Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended his centrist, pro-European government before parliament, seeking to reassert control and rally his fractured coalition after suffering a bitter political defeat.

Tusk, who previously served as Polish prime minister from 2007 to 2014, returned to office in December 2023 in a country hit by the pandemic and inflation and facing significant political divisions. V

Donald Tusk’s premiership is reeling from a presidential election debacle that’s left the Polish leader diminished in the face of a resurgent nationalist opposition.The defeat of Tusk’s ally — who topped polls until weeks before the June 1 contest for the presidency — has sparked calls from some ruling coalition lawmakers for the prime minister to step aside.