Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak survives no-confidence-vote in the Sejm

In the vote, 217 MPs voted in favour of minister Błaszczak's dismissal and 235 voted against, and there were no abstentions.

Civic Coalition and The Left had filed the motion to express a vote of no confidence against MOD chief Mariusz Błaszczak in May, arguing he was not responsible enough to perform his duties in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

To support their cause, the opposition MPs brought up the case of a Russian missile found by a passerby in a forest near Bydgoszcz. Even though the missile had fallen down on the Polish territory on December 16, 2022, the government informed the public about when it was found in late April this year.

Minister Błaszczak said at the time that response mechanisms had worked properly, with planes scrambled in the air after reports of a possible missile, but the operational commander had failed to fulfil his duties properly.

Błaszczak also said the inspection showed failures in how the search for the object was conducted.

"Only a police patrol was dispatched to the site and a helicopter search was not carried out until December 19. Soldiers of territorial defence forces on duty were not included in the search. After December 19, the search was completely abandoned."

During the debate on the no-confidence vote bid, the former defence minister and current deputy chief of Civic Platform, Tomasz Siemoniak, said Poland could not afford "an unreliable and poor defence minister who is not trusted by majority of Poles, the president, and the prime minister".

"For the sake of Poland's security, minister Błaszczak should step down," Siemoniak stressed.

Błaszczak accused the opposition of being part of Russian hybrid war waged against Poland. "Right now Putin is running this war using your hands," he said.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused the opposition of acting irresponsibly and praised Błaszczak for improving the condition of the Polish Armed Forces and for the quality of the alliances Poland was in.

In line with the Constitution of Poland, the lower house of parliament may express a vote of no confidence in a minister by a majority of votes of the statutory number of deputies.