the strength to lead a coalition government in which over time there will naturally be conflicts and attempts by individuals to raise their own profile; the resistance of the left to raising the tax-free allowance is an early symptom. ... And thirdly, he cannot avoid reflecting on the real reasons for the failure of liberal democracy a few years ago and the dangers that continue to simmer in Western civilisation, where populism is not dead but resurging right now.”
Showing how populism can be defeated
According to the Tages-Anzeiger, Poland will serve as a role model for other states and civil societies:
“The switch back to Donald Tusk is the most important political turning point for Poland and in some respects also for Europe since 1989. ... At a time when democracy is being dismantled, an election result like the one in Poland has a comforting effect. It shows that all the painful wounds to the state system can be healed, that one election day is enough to put an end to eight years of destruction. ... Poland will be able to take on a leading role in the concert of European states — as a role model for overcoming a populist infection; as an example for other civil societies.”
Cohabitation will be a headache for EU
Tusk faces major challenges, the Irish Independent emphasises:
“But he has it all to do to overcome the legacy of eight years’ rule by the nationalistic Law and Justice Party (PiS). … There will also be the difficulty of the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, who is aligned to the PiS. ... So-called ‘political cohabitation’ experienced in France in recent decades, always brings headaches for the European Union. … A crucial test will be his ability to unblock that [frozen] EU aid which PiS insisted during the election campaign amounted to Brussels’ interference in Poland’s democratic processes. Despite the positive EU vibes, the message from Brussels is blunt: declarations of intent will not suffice — real action for change is required.”
Luckily Poland won’t be a pushover
Die Welt points out that the change of government is also a great opportunity for the EU:
“Not least because the new government will by no means be easy to deal with. On migration and energy policy it will take a harder line than Von der Leyen’s EU or the SPD and Greens. Just as it will act independently in all areas. Germany and the EU are particularly skilled at sanding down edges. Poland will put up resistance. And that’s a good thing.”
Please step down, Mr Kaczyński
Michał Szułdrzyński writes an open letter to the leader of the voted-out PiS in Rzeczpospolita:
“Several months ago, Jaroslaw Kaczyński promised that he would not stand for re-election when his term as PiS leader came to an end. Today, he has become the biggest liability for his party. And not only for his party, but also for Poland. So perhaps the time has come to say goodbye, Mr Kaczyński, to leave the party to its own devices and go into political retirement. And you know it, too.”
