Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk won a parliamentary vote of confidence in his pro-European government on Wednesday, just days after a stinging presidential election defeat.

Tusk is seeking to reassert his authority after the defeat of his key ally Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski in a recent presidential election to the nationalist historian Karol Nawrocki.

"I needed this vote because we were seeing... speculation that this government will not make it, that Tusk may be taken down, and you cannot work under such conditions," Tusk said.

How did the vote go for Tusk?

From the 460-seat parliament, 243 backed Tusk's coalition, achieving the simple majority needed for the government to survive. Another 210 lawmakers voted against Tusk's government.

Tusk's supporters inside the Sejm, Poland's lower house, rose to applaud the prime minister and chant his name.

The confidence vote, called by Tusk himself, came after right-wing nationalist Nawrocki, backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, narrowly beat his candidate Rafal Trzaskowski.

Nawrocki, who Nawrocki has promised to continue outgoing president Andrzej Duda's policy of blocking Tusk's reformist agenda, also has the backing of US President Donald Trump. 

Announcing the vote, Tusk said his party was prepared for the challenge, understands the stakes, and does not "intend to take a single step back."

"The vote of confidence should be a new opening," Tusk said.

PM battled to deliver on key reforms

Behind the call for a confidence vote is Tusk's aim to rally support for his pro-European coalition.

Tusk's governing coalition has sought to reverse the previous PiS government's judicial reforms, which the European Union said undermined democracy and the rights of women and minorities.

However, the outgoing President Andrzej Duda blocked those efforts, and Nawrocki is expected to maintain this position.

This inability to deliver on key reforms — which also includes abortion rights — despite holding a parliamentary majority, has been a dark cloud over Tusk's government.

Critics point out that since coming to power in December 2023, little change has been seen under Tusk's government.

What's the reality now for Tusk?

In Poland, the prime minister, chosen by parliament, holds most day-to-day power, while the president, as the head of state, can influence foreign policy and veto legislation.

Now Tusk finds himself in the same position with Nawrocki as he did with Duda, whose veto power blocked the PM from fulfilling his promises.

So, while Tusk has framed the vote as a "new beginning" and promised a cabinet reshuffle in July, negotiations with his coalition also loom.

Opposition leaders had seized the moment to signal Tusk's downfall.

Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told reporters´: "The lost presidential election is the end of Donald Tusk. His fate is already sealed."

Edited by: Kieran Burke and Zac Crellin