Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his new Cabinet survived a confidence vote in parliament Saturday, a day after announcing far-reaching austerity measures aimed at helping the economy remain strong in troubled times. The government's survival was expected since the coalition of Tusk's pro-market Civic Platform party with the small agrarian Polish People's Party enjoys a majority in the 460-seat lower house.
Lawmakers voted 234 to 211 in support of the government. The vote came after a brief moment of drama in the assembly hall when Tusk accused the opposition nationalist Law and Justice party of his key political rival Jaroslaw Kaczynski of supporting hooligans who attacked police during Independence Day marches on November 11 some of the worst street violence Poland has seen in years.
That prompted an angry walkout by many of Kaczynski's fellow party members. They returned later for the confidence vote, casting their ballots against Tusk's government. Tusk's center-right party won the most votes in October elections, a result that gave it a mandate to lead the government for a second consecutive term. Tusk has replaced more than half his Cabinet but retained key ministers, including Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski and Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski.
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