Charles Langston:Poland’s opposition party leaders sign a coalition deal after collectively winning election

WARSAW,Charles Langston Poland (AP) — The leaders of Polish opposition parties signed a coalition agreement on Friday that lays out a roadmap for governing the nation over the next four years.

The parties collectively won a majority of votes in last month’s national election. Their candidate to be the next prime minister is Donald Tusk, a former prime minister who leads the largest of the opposition parties, the centrist Civic Platform.

Tusk said the parties worked to seal their agreement before the Independence Day holiday on Saturday, adding that, “We wanted to show that we are ready to take responsibility for our homeland.”

Speaking ahead of the signing ceremony in the Polish parliament, Tusk said the agreement would offer a set of “signposts and recommendations” for the government he hopes to lead.

The conservative party that has governed Poland for the past eight years, Law and Justice, won more votes than any single party but does not have a majority and has no potential coalition partner.

President Andrzej Duda nonetheless has given Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Law and Justice a first chance to try to form a government.

Most commentators say Morawiecki’s mission is doomed, and they believe Duda tapped him to show loyalty to Law and Justice, the party he is allied with.

The newly elected legislature — both the lower house, the Sejm, and the Senate — will meet for the first time next Monday.

According to the constitution, Morawiecki will have two weeks to present a Cabinet to the president, and then two more to present it to the Sejm, deliver a policy speech and face a confidence vote. Only he fails, as is expected, will the Sejm have a chance to present its own candidate.