Poland's president took the step on Monday of assigning the current prime minister the initial responsibility of creating a new government after the ruling conservatives emerged victorious in
last month's election but failed to secure a parliamentary majority.
The Law and Justice (PiS) party led the polls in the general election held on October 15. However, they did not achieve an outright majority and had limited prospects of establishing a coalition.
"I have decided to entrust Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with the task of forming the government," stated President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the governing conservatives.
He also added, "If the Law and Justice party's representative is unable to fulfill the mission, in the next phase, the parliament will select a prime minister candidate, and I will promptly appoint that individual," in a televised address.
Prime Minister Morawiecki expressed his gratitude to the president for having faith in him through a Facebook post.
The leader of the liberal Civic Coalition, Donald Tusk, came second in the election. Still, in combination with two minor parties - the centrist Third Way and the Left - they secured a majority with 248 lawmakers out of the 460-seat parliament.
The leaders of the liberal opposition coalition jointly urged President Duda to nominate Tusk as the prime minister.
However, it remains uncertain who the PiS, which obtained 194 seats, could form a government with, given the shortage of viable coalition partners.
Tusk, a former prime minister and former head of the European Council, accused President Duda of "buying time."
He repeated this accusation at a rally just before Duda's announcement, following leaks by local media about the head of state's decision.
Tusk told supporters in the southwestern city of Wroclaw, "The president said he would appoint Morawiecki... So, like I mentioned, they're trying to drag things out for a few more days."
He argued that this move "will not change anything," suggesting that he himself would ultimately assume the role of head of government.
Nonetheless, he emphasized that the alleged delay was unfortunate because time is of the essence for Poland: "Every day lost is a setback for our nation, a setback for all Poles."
During the election campaign, Tusk had promised to mend relations with the European Union and to unlock frozen EU funds by December.
Last month, Tusk met with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels to discuss the matter.
He asserted that his compatriots had demonstrated "that the anti-democratic and anti-European stance doesn't have to be a trend, it's just seasonal turbulence."
Poland's relations with the EU's governing institutions have deteriorated since PiS came to power due to perceived backpedaling on democratic principles by Warsaw.
Brussels had withheld Poland's access to €35 billion ($38 billion) in EU Covid pandemic recovery funds due to a standoff over judicial reforms. Photo by Jakub Szymczuk, Wikimedia commons.