Poland: Minister resigns – Tusk calls her “politically very lost”
The resignation of funds minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz is straining Tusk’s coalition. Poland 2050 claims the ministry and threatens to leave the cabinet.
Archive image · Photo: Krystian Maj / Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 pl (cropped and resized)
The resignation of Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Poland’s minister for funds and regional policy and until now leader of the Poland 2050 party, has caused tension in Donald Tusk’s governing coalition. She announced her decision on X on Thursday evening, saying she was leaving the government because “values are more important to me than posts”. It followed a Sejm vote on a bill by the Polish People’s Party (PSL) to abolish term limits for mayors and municipal heads. The bill narrowly failed by 213 votes to 215, according to the newspaper Rzeczpospolita. The minister accused the coalition, including many lawmakers from her own party, of siding with “political deals”. She said she was leaving the party in the hands of its founder, “who left but came back”.
Tusk responded sharply on Friday. He had the impression that she was “politically very lost”, he said, according to the Interia portal. He had expected her to call before stepping down, and working with her had not been easy. He has “two excellent candidates”, both women, for the post and will name his choice after returning from India. He said he did not see the coalition at risk.
Party founder Szymon Hołownia said the ministry must remain in the hands of Poland 2050 and that coalition agreements must be honoured. The party would not leave the coalition, but if it lost the ministry he would recommend that its remaining cabinet members leave the government. According to media reports, the minister’s departure had been in the making for months.