Poland's minority government survived a confidence motion by 16 votes yesterday, strengthening the position of the Prime Minister, Mr Leszek Miller, in the run-up to next May's EU accession.
Mr Miller called the confidence motion last Monday, a day after Poland voted to join the EU, to shore up support for his minority administration.
The positive referendum vote and yesterday's win, by an unexpectedly large margin, make it almost certain that Mr Miller will lead Poland into the EU next May.
"I called the vote of confidence because a new situation exists in Poland," Mr Miller said.
Ahead of the vote, he answered more than 100 questions from members of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, and announced plans for measures "in the areas of the business, living standards and institutional stability" to bring Poland up to EU standards.
"Too much energy has been devoted to grabbing power and too little to solving people's real problems," he said. Since taking office 20 months ago, his government has become the most unpopular administration in Poland's post-communist history. Scandals and 18 per cent unemployment have only added to growing public disillusionment.
Yesterday's vote stabilised a government that has been in uncertain waters since last March when Mr Miller ousted one of his two coalition partners for voting against the government's new road tax plans.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/5fed9ec9-e0d2-4b29-898a-83fc9bc5d78e.png)