Third Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki

The third Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki was the caretaker government of Poland, headed by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, after his re-appointment by President Andrzej Duda on 27 November 2023.^[2] Two weeks later, on December 11, 2023, Morawiecki failed to receive a vote of confidence, with 266 of the 460 MPs voting against.^[3]

Third Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki
Council of Ministers of Poland
November – December 2023
Mateusz Morawiecki (2023)
Date formed	27 November 2023
Date dissolved	13 December 2023
People and organisations
President	Andrzej Duda
Prime Minister	Mateusz Morawiecki
No. of ministers	18[1]
Member parties	Law and Justice   Sovereign Poland   Renew PR   Republican Party   Polish Affairs
Status in legislature	Minority 191 / 460 (42%)
Opposition parties	Civic Coalition   Poland 2050   Polish People's Party   The Left   Confederation
Opposition leader	Donald Tusk
History
Election	2023 parliamentary election
Legislature term	10th Sejm & 11th Senate
Predecessor	Morawiecki II
Successor	Tusk III

The government was supported by the United Right coalition composed of Morawiecki's Law and Justice, Sovereign Poland and support from Renew PR, Polish Affairs and the Republican Party. It also had the support of some independent MPs. Members of Law and Justice and Sovereign Poland held cabinet posts.

It was formed in the aftermath of the 2023 Polish parliamentary election, in which the United Right lost the outright majority it had held since 2015. The United Right is 40 seats short of a majority in the chamber; all other groups in the Sejm have ruled out cooperation with United Right, making it mathematically impossible for Morawiecki to form a majority government.^[4] The four main opposition parties–Civic Coalition, Poland 2050, Polish People's Party, and The Left–stated their intent to oppose Morawiecki and instead support a government headed by former Prime Minister and European Council President Donald Tusk. The four parties signed a coalition agreement on 10 November and agreed to put Tusk forward as their candidate for prime minister; between them, they command a majority in the Sejm.^[5][6][7]

The move by Duda to designate Morawiecki as prime minister even though he lacked enough support in the Sejm was criticized by opposition and some media as an attempt to delay the transition of power for as long as possible. Duda insisted that he upheld longstanding convention by inviting the largest party to form a government.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Mateusz Morawiecki's third government included the largest number of women in Poland's history with 10 out of the 18 ministers being female.^[12]

Morawiecki's third government was dubbed the "two-week" or "zombie government" by various media,^[13][14][15] due to its anticipated short-livedness.

Morawiecki's proposed cabinet lost a vote of no confidence in the Sejm on 11 December by 190 votes to 266, paving the way for the Sejm to propose Donald Tusk as its nominee for prime minister. Tusk's nomination as Prime Minister was subsequently confirmed by the Sejm, with 248 votes in favour and 201 against.^[16] Morawecki's government remained in a caretaker role, until Tusk's newly-assembled government was officially sworn in on 13 December.