Poland’s New Cabinet of Donald Tusk Mixes Novice and Pros

Natalia Ojewska and Agnieszka Barteczko
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(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s incoming government under Donald Tusk will have some heavy lifting to do after eight years of nationalist rule, from mending fences with the European Union to restoring the independence of courts.

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The former European Council president’s cabinet is a mix of veterans and newcomers. Of 26 posts, nine are women — and the most senior positions went to men. Here are the key ministers in the new government:

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister

A one-time Polish premier, the veteran politician has returned home after leading the European Council — the forum for EU heads of state and government — from 2014 to 2019. In Brussels, the 66-year-old Tusk was involved in managing the euro crisis and the fallout from Brexit.

His knowledge of the EU machinery will help in Poland’s return to the fold after eight years outsider status under the nationalist government. It could also be crucial as the premier promises to gain access to almost €60 billion ($64.6 billion) in blocked financial aid.

Andrzej Domanski, Finance Minister

A relative novice in politics, Domanski, 42, spent most of his professional life as a fund manager running an equity portfolio in Warsaw. He won Tusk’s trust as a safe pair of hands for finance matters after helping to co-author the Civic Platform’s economic program.

A chess and cycling enthusiast, Domanski boasts that during his career he met hundreds of foreign investors. That background may come in handy as the government leans increasingly on outside investors to help finance its spending pledges, including Domanski’s marquee proposal to support mothers returning to work.

Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister

The experienced diplomat is returning to a post he held under Tusk’s previous premiership. Sikorski, 60, is known for his straight talk — and sparked controversy last year for suggesting the US was responsible for explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines. His rich resume includes a stint as a war correspondent in Afghanistan in the 1980s to a negotiator role in Kyiv in 2014 just days before Ukraine’s then Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled the country.

His transatlantic credentials will help rally support for Ukraine and restore ties to the US as it heads into an election year. He may also seek closer ties with Germany. In 2011, Sikorski said in a speech he feared German power less than its inaction, an appeal for the EU’s largest member to play a more active role in Europe.

Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Climate Minister

The former banker has been a lawmaker since 2015. In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Hennig-Kloska said she hoped that Poland, the EU’s most coal-dependent member state, will speed up its exit from dirty fuel in less than two decades, or 10 years earlier than the previous government’s plan.

Her appointment was briefly thrown into doubt last week when the onshore wind bill that she spearheaded sparked controversy and was withdrawn. Tusk reassured her during a speech in parliament that the law aimed at making it easier to build wind farms will eventually be adopted.

Borys Budka, State Assets Minister

A marathon runner and legal counsel, 45-year-old Budka once served as justice minister and led Civic Platform before handing over the reins to Tusk in 2022. Budka will now be responsible for overseeing Poland’s biggest companies — from energy company Orlen SA to banks including PKO Bank Polska SA — as well as the planned phaseout of coal and an investment program in Poland’s energy transformation.

Tusk played down the minister’s lack of business experience, saying Budka’s first task would be to audit the spending and hiring practices by state-owned companies under the previous nationalist government. Expect a rapid reshuffling in the executive ranks.

Adam Bodnar, Justice Minister

As human-rights ombudsman, Bodnar, 46, became one of the faces of Poland’s resistance to democratic backsliding under Law & Justice. A lawyer who gained prominence by questioning the overhaul the judiciary, he’ll be well placed to roll back a court overhaul that critics said placed the judiciary under political influence and eroded the rule of law.

Bodnar was especially vocal in Law & Justice’s campaign against LGBTQ communities and allegations of police brutality against mainly women protesters demonstrating against abortion restrictions. In October, he secured more than 600,000 votes in his first-ever election, the most among any lawmaker in the Sejm.

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Defense Minister

A physician with a PhD in genetics, Kosiniak-Kamysz, 42, is the leader of the Polish People’s Party, one of the partners in the ruling coalition. He also served in Tusk’s previous government as labor minister.

Kosiniak-Kamysz takes over as defense minister after the previous government promised to ramp up defense spending to 4% of economic output in the face of Russian aggression. He also inherits a program of arms purchases estimated to cost around $199 billion through 2035, including defense contracts with South Korea and the US.

--With assistance from Maciej Martewicz, Wojciech Moskwa, Thomas Hall and Philip Tabuas.

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