Donald Tusk's govt secures vote of confidence in Polish parliament

Warsaw, Dec 13 (IANS) The new Polish government led by Donald Tusk secured a vote of confidence in the 460-seat Sejm, the lower house of parliament, gaining 248 votes of support and 201 against.

Tusk, who was elected as Prime Minister in a Monday evening parliamentary vote after the outgoing government led by Mateusz Morawiecki failed to secure a vote of confidence, will lead a coalition government formed by three major opposition groupings, reports Xinhua news agency.

Preceding the vote, Tusk, a former European Council president, presented his government's plans and the composition of the new Council of Ministers.

Emphasizing priority areas, he highlighted legislative measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and teachers, among others.

A key focus of the new government will be unblocking funds from the European Union (EU), with Tusk -- who had previously served as the Prime Minister from 2007 to 2014 -- pledging to go to Brussels and "bring back billions of euros", referring to the bloc's recovery funds frozen due to the rule of law dispute.

The swearing in ceremony of Tusk's cabinet is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Poland held its parliamentary elections on October 15, when the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won most of the votes, but fell short of a majority in the Sejm.

Morawiecki, the Prime Minister candidate from the socially conservative PiS party, was tasked on November 27 by President Andrzej Duda with forming a government.

However, his government was rejected by 266 votes to 190 on Monday afternoon, which put an end to eight years of rule by the PiS party.