“A rising star of Polish politics.” Foreign media write about Hołownia and the process of changing power in Poland

On Monday, the ceremonial opening of the Sejm of the 10th term took place. The MPs took an oath and elected Szymon Hołownia as Marshal. In turn, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki formally resigned, and in the evening the president entrusted him with the mission of forming a new government, although PiS does not have the majority required for this.

The political situation in Poland is monitored by foreign media. Extensive reports from these events appeared in leading websites.

Foreign media devote attention to Hołownia

The “Politico” website pointed out, describing the election of a new speaker in the Polish Sejm, that “after eight years in power, the nationalist Law and Justice party is on the defensive.” “The Sejm has a new speaker, former TV presenter Szymon Hołownia, who was elected with the support of 265 MPs, while PiS candidate Elżbieta Witek obtained only 193 votes in the 460-person chamber,” we read.

“Politico” also drew attention to the first speech of Hołownia, who “promised a decisive break with the practices of PiS, which has been in power since 2015” and noted, among other things, the removal of barriers in front of the Sejm and the promise to remove the parliamentary “freezer”.

The Associated Press emphasized that “Poland’s new parliament elects a speaker, but the transfer of power delays the president’s move.” Describing the election of the new Speaker of the Sejm, the agency describes Hołownia as “a center-right ally of Donald Tusk, former co-host of the “Got ‘Talent” program and a rising star of Polish politics.”

“The First Test”

Le Monde notes that on Monday “Polish pro-EU parties won their first victory in the new parliament, and their candidate Szymon Hołownia was elected speaker of the lower house”, adding that the vote on his election was “widely perceived as the first test for the three parties seeking to form a government and oust populists from the conservative Law and Justice party.

“Hołownia, who presents himself as a progressive Catholic, pledged to lead the parliament impartially, adding that ‘it will no longer be a voting machine’,” it was noted.

BBC about the hope of the LGBT community

Meanwhile, the BBC indicates that after the change of government, the LGBW community in Poland hopes for the end of the “era of hate speech”.

“LGBT people in Poland have been facing hostile rhetoric from senior politicians for years. The country has repeatedly ranked lowest in the EU for the protection of LGBT rights. However, in last month’s elections, the conservative Law and Justice party lost its majority. If, as expected, the opposition coalition takes power, LGBT activists are counting on a change in both tone and policy,” noted the correspondent of the British station.

Relations with Brussels

In turn, “Die Welt” wonders what the relations of the new Polish government with Brussels will look like. The correspondent of the German daily assessed that the Commission and the European Parliament breathed a sigh of relief, but this does not mean that Tusk will be an easy partner for talks on every topic.

“The litmus test for Poland’s European policy will be the asylum compromise that EU countries are currently working on. (…) The question is how likely the future prime minister will position himself between the expectations of Brussels and the expectations of his own party and the promises made to voters. There are many indications that he may not agree to the compromise unconditionally,” we read.