Donald Tusk is elected Prime Minister of Poland

Poland’s parliament backed Donald Tusk to become prime minister after current leader Mateusz Morawiecki lost a key vote in the country’s parliament on Monday.

Morawiecki’s populist Law and Justice Party failed to win a majority in the October elections.

However, President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, nominated Morawiecki to lead the government.

His failure to win a vote of confidence paves the way for Tusk to become prime minister.

In all, 190 deputies voted in favor of Morawiecki’s government, compared to 266 opposition members. The House of Representatives, the country’s parliament, then nominated Tusk to lead the country.

He is expected to take office this week.

The October elections saw a Tusk-led coalition win a majority of seats with a record turnout of more than 70%.

The group includes three parties: the Civic Coalition led by Tusk, the Third Way, and the Left.

Morawiecki’s ruling Law and Justice Party emerged as the largest single party after the elections, but other parties refused to work alongside it and it was unable to form a majority in parliament.

Duda’s decision to nominate Morawiecki to lead the country meant postponing the formation of the new government for several weeks.

Tusk was former Prime Minister of Poland between 2007 and 2014, and later President of the European Council.

The new prime minister is scheduled to present his government on Tuesday. Among the candidates expected to be nominated is Radoslaw Sikorski, who previously served as Foreign Minister under Tusk.

Expectations for the new coalition are high. Tusk pledged a range of measures aimed at undoing the effects of eight years of PiS rule.

The new government has pledged to restore the independence of the judiciary, which it says was systematically undermined under previous administrations.

“We are working on a full range of measures that will restore the rule of law as much as possible,” Tusk said.

He also pledged to release €36bn (£30bn) of EU funds allocated to Poland, which Brussels has refused to release over rule of law concerns.

But Tusk may face difficulties in implementing his agenda. Duda’s decision to nominate Morawiecki to form a government without any hope of winning a vote of confidence suggests that the president, who will remain in office until 2025, intends to thwart Tusk’s plans.

For bills approved by Parliament to become law, they must be signed by Duda, who can veto them. Tusk’s coalition does not have enough representatives to override the presidential veto.