WORLD / Europe

Poland's PM-designate begins to form new government
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-11 18:45

Poland's prime minister-designate, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was meeting Tuesday with members of the outgoing government, a day after he was appointed for the post by the president - his identical twin brother.


Polish President Lech Kaczynski, left, shakes hands with his twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski, after naming him Poland's new Prime Minister, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 10, 2006. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling Law and Justice party took the prime minister's office after Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz resigned. [AP]

Kaczynski has indicated that his government will be largely a continuation of the coalition of conservatives, populists and nationalists that resigned on Monday along with Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.

He has 14 days to build a Cabinet, and another two weeks after that to face a confidence vote in parliament. Government spokesman Jan Dziedziczak told the news agency PAP that Kaczynski would meet Tuesday "with candidates for ministers of his Cabinet." Only one or two posts, including that of finance minister _ are expected to change from the outgoing government.

Marcinkiewicz resigned amid reports of disagreements over economic policy between him and Kaczynski, who was widely regarded as the power behind the scenes of the outgoing government. He is now to become the party's candidate for mayor of Warsaw.

Kaczynski has said his future Cabinet would continue the pro-social welfare policies of Marcinkiewicz's government. Law and Justice sealed a coalition deal in May with two Euro-skeptic parties - the farm-based Self-Defense and the Roman Catholic League of Polish Families.

In one expected change, Kaczynski on Sunday picked Stanislaw Kluza, a pro-market economist who served over the past two months as a deputy finance minister and head of the ministry's research department, to head the Finance Ministry in his future Cabinet.

Kaczynski's identical twin brother Lech was elected president last October, a month after the brother's Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September.