Tusk reshuffles Polish government, replacing justice and interior ministers

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a long-awaited reshuffle of his cabinet, as he seeks to reinvigorate his coalition government amid low approval ratings and following its defeat in last month’s presidential election.

Among the major changes are the dismissal of justice minister Adam Bodnar and interior minister Tomasz Siemoniak, though the latter remains as minister in charge of the security services. Meanwhile, foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has been named as one of three deputy prime ministers.

Other changes include the creation of two new “super-ministries” covering the economy and energy, part of a broader effort to cut down overlapping competencies and reduce the size of the government.

The new ministers are scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday, with the first meeting of the reshuffled cabinet set for Friday.

“There are moments in the history of every country when it is necessary to recover from events that shake the political scene, stand firmly on the ground, restrain emotions, and start again, with momentum and faith in one’s own strength. These are often accompanied by necessary personnel changes,” said Tusk ahead of the reshuffle.

Tusk’s ruling coalition – a broad and at times fragile alliance ranging from left to centre-right – has struggled to find the required unity to push through many of its promised reforms, including raising the tax-free income threshold, liberalising the abortion law, introducing same-sex civil partnerships and reintroducing mortgage subsidies for first-time buyers.

It has also faced the hostile presence of conservative, opposition-aligned President Andrzej Duda and his power of veto. Tusk had hoped that his candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, would win last month’s election to replace Duda when his term expires in August.

Instead, however, opposition-backed candidate Nawrocki emerged triumphant, making it almost certain that the ruling coalition will continue to struggle to implement most of its agenda.

Trzaskowski’s defeat was seen by some as a vote against Tusk’s administration, which opinion polls indicate is unpopular. A survey by state research agency CBOS in July found that only 32% of Poles hold a positive view of the government, stable from June, while 48% have a negative one.

During the election campaign, Tusk and his coalition partners announced that they would soon implement a government reshuffle, with the aim of making it leaner and more efficient.

Following Nawrocki’s victory, Tusk confirmed he would move forward with the reshuffle amid increasing concerns about his government’s effectiveness and viability. “The period of post-election trauma is coming to an end today,” he said, announcing the changes. “There is no reason to conclude that a war has been lost after a single defeat.”

The major changes of the reshuffle include Tomasz Siemoniak of Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO) being removed as interior minister. Siemoniak, who oversaw border and migration policy, will remain in the government as the security services minister.

He will now focus on combating “illegal immigration understood as hybrid warfare on the part of Russia and Belarus”, Tusk said, noting the importance of the tasks facing Siemoniak amid American reports pointing to “a direct threat from Russia [that] could materialise as early as 2027”.

The position of interior minister will return to Marcin Kierwiński, who briefly held the role after Tusk’s government took office in December 2023, before stepping down to run for the European Parliament. He later gave up his MEP seat to serve as the government’s plenipotentiary for flood reconstruction.

Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski, also from KO, has been appointed deputy prime minister while retaining his current role. He becomes the third deputy prime minister in the government, alongside Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), and Krzysztof Gawkowski, deputy leader of The Left (Lewica).

As deputy prime minister, Sikorski will be responsible for foreign affairs, European affairs, and “difficult eastern issues”, said Tusk. “As a government, we need a very strong political figure in international relations.”

Sikorski, a veteran politician, previously served as defence minister (2005–2007), foreign minister (2007–2014) and speaker of parliament (2014–2015). He returned to the foreign ministry in December 2023 and ran unsuccessfully in KO’s presidential primary last year.

Justice minister Adam Bodnar was dismissed following months of mounting criticism over his failure to deliver meaningful judicial reform. The overhaul was a top priority for Tusk, who had pledged to reverse changes introduced by the previous PiS government that triggered a major rule-of-law dispute with Brussels and led to the freezing of billions in EU funds.

But while the judicial reform plan has received backing from the European Commission, domestic progress has stalled. A survey by SW Research on behalf of the Rzeczpospolita daily earlier this year found that more Poles believed the rule of law has got worse than better in the year since the coalition took office.

Bodnar will be replaced by Waldemar Żurek, a long-time Kraków district judge known for his outspoken defence of judicial independence in the face of PiS’s reforms.

The government will re-establish a standalone energy ministry, combining responsibilities previously split between the climate and environment ministry and industry ministry. The new portfolio will be led by Miłosz Motyka of PSL, currently a deputy climate minister who has overseen energy and electromobility.

The move follows months of criticism over fragmented energy governance. Poland has failed to pass key legislation to boost renewables and is a year behind in submitting an updated energy strategy to the European Union. In 2022, Poland was ranked the bloc’s least green member state.

The current climate and environment minister, Paulina Hennig-Kloska of Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), will remain in office, though the energy department will be moved out of her ministry.

Finance minister Andrzej Domański of KO will head a new economic “super-ministry” formed from a merger of the finance ministry and development and technology ministry.

“The government’s financial and economic policy must be and will be in one hand, and both domestic and foreign partners will know that there are no more side paths,” said Tusk. “Only this will give us real influence and stimulate economic growth.”

The current health minister, Izabela Leszczyna, a senior KO figure, will be replaced by Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, a lawyer and manager with expertise in leading and restructuring large medical institutions. “The entire health ministry will be depoliticised,” said Tusk.

Other changes include the current head of the Industrial Development Agency (ARP), Wojciech Balczun, replacing state assets minister Jakub Jaworowski; the deputy culture minister, Marta Cieńkowska, replacing culture minister Hanna Wróblewska; the deputy agriculture minister, Stefan Krajewski, replacing agriculture minister Czesław Siekierski; and KO MP Jakub Rutnicki replacing sports minister Sławomir Nitras.

Main image credit: Sławomir Kamiński / Agencja Wyborcza.pl