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Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Polish PM sends tweet seen as a sign she might be replaced

December 05, 2017

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo sent a tweet early Tuesday that seems to read like a farewell, amid rumors in Warsaw that she might be replaced by Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Szydlo sent the tweet after midnight following talks in her conservative ruling Law and Justice party on reshuffling the government. There have been rumors for weeks that party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski could become the next prime minister though recent Polish reports suggest the most likely new leader will be Morawiecki, a deputy prime minister who is also the minister for development and finance.

Kaczynski is widely seen as the real power behind the government, guiding its decisions from his party headquarters and from his seat in parliament where he serves as one of 460 members of the lower house, or Sejm. This is not expected to change even if Szydlo is replaced.

Szydlo wrote: "Regardless of everything the most important thing is Poland. One that takes care of family and values (and is) safe. That grew from the foundation of Christian values, tolerant and open. Modern and ambitious. That is my country. An example for Europe and the world. That's who we Poles are."

The rumors that Szydlo is likely to be replaced have been reported for weeks in pro-government media outlets, as well as those critical of the government, including the Polish edition of Newsweek. The daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that that Kaczynski has presented to party lawmakers his plan for Morawiecki to take the helm of the Cabinet next week.

Morawiecki, 49, has won praise for overseeing an economy that has boomed in the two years since the Law and Justice party took power and he is widely considered one of the government's most skilled and competent members.

Critics, however, say the boom is largely thanks to the fiscal discipline of the previous centrist government and growth across Europe that is improving conditions in many places. Morawiecki is a former international banker who ran Spanish bank Santander's operations in Poland before Law and Justice won power. It seems an unlikely background for someone who has played a key role in a nationalistic party that opposes foreign influence in the country and global capitalism.

Under Morawiecki, Poland has taken steps to "re-Polonize" the banking industry, for example by re-taking control of one of the country's largest banks, Pekao SA, formerly controlled by Italy's UniCredit.

Law and Justice also launched a hugely popular welfare program that pays monthly cash bonuses to families with at least two children.

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