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| Polish Prime Minister Replaces Top Cabinet Officials | Polish Prime Minister Replaces Top Cabinet Officials |
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| WARSAW — Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland on Wednesday overhauled his cabinet in an apparent effort to bolster his flagging poll numbers, replacing Poland’s top finance official and changing environment ministers in the middle of a United Nations climate conference his country is hosting. | WARSAW — Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland on Wednesday overhauled his cabinet in an apparent effort to bolster his flagging poll numbers, replacing Poland’s top finance official and changing environment ministers in the middle of a United Nations climate conference his country is hosting. |
| Mr. Tusk said he was appointing Mateusz Szczurek, an economist and former banker, as finance minister, replacing Jacek Rostowski, who had served in the role since Mr. Tusk was first elected prime minister in 2007. Mr. Rostowski is the architect of a planned overhaul of the pension system that has alarmed some investors. That plan was approved on Tuesday by the cabinet. | Mr. Tusk said he was appointing Mateusz Szczurek, an economist and former banker, as finance minister, replacing Jacek Rostowski, who had served in the role since Mr. Tusk was first elected prime minister in 2007. Mr. Rostowski is the architect of a planned overhaul of the pension system that has alarmed some investors. That plan was approved on Tuesday by the cabinet. |
| The prime minister also said he would replace his environment minister, Marcin Korolec, with Maciej Grabowski, a former deputy finance minister. Mr. Tusk’s center-right Civic Platform party and its coalition ally, the agrarian People’s Party, enjoy a slight majority in Parliament. While his government has been struggling, dropping behind the opposition Law and Justice party in the polls, it is not facing new elections until 2015. | The prime minister also said he would replace his environment minister, Marcin Korolec, with Maciej Grabowski, a former deputy finance minister. Mr. Tusk’s center-right Civic Platform party and its coalition ally, the agrarian People’s Party, enjoy a slight majority in Parliament. While his government has been struggling, dropping behind the opposition Law and Justice party in the polls, it is not facing new elections until 2015. |
| United Nations climate talks are currently taking place in Warsaw. The government said Mr. Korolec would remain in office through the end of conference, being held under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The talks, which conclude this weekend, are aimed at bringing about a new international agreement to replace the frayed 1997 Kyoto Protocol. | United Nations climate talks are currently taking place in Warsaw. The government said Mr. Korolec would remain in office through the end of conference, being held under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The talks, which conclude this weekend, are aimed at bringing about a new international agreement to replace the frayed 1997 Kyoto Protocol. |
| Maciej Muskat of Greenpeace Poland said Mr. Tusk’s move showed that he “is not sincere about the need for an ambitious climate deal.” | Maciej Muskat of Greenpeace Poland said Mr. Tusk’s move showed that he “is not sincere about the need for an ambitious climate deal.” |
| Mr. Tusk has already drawn considerable criticism from environmentalists for holding a world coal summit meeting at the same time as the climate talks. | Mr. Tusk has already drawn considerable criticism from environmentalists for holding a world coal summit meeting at the same time as the climate talks. |
| As part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Tusk also merged the ministries handling transportation and regional development on Wednesday, just days after the transport minister, Slawomir Nowak, resigned amid questions about his ownership of a $6,600 wristwatch. | As part of a broader cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Tusk also merged the ministries handling transportation and regional development on Wednesday, just days after the transport minister, Slawomir Nowak, resigned amid questions about his ownership of a $6,600 wristwatch. |
| The prime minister also replaced officials responsible for sports, education, science and administration. | The prime minister also replaced officials responsible for sports, education, science and administration. |
| Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a research group, said the reshuffle reflected Mr. Tusk’s realization that it was time to inject new energy into the government. He noted that Mr. Szczurek, the new finance minister, is just 38 years old and comes with no particular political baggage, while Mr. Rostowski, 62, has been in his role since 2007. | Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a research group, said the reshuffle reflected Mr. Tusk’s realization that it was time to inject new energy into the government. He noted that Mr. Szczurek, the new finance minister, is just 38 years old and comes with no particular political baggage, while Mr. Rostowski, 62, has been in his role since 2007. |
| Widespread concern about the state of the economy has damaged the government’s standing, he said, while debate over Mr. Tusk’s pension reform plan, which critics have likened to the “nationalization” of private savings, has proved deeply divisive. | Widespread concern about the state of the economy has damaged the government’s standing, he said, while debate over Mr. Tusk’s pension reform plan, which critics have likened to the “nationalization” of private savings, has proved deeply divisive. |
| Mr. Korolec sought to reassure delegates at the climate conference, saying in a statement that he would retain the portfolio of Poland’s chief representative to the talks. “I’ll be able to fully concentrate on the process of climate negotiations, without other responsibilities related to daily responsibilities of running the Ministry of Environment,” he said. | |
| Mr. Grabowski, the new environment minister, pledged to begin work on the exploitation of Poland’s shale gas resources, which are thought to be substantial. | |
| “There is a chance for us to be a leading country in this respect in the coming months,” Mr. Grabowski said at a news conference, Reuters reported. | “There is a chance for us to be a leading country in this respect in the coming months,” Mr. Grabowski said at a news conference, Reuters reported. |
| There has been disappointment in Warsaw, which gets most of its energy from coal, at the failure of an expected shale gas boom to materialize. A number of major energy companies have given up on Poland after arriving with high hopes for recovering shale gas by means of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, stymied by local opposition, bureaucracy and lower-than-expected reserves. | There has been disappointment in Warsaw, which gets most of its energy from coal, at the failure of an expected shale gas boom to materialize. A number of major energy companies have given up on Poland after arriving with high hopes for recovering shale gas by means of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, stymied by local opposition, bureaucracy and lower-than-expected reserves. |