Civic Platform puts Tusk forward as prime minister
The national board of Poland's biggest opposition party, Civic Platform (PO), has confirmed Donald Tusk will be the party's candidate for prime minister and authorised him to conduct coalition talks with two other groupings, a senior PO MP said on Thursday.
Borys Budka said Tusk had been empowered to negotiate with the centre-right Third Way and the New Left on formation of a governing coalition.
"Of course, at the same time confirming that the Civic Platform candidate for the office of prime minister of Poland is Donald Tusk," Budka said.
The centrist Civic Coalition, of which PO is the backbone party, the Third Way and the New Left vowed to form a governing coalition after a general election on Sunday gave them a total of 248 seats in the 460-member lower house. The ruling conservatives, Law and Justice, won most seats among all parties, 194, but have slim chance of finding a viable coalition partner.
"I am convinced it is the best candidacy," Budka continued. "I am also convinced that these talks will be very effective, as they have been to date. But above all that in the nearest future we will have a joint decision from the coalitionists on forming the new government as soon as the president entrusts the prime ministerial candidate with that mission."
Tusk was Poland's prime minister in the centrist PO-Polish People's Party government in 2007-2014 and served as the European Council President in 2014-2019. (PAP)
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