On Wednesday (June 22) afternoon, president Andrzej Duda appointed four new members of the government. Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak replaced PiS party chief Jarosław Kaczyński as deputy prime minister.
President Duda also appointed Zbigniew Hoffmann, Włodzimierz Tomaszewski and Agnieszka Ścigaj as ministers without portfolio.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki informed on Wednesday that Ścigaj would be responsible for social integration issues, including affairs related to Ukrainian refugees staying in Poland.
Zbigniew Hoffmann, who is a PiS MP and deputy chief of PM's office, will be overseeing the works of the national security and defence issues committee, which used to be chaired by Jarosław Kaczyński.
Włodzimierz Tomaszewski has replaced Michał Cieślak, who has recently stepped down as minister after being involved in a post office scandal.
Andrzej Duda: new members will have very important tasks
After appointing the ministers, president Duda said he was very glad that "changes made in government are carried out consistently and fast, and that new people are being appointed to carry out very important tasks".
"I'm also very happy to see a quick replacement in the post of deputy prime minister responsible for security, chief of security affairs committee. Already five days after Mr Jarosław Kaczyński's resignation, we have Mr Mariusz Błaszczak. Thank you for this choice prime minister. I'm proud to admit that I have fully supported this candidate from the start," he added.
In his opinion, "there aren't many people within the United Right coalition with such vast experience in security issues like minister Mariusz Błaszczak".
Autorka/Autor: gf
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP