Donald Tusk sworn in as new Polish PM

WARSAW -- Donald Tusk was sworn in as Polish prime minister at the Presidential Palace here on Wednesday.

Tusk was elected as prime minister by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, in the so-called second "constitutional step" on Monday, after Mateusz Morawiecki, who was designated as prime minister by President Andrzej Duda following the country's parliamentary elections in October, failed to obtain a vote of confidence in the Sejm.

On Tuesday, the Sejm gave a vote of confidence to Tusk's cabinet.

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, deputy prime minister and defense minister, and Krzysztof Gawkowski, deputy prime minister and digitization minister, were also sworn in.

Radoslaw Sikorski, who once served as defense minister and foreign minister, will again head the foreign ministry. Adam Bodnar, former ombudsperson, will lead the ministry of justice and the prosecutor general's office.

In a major policy speech to parliament on Tuesday, Tusk vowed to raise public-sector pay and unblock from the European Union 59.8 billion euros (64.5 billion US dollars) in grants and loans, frozen due to the rule of law dispute between Warsaw and Brussels. He also highlighted legislative measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and teachers.

Tusk, 66, served as Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014, and president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. (1 euro = 1.08 US dollar)