Poland's PM Tusk to step down as Brussels calls

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was expected to quit within 24 hours, according to a government spokeswoman today, in a first step towards taking up the job of European Council president.
He is likely to be replaced by Ewa Kopacz, dubbed the "Iron Lady" by Polish analysts.
Tusk's being tapped by Brussels to succeed Herman Van Rompuy in a key EU job is being seen in Poland as a nod not only to him, but also the country's growing political and economic importance within the European fold.
And his governing centre-right Civic Platform (PO) is seeing the first knock-on effects of his presidency, with opinion polls showing it surging ahead of conservative rivals, the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.

But it still remains to be seen whether the "Tusk effect" will rub off on the party in legislative elections scheduled for the autumn of 2015.
He earned the distinction of steering Poland though the global financial crisis as the only EU state to maintain growth.

As prime minister he also fostered cosy ties with EU powerhouse and neighbour Germany, in the wake of a more frosty earlier episode under a PiS administration.
Tusk has also succeeded in acquiring significant EU subsidies, but critics insist that under pressure from various lobby groups, he has put off long promised reforms, including a flat tax and downsizing the bureaucracy.

He is expected to tender his resignation on "Wednesday morning, at the latest to President Bronislaw Komorowski, who will accept it by Thursday", government spokeswoman Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska told reporters Tuesday morning.
Under the constitution, President Komorowski will then have two weeks to designate a successor before a September 25 deadline, but could select a candidate ahead of trips to The Netherlands and the US starting on the 20th.
The governing coalition -- an alliance between Tusk's PO and the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL) -- has already nominated Ewa Kopacz, the current parliamentary speaker and an unwavering Tusk ally.
Komorowski said he was for the "stability" of government and came out in favour of Kopacz for prime minister. Once he approves her candidature, she will have two weeks to present parliament with a new government for a vote of confidence.

She is destined to get the greenlight from parliament, given the extent of her backing there.
The one unknown remains the makeup of the new cabinet. There could be a "pretty significant" reshuffle, according to Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki.
But it would only affect the PO ministers, as it appears PSL will keep its three portfolios (economy, agriculture and labour).
Several key posts, including that of the defence and foreign ministers should remain unchanged, according to media speculation.
But one of the outgoing cabinet's stars, Regional Development Minister Elzbieta Bienkowska, will likely swap her position for that of a European commissioner.