STORY: Donald Tusk sworn in as new Polish PM
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 13, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 14, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:38
LOCATION: Warsaw
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw
2. various of President Duda walking in
3. various of President Duda handing Donald Tusk confirmation of being picked as the Prime Minister of Poland
4. various of Donald Tusk reading the oath
5. various of President Duda clapping
6. various of President Duda signing the decision to appoint the Prime Minister
7. various of Duda and Tusk with the signed decision
8. SOUNDBITE 1 (Polish): ANDRZEJ DUDA, Polish President
9. various of Donald Tusk listening to Duda's speech
10. SOUNDBITE 2 (Polish): ANDRZEJ DUDA, Polish President
11. SOUNDBITE 3 (Polish): DONALD TUSK, Polish PM
12. various of Duda and Tusk's photo opp with new ministers

STORYLINE:

Donald Tusk was sworn in as Polish prime minister at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Wednesday.
   
Tusk was elected as prime minister by the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, in the so-called second "constitutional step" on Monday, after Mateusz Morawiecki, who was designated as prime minister by President Andrzej Duda following the country's parliamentary elections in October, failed to obtain a vote of confidence in the Sejm.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (Polish): ANDRZEJ DUDA, Polish President
"I want to congratulate you. First of all, congratulations on your victory in the political process."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Polish): ANDRZEJ DUDA, Polish President
"I can assure you that I will certainly not oppose or block anything that serves the good of citizens and the continuation of the Republic of Poland. Just come here, to the Presidential Palace, sit down and talk about what you want to do. I assure you that there will always be time for it in my calendar."

On Tuesday, the Sejm gave a vote of confidence to Tusk's cabinet.
   
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, deputy prime minister and defense minister, and Krzysztof Gawkowski, deputy prime minister and digitization minister, were also sworn in.
   
Radoslaw Sikorski, who once served as defense minister and foreign minister, will again head the foreign ministry. Adam Bodnar, former ombudsperson, will lead the ministry of justice and the prosecutor general's office.
   
In a major policy speech to parliament on Tuesday, Tusk vowed to raise public-sector pay and unblock from the European Union 59.8 billion euros (64.5 billion U.S. dollars) in grants and loans, frozen due to the rule of law dispute between Warsaw and Brussels. He also highlighted legislative measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and teachers.
   
SOUNDBITE 3 (Polish): DONALD TUSK, Polish PM
"Mr. President, I would like to say that I was extremely happy to receive the president's readiness for full cooperation. Everyone, without exception, who wants to act in accordance with the words of the oath we took today will be our ally, regardless of where they come from or what function they hold. There is no more important issue for us than the good of our homeland and the prosperity of our citizens. This is our civic declaration of faith; this will be the motto that will guide every minister. This motto is a great commitment to us."

Tusk, 66, served as Poland's prime minister from 2007 to 2014, and president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar)

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Warsaw.
(XHTV)