MARCINKIEWICZ NAMES POLISH GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS WARSAW 003734 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PL SUBJECT: MARCINKIEWICZ NAMES POLISH GOVERNMENT REF: WARSAW 3712 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. Summary: Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz named his new cabinet on October 31, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs going to career diplomat Stefan Meller and Defense to Radek Sikorski. Reaching out to moderates like Zbigniew Religa as Minister of Health and Teresa Lubinska at Finance suggests that despite the implosion of the anticipated coalition with the Civic Platform (PO),the new Prime Minister is seeking to build a center-right consensus on his new governing team. The new government is now functioning. Marcinkiewicz will present the government for a vote of confidence on November 10. End Summary. ¶2. Poland's new prime minister, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, announced his new government on October 31 with a mix of Law and Justice (PiS) officials and moderate technocrats, clearly designed to win the support of PO at the expense of more radical parties. The new ministers include the following: Agriculture -- Krzystof Jurgiel Culture -- Kazimeirz Michal Ujazdowski Defense -- Radek Sikorski Development -- Grazyna Gesicka Economy -- Tadeusz Wozniak Finance -- Teresa Lubinska Foreign Affairs and European Integration -- Stefan Meller Infrastructure -- Jerzy Polaczek Interior -- Ludwik Dorn (also will serve as Deputy Prime Minister); Justice -- Zbigniew Ziobro Special Services Coordinator -- Zbigniew Wasserman Sports -- Tomasz Lipiec Treasury -- Andrzej Mikosz ¶3. As expected, PiS officials dominate the internal security ministries and services. Marcinkiewicz named experts, some with ties to PO, rather than PiS politicians, to the top economic jobs which had been offered to PO. Minister of Finance Lubinska, an economics professor at the University of Szczecin, was Marcinkiewicz's PhD advisor. The Ministers of Economy, Infrastructure and Development have all worked with the Embassy, and are well regarded. Foreign Minister Meller, until today served as Polish Ambassador to Russia, and previously served as Polish Ambassador to France. Initial reactions from our contacts at MFA are positive. ¶4. Marcinkiewicz now begins functioning as Prime Minister, replacing former PM Marek Belka. He will submit his government program to the Sejm for a vote of confidence on November 10. PO has not said what it will do. In a televised interview after the swearing in of the government, PO leader Donald Tusk criticized PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski for the failure of the coalition talks, but left the door open for further discussion. ¶5. Detailed biographies of the new ministers will be forthcoming. CURTIN