Polish gov't survives bid for no-confidence vote

The bid by the Civic Platform (PO), Poland’s biggest opposition party, had no chance of succeeding since the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party holds a majority in parliament.

Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of the Civic Platform, has called on the government to quit, accusing it of tolerating “hate speech” during an Independence Day march in November.

The motion for a “constructive vote of no-confidence” against Prime Minister Beata Szydło's government was rejected by 239 deputies and backed by 169, with 17 abstentions.

The opposition needed 231 votes for the motion to pass.

This was the opposition PO party’s second attempt to unseat Szydło’s government. Its previous bid for a vote of no-confidence in the Cabinet was rejected by MPs on April 7.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's vote, Szydło called the motion "a pack of lies and slander against the Polish government."

After the results of the vote were announced by lower-house Speaker Marek Kuchciński, ruling party leader Jarosław Kaczyński presented a bouquet of flowers to Szydło.

Earlier in the day, media reports suggested that a government reshuffle could see Szydło replaced as prime minister by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance and Development Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The deputy Speaker of the lower house of Poland’s parliament, Ryszard Terlecki, told reporters on Thursday morning that the name of a new Polish prime minister would “certainly” be made public later in the day.

(gs/pk)

Source: PAP