The Polish parliament confirms the government of Donald Tusk The Polish parliament confirms the government of Donald Tusk

The Polish parliament has confirmed the new pro-European government of Donald Tusk. In a vote of confidence, 248 of the 449 MPs voted for Tusk’s cabinet on Tuesday. 201 voted against. President Andrzej Duda wants to take the oath of the head of the government and his ministers on Wednesday.

In his government statement that morning, Tusk called for respect for the values ​​of democracy and the rule of law and announced good cooperation between his country and the EU. “What really shapes a community is the rule of law, the constitution, the rules of democracy, secure borders and a secure national territory – these are the things we cannot discuss,” said the 66-year-old former EU president Council. .

Danziger was Poland’s head of government from 2007 to 2014. Tusk now leads a coalition government made up of his liberal-conservative Citizens Coalition, the Christian-conservative Third Way and the left-wing Lewica Alliance. The three-party alliance won a government majority in the October 15 elections, but the national-conservative PiS government delayed the transfer of power for a long time.

The PiS government was at loggerheads with the EU for years over reform of the legal system. The European Commission had initiated several infringement procedures against the EU member and is blocking a billion dollar Corona relief fund.

Under his government, Poland will acquire the position of “leader within the EU” through good cooperation, Tusk said. “The stronger the European Community is, the stronger and more sovereign we are.” Tusk also promised that he would ensure that the frozen billions from the Corona relief fund are released.

An anti-Semitic attack took place on the sidelines of the ensuing debate. MP Grzegorz Braun of the right-wing extremist Konfederacja grabbed a fire extinguisher in the foyer and extinguished the lights of a Hanukkah candlestick that representatives of the Jewish community had lit there. Social media showed tumultuous scenes of gun smoke before Braun left the foyer. From the speaker’s podium, the lawmaker then declared that lighting a Hanukkah candlestick was an “act of Satanism.” Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia subsequently excluded Braun from the meeting and announced that the Presidium would file a criminal complaint. Tusk called Braun’s action a disgrace.

The festival of Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after a revolt against the Greeks in 164 BC and the “miracle of light” of a lampstand that burned for eight days. This year it lasts until December 15.

(dabbing/sda/dpa)