Will Ryszard Petru join the government? We are talking about an important ministry

A week ago, the Sejm rejected a vote of no confidence in the Minister of Climate and Environment. Paulina Hennig-Kloska survived, and it cannot be ruled out that her formation will soon expand its influence in the government. – I do not rule out that there will be an attempt on the part of the Centrum club, i.e. the circle that has established a relationship with Minister Hennig-Kloska, to talk about some sort of balancing of the relationship. – said Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday when asked by journalists about the possibility of Center politicians taking up deputy ministerial positions.

Let us recall that the Centrum club (the registration of the party under this name is planned this month) was established in February this year as a result of the split in Poland 2050 (previously, Henning-Kloska lost the fight for leadership in this party with Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz). – In the coming hours, maybe days, another person from the Centrum club will become a member of the government. (…) There will be a new deputy minister. A resort that matters – Mirosław Suchoń, chairman of the Centrum club, said last week on Radio Zet.

According to Gazeta.pl, this ministry is the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, where the position of secretary of state would be taken by MP Żaneta Cwalina-Śliwowska. She would be the first woman in the management of this ministry in the current term. – I do not rule out that the nomination will be this week, although it is of course the Prime Minister’s decision – says a Center politician in an interview with Gazeta.pl.

Will Ryszard Petru join the government?

In addition to the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Centrum club may also receive deputy ministers in the ministries of state assets, justice, and development and technology. Ryszard Petru is to be considered for the latter – as reported by “Fakty” TVN.

If these reports are confirmed, it would be the politician’s debut in the government. In the past, he advised Leszek Balcerowicz when he headed the Ministry of Finance for the second time (1997-2000). At that time, Petru was associated with the Freedom Union, a party led by Balcerowicz. When this party did not enter the Sejm in 2001, Petru disappeared from politics for years. He returned in 2015, when he announced the creation of Nowoczesna. In the parliamentary elections held that year, the party obtained over 7 percent. support, and Petru won a parliamentary seat for the first time. He headed Nowoczesna until 2017, and did not run in the next elections. He returned to the Sejm in 2023, running from the Polska 2050 lists.