MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) – Poland’s prime minister-designate Ewa Kopacz has tapped former interior minister Grzegorz Schetyna to replace Radek Sikorski as foreign minister, AP reported Friday.
Schetyna, 51, recently headed the parliamentary commission for foreign affairs. Sikorski has been a strong supporter of neighboring Ukraine’s attempts to build closer relations with its western neighbors, as well as a fierce critic of Russia’s policy towards Ukraine; he is known internationally for having made some controversial remarks.
Addressing a news conference, Kopacz didn’t name the reasons why Sikorski was fired, but stressed that Schetyna’s appointment would ensure responsibility and continuity in foreign policy.
Anna Materska-Sosnowska, an analyst from Poland’s Institute of Political Science thinks that unlike Sikorski, Schetyna will be conciliatory and soft-spoken. She also says that the government’s main task is to improve the coalition’s standing in the polls and ensure an electoral victory.
However, some analysts believe that it would be best for Sikorski to remain foreign minister, as it would provide continuity to Poland’s foreign policy while the east of Ukraine remains ravaged by military conflict.
Kopacz said that Sikorski would replace her as parliament speaker, a job she vacated when Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to step down as prime minister after being chosen to head the European Council. Kopacz’s new government includes many of Donald Tusk’s ministers as well as some new appointments.
