Poland faced a pivotal moment as its president, Andrzej Duda, clarified the reasoning behind designating Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to form the government, instead of turning to opposition leaders. Duda emphasized that the appointment aligned with longstanding constitutional practice of entrusting the task to the party that wins the election. He pointed out that the Law and Justice party was the clear winner in the latest vote.
According to the president, the opposition blocs known as the Civic Coalition, the Left, and Third Way failed to persuade him to break with tradition and interrupt the established sequence for forming a new cabinet. The message underscored a strong preference for continuity in how executive power is assembled following a decisive electoral result.
The Sejm elections took place on October 15, revealing a political landscape where the ruling party, Law and Justice, secured a plurality of votes yet did not achieve a parliamentary majority. With about 35.4 percent of the vote, PiS held 194 of 460 seats. The opposition, comprising the Civic Coalition, Third Way, and the Left, accumulated roughly 248 seats and a little over half of the total votes. The nationalist and Eurosceptic Confederation gathered 18 seats and indicated a reluctance to enter coalitions with other groups. This distribution highlighted a fragmented parliament with multiple blocs vying for influence.
Shortly thereafter, on November 13, the president accepted Morawiecki’s resignation and immediately tasked him with forming a new government. In public remarks, Morawiecki conveyed confidence in his ability to implement his policy priorities, a sentiment carried by the president as the country moved forward through a crucial period of cabinet construction.
Earlier, the Sejm described the decision to let Morawiecki attempt to form a new administration as a strategic move within parliamentary customs, inviting renewed debate on how the executive branch should be composed in a changing political environment. The episode illustrated the ongoing negotiation between constitutional tradition, electoral outcomes, and the practical realities of governing in a divided parliament.