Inaugural session of new parliament. President Duda: I'm ready to use veto if necessary

President Andrzej Duda formally nominated outgoing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to form a new government, but he has almost no chance of doing so. His nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) lost its majority in last month's election and all other parties have ruled out working with it.

Morawiecki will now have 14 days to detail his programme to parliament and win its vote of confidence, which requires an absolute majority in the lower house, the Sejm, meaning the number of supporters must exceed the number of opponents and abstainers.

The new parliament is set to draw a line under a turbulent eight-year period marked by rows with the European Union, sudden late-night votes and lawmaking sometimes so rapid that political opponents said it undercut normal parliamentary process.

"The nation has done its job, and now its representatives must repair the Republic of Poland... repair democracy," Donald Tusk, who could be the next prime minister, told lawmakers from his Civic Coalition (KO) grouping.

Morawiecki submitted his previous government's resignation on Monday. In a sign of the problems he faces forming a new government, all parties but PiS voted for Szymon Hołownia, a representative of the centre-right Poland 2050 party, to become parliamentary speaker.

Hołownia will serve until 2025 when, under a coalition agreement, the role would pass to Włodzimierz Czarzasty of the New Left.

Outside parliament, opposition activists dismantled barriers erected during PiS's rule to keep protesters out, a change which KO lawmaker Michał Szczerba described as "symbolic".

PiS still hopes that Morawiecki will be able to gather a majority, but has acknowledged it is difficult. "It will be a great success if he succeeds," party leader Jarosław Kaczyński told reporters.

Turning his fire on Tusk, who PiS has repeatedly accused of being a German stooge, Kaczyński said the KO leader's policies equated to "not only the removal of sovereignty, but the liquidation of the Polish state", without elaborating.

If Morawiecki fails, it will mean a period of cohabitation between PiS-allied President Duda and a government led by Tusk.

In an address to parliament, Duda said he would not hesitate to use his veto if he saw fit. "A possible veto cannot be an excuse for not fulfilling your election promises," he told lawmakers.

Monday's parliamentary session could also provide a glimpse of the challenges the coalition may face maintaining unity, after the New Left said it would submit two bills to legalise abortion.

Some left-leaning lawmakers were disappointed the opposition coalition agreement did not make a clear declaration that abortion would be available for all during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Centre-right lawmakers ruled out including such a commitment.