President Duda appoints Kaczynski as deputy PM
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, on Wednesday formally appointed Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the governing Law and Justice party (PiS), as a deputy prime minister.
Kaczynski will serve as the only deputy prime minister in the government.
Earlier, Duda dismissed four previous deputy prime ministers, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, Culture Minister Piotr Glinski, State Assets Minister Jacek Sasin and minister without portfolio Henryk Kowalczyk from their posts.
At the same time he formally reappointed Blaszczak as the defence minister, Glinski as culture minister, Sasin as state assets minister and Kowalczyk as a government minister.
Kaczynski resigned in June 2022 from his position as deputy prime minister and head of the security committee, which he had led from October 2020, in order to concentrate on party affairs.
Speaking at the appointment ceremony Duda said that Kaczynski's experience in security affairs was needed.
He added that the homeland defence law prepared by Kaczynski "is a fundamental act for strengthening Poland's security, in a military sense" at a time when Russia wages war on Ukraine, and allows the Defence Ministry to make significant armament purchases for the Polish army.
Security issues including military equipment purchases should be supervised "at the highest level" in the Council of Ministers, Duda continued.
"I have no doubts that it is precisely for this purpose that Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, as the leader of the most important of the ruling parties - Law and Justice - is absolutely predestined to perform these tasks in the best possible way," Duda said.
The president also said Polish security needs to be enhanced because of the possibility of Russian interference in the autumn's general election.
The PiS leader, who was also prime minister between 2006 and 2007 in a previous PiS government, has generally preferred to stay out of front-line politics.
Sometimes seen as a divisive figure in Polish politics, he had left the running of the country to politicians with less abrasive reputations such as Mateusz Morawiecki, the current prime minister, while using his position as party president to wield influence over the government. (PAP)
mr/md/jch
