PM Tusk Confirms New Ministers In Cabinet Reshuffle

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a cabinet reshuffle, with the most prominent shift coming in line with earlier expectations (see 'POLAND: NBP governor Holds Presser, PM Tusk Announces Cabinet Reshuffle', 0803BST). Coordinator of special services and former Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak takes on the position of Interior Minister, with the incumbent, Marcin Kierwiński, stepping down to run in the upcoming 9 June elections to the European Parliament. Kierwiński is one of four ministers - alongside Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (culture), Borys Budka (state assets) and Krzysztof Hetman (development and technology) - stepping down to run to become MEPs.

• Outgoing Culture Minister Sienkiewicz has been particularly prominent since the multi-party gov't came to power in late 2023, with his role involving reform to publicly-owned media outlets that the Tusk administration argued had become 'mouthpieces' for the former right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) gov't over the past eight years.
• Opinion polling ahead of the EP elections shows PiS and Tusk's big-tent pro-EU Civic Coalition running neck-and-neck to win the most seats. Given the extremely broad nature of the governing coalition - from the leftist 'The Left', through to the centre-right Third Way - agreeing to the passage of legislation has proved somewhat fraught in recent weeks and months.
• The Parliament Magazine reports on how the outcome of the elections could prove influential in directing the policy focus of the Tusk administration, and potentially providing a boost for the gov't following local election results in April that showed little shift in voter preference compared to the Oct 2023 legislative election.