POLAND: Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski re-appointed Mr Marek Belka as prime minister yesterday, giving his left-wing ally a final chance to win a parliamentary mandate and avoid early elections in August.
Mr Belka lost a first parliamentary confidence vote last month but has stayed on as caretaker. The political stalemate, however, has halted work on key fiscal reforms. "Belka's cabinet is the best solution for Poland," Mr Kwasniewski said.
Parliament now has two weeks to hold another confidence vote, in which Mr Belka needs a simple majority to win, not the qualified majority needed in the failed first attempt.
Mr Belka said he will decide by Tuesday whether the confidence vote will take place before or after a European Union summit on June 17th and 18th, where work on the EU's constitution should be completed.
The minority ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) needs to find around 40 more votes in the 460-seat lower house to ensure Mr Belka gains the parliamentary mandate. If Mr Belka loses, general elections will be held in mid-August, a year before schedule.
To win, Mr Belka must gain support from the Social Democracy of Poland (SDPL), an opposition party of SLD rebels with 33 seats. "We are interested in programme coalition, which will allow Poland to take advantage of the upcoming months... Of course it is clear I will undertake talks with the SDPL," he said at his cabinet's swearing in ceremony.
The SDPL wants elections this year in exchange for their support, but a poor showing in Sunday's European Parliament elections may weaken their resolve to speed up the polls.
Opinion polls show support for the SDPL on the verge of the five per cent threshold needed to gain representation in the EU parliament and the SLD around eight per cent. But low voter turnout expected on Sunday may skew election results.
SLD's parliamentary speaker said the confidence vote should take place "without delay" to give Mr Belka a mandate at the summit.