Why was Morawiecki chosen to be Poland's new PM?
Mateusz Morawiecki of the PiS party, who had occupied the post of minister of economic development and finance, has replaced Beata Szydło as Polish prime minister. Speculation about such a step had been going on for weeks. Journalists take a look at the motivation behind the move.
The right man for a tricky balancing act
With Morawiecki as prime minister PiS chief Kaczyński will be able to stay in power, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung concludes:
“He trusts Morawiecki and has realized that the latter's successful economic policy is the prerequisite for the state reform he wants. If the push to replace the current elites is to succeed, the PiS will need to broaden its support beyond its poorer and predominantly rural voter base. Morawiecki also seems suited to this purpose. And last but not least Morawiecki, who is well respected abroad and in financial circles, is supposed to bring about a détente in Poland's relations with Europe. ... If Morawiecki manages the balancing act for which he was chosen he could indeed lay the foundations for lasting dominance of the PiS in Poland. If the economic situation deteriorates, the tensions that have been fuelled could tear the party apart.”
Morawiecki's job is to save EU billions
Rzeczpospolita also goes into detail about why the PiS chief wants Morawiecki as prime minister:
“Morawiecki is certainly someone who can guarantee fast economic growth, at least until the parliamentary elections in 2019. And Kaczyński believes that Morawiecki can avoid the loss of the EU billions by improving the shattered relations with the country's EU partners. Clearly, Morawiecki has good chances of fulfilling this task. He is good at finding a common language with the people from the West.”
Kaczyński shooting himself in the foot
The PiS has committed a huge mistake by deposing Beata Szydło, Gazeta Wyborcza is convinced:
“Party leader Kaczyński has shot himself in the foot with this move. This carefully planned change of personnel at the head of the government was supposed to help the PiS win over the middle class. Instead it's one of the most botched political operations in the history of the Third Polish Republic. What is this change of prime minister supposed to accomplish? In what way is Mateusz Morawiecki better than Beata Szydło? Why must a government that is supposedly successful in all it undertakes land on the rubbish heap of history? Probably not even the most fervent supporters of 'good change' [as the PiS calls its programme] understand this move.”
Morawiecki is the perfect puppet
Kaczyński deliberately selected a weak candidate to be the new prime minister, Adam Szostkiewiecz suspects in his blog with Polityka.pl:
“First came Beata Szydło, who was virtually unknown and unqualified for the tasks of a prime minister. Now she is worn out politically and Mateusz Morawiecki, who also lacks the necessary experience, qualifications and political backing, is to replace her. ... But precisely these lacking qualities are an advantage in Kaczyński's eyes. Morawiecki will be weak, perhaps less so than Szydło, but just as dependent on the good will of the PiS leader.”
The spoiled brat in Warsaw
The prime minister has little say when it comes to defining Polish policies anyway, Gazeta Wyborcza jibes:
“Who cares who becomes party leader Kaczyński's next puppet? What difference does it make for millions of Poles whether the lady with the brooch [Beata Szydło] or a man without one implements his crazy plans? This extremely boring show with the title 'Guess Who's Minister?' does an excellent job of exposing what really drives Kaczyński's policies. Namely nothing but the satisfaction of his lordship the party leader. Like a spoiled ten-year-old playing with building blocks, with incredible obstinacy he's knocking down everything that's been built, mixing all the blocks up and putting them together again, only to demolish the whole construction once more.”
The Poles love their Beata
Columnist Łukasz Adamski of the pro-government web portal wPolityce.pl sees no good reasons to replace the prime minister:
“The pro-government media have practically bombarded the Poles with information about Beata Szydło's successes in the fight against the total opposition, the Eurocrats and the street protests. The economy is in very good shape, Poland is getting back on its feet. ... And the voters associate these improvements with 'their Beata'. How to convince them that 'Beata' should step down now? ... I don't envy the party's propagandists. If there really is a change in prime minister they will have to come up with good arguments to convince the voters that 'Beata', who is breaking all the approval ratings records, deserves this degrading fate.”