Former European Union leader Donald Tusk has been voted Poland’s prime minister, halting almost a decade of populist rule in East Europe’s biggest nation.
Tusk returns to the job for the first time since 2014 following a vote in parliament on Monday.
Tusk, 66, served as European Council president from 2014-2019 and has strong connections in Brussels, and is expected to mend Warsaw’s relations with Brussels.
Tusk won the votes of 248 lawmakers while 201 were against.
„I will be indebted to all those who trusted in this new, wonderful Poland, to all those who trusted us …and decided to make this historic change,” he told the assembly after the vote.
He was previously Poland’s prime minister from 2007-2014.
Tusk’s return to power in Poland came almost two months after parliamentary elections that were won by a coalition of parties who ran on separate tickets who promised to work together under Tusk’s centrist leadership to repair democratic backsliding and improve ties with allies.
There was a record high turnout in the elections amid public anger with the populist Law and Justice party which was seen as rolling back democratic progress.
The EU froze tens of billions of euros of funds to Poland due to a dispute with Brussels over democratic standards. Tusk has vowed to repair relations and unblock the cash.
He will take office on Wednesday.
