WARSAW: Poland's pro-EU government faces a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday as it attempts to demonstrate that it still has majority support, even after suffering a major blow in this month's presidential election.
The vote was called by Prime Minister Donald Tusk after nationalist Karol Nawrocki won the presidency, prompting expert predictions that the government could become fatally weakened, leading to early elections.
"I am asking for a vote of confidence because I have conviction, faith and confidence that we have a mandate to govern," Tusk said at the start of Wednesday's parliament session.
He said the government faced "very hard, serious work in conditions that will not change for the better".
Nawrocki, a fan of US President Donald Trump, is expected to try to bring down the government and boost the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party which backed him.
Tusk, a former EU president, came to power in 2023 as head of a coalition between his centrist Civic Platform, Poland 2050, the Polish People's Party (PSL) and New Left.
New parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2027.
Tusk is expected to win the confidence vote later on Wednesday as his coalition controls 242 of the 460 seats in parliament and only needs a simple majority.
Nawrocki won the June 1 presidential vote with 51 percent against Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on 49 percent.
Tusk, who had supported centrist Trzaskowski, vowed to stay on.
But there have been tensions within the governing coalition, particularly with the PSL, which advocates for socially conservative values and wants more curbs on immigration.
No reason to question' result
Poland, an EU and NATO member of 38 million people, is a fast-growing economy and has become an increasingly important regional player since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Polish presidents have some influence over foreign and defence policy but their key power is being able to veto legislation passed by parliament.
This will likely hamper reform efforts by Tusk's government, such as the planned introduction of same-sex partnerships or easing a near-total ban on abortion.
Internationally, it could also make ties with Brussels difficult particularly over rule of law issues as Nawrocki supports the controversial judicial reforms put in place by the previous PiS government.
Ties with Ukraine could become more tense as Nawrocki opposes Kyiv's membership of NATO and has been critical of the support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Nawrocki is expected to begin his five-year mandate formally on August 6, once the courts validate the result.
The election commission has found evidence of counting errors in favour of Nawrocki in some districts.
Tusk on Wednesday spoke of "possible abuses or falsifications in the election" but said the government "will certainly respect the result".