Elections 2023. The opposition is preparing for consultations with the president to present a common position

Presidential minister and MP-elect Paweł Szrot, five days after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections and just before the president’s consultations on the appointment of a new government, admits that Andrzej Duda “cannot rely on media information or unconfirmed rumors.”

The leaders of three committees – Civic Coalition, Third Way and New Left – are going to the consultations with one appeal. – I appeal to the president to notice that four million more Poles voted for the parties that want to form a coalition after the elections than for PiS – says Katarzyna Lubnauer, an MP from the Civic Coalition.

This still seems to be too little, although it is difficult to argue with the Sejm arithmetic, because Law and Justice is 37 votes short of a majority in the Sejm. The party’s chief of staff, Joachim Brudziński, admitted that there was no point in being offended by democracy, and he saw PiS’s place in the opposition. However, this has nothing to do with the expectations of other politicians of the party.

– In the parliamentary-cabinet system, it is quite natural that the first attempt to create a majority is made by the party that obtained the best result and has the most MPs – says Marcin Horała, an MP from Law and Justice.

Also check: Consultations with parties after the elections. Andrzej Duda: I will have a list of questions. It will be sacramental

On Thursday, the Civic Coalition formally nominated a candidate for prime minister, and the two other committees – which had declared cooperation before the elections – accepted Donald Tusk’s candidacy as natural. The opposition parties are doing everything they can to complete the formalities and ensure that the joint statement of their leaders, accepted by the party structures, is heard before the talks with the president.

– They will try to break us down, we have to support each other in order to build a government that will be strong, lasting and will change the country devastated in recent years by PiS – emphasizes Bartosz Arłukowicz, MEP of the Civic Platform, MP-elect. – Many people who thought they had the majority found out in the parliament room that it was otherwise. For now, there is one basic fact: Law and Justice had the best electoral result, says Paweł Szrot.

The meeting between Prime Minister Morawiecki and President Duda, without any special announcement, took place on the post-election Wednesday. It was supposed to be routine, but unofficially we know that it was there that the decision was made that the president would convene the first session of the Sejm in mid-November. However, the passage of time leaves room for speculation. – Warsaw is abuzz with rumors that it is possible to form a coalition around PiS and expel the democratic opposition MPs – says Krzysztof Bosak, an MP from Confederation. The more such suggestions, the more assurances from the opposition.

See also: Bartoszewski: the idea that we could join forces with PiS is absurd

Coalition talks are already underway and it is no secret that there are issues that the parties declaring a common government look at differently. – We are waiting for talks, we are waiting for specifics on which direction this government will go – emphasizes Dorota Olko, MP-elect of the New Left.

However, Law and Justice is already trying to take advantage of the differences. – This coalition is inconsistent, it is now united by anti-PiS emotions, a form of hatred towards PiS that has been created – says Horała.

The opposition, however, emphasizes that diversity is natural in a democracy. – I have been working with Raz for four years and I know that we simply got along on many issues. I believe that in these days the most important thing is peace, the most important thing is common sense, says Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, MP of the New Left. – There are no perfect combinations of the ruling coalition, but we are responsible enough that each of us knows that the most important thing for Poland is that this government is formed – adds Arłukowicz.

The president’s declarations so far indicate that the electoral committees that won a majority of 248 votes in the new Sejm will have a chance to form a government in the second constitutional step – in December at the earliest.