Government wins confidence vote

Government wins confidence vote after PM Ewa Kopacz (bottom left) speech: photo - PAP/Radek Pietruszka

MPs voted 259 for to 183 against in the vote in the lower house (Sejm) after a speech where Prime Minister Kopacz promised more on defence, the family and a “pragmatic approach to Ukraine”.

PM Kopacz also appealed to an end to the “political civil war” between Donald Tusk, who stood down as head of the centre-right government after being elected as president of the European Council, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland's main opposition party Law and Justice (PiS).

Later, Jaroslaw Kaczynski was seen shaking Donald Tusk's hand, wishing the now former prime minister success in his new role in Brussels.

The public reconciliation of two bitter political rivals over the seven years of Donald Tusk's premiership showed the “power of Ewa Kopacz,” the new European Council president said afterwards.

Truce! Former PMs Donald Tusk (left) and Jaroslaw Kaczynski: photo - PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Female Law and Justice MP Anna Zalewska, not Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was chosen to lead the response to the new female prime minister's speech, asking why “Donald Tusk's departure means being able to achieve things that have not been achieved over the last seven years?”, and accused the government of being “old and discredited”.

Poland needs a government, MP Zalewska said, that is "competent, substantive, with ambitions and ideas. In the face of the financial crisis, weakening economic indicators, rising debt and deficit, we need to ensure that citizens have a sense of security in health, energy and defence”.

“The prime minister's speech did not mention a word about the most important problems in the labour market: junk [short-term] contracts,” Piotr Duda, leader of the Solidarity trade union said, as coal miners demonstrated in front of the parliament building in protest against pay and job security in the face of cheap Russian imports. (pg)

source: IAR/PAP