President Karol Nawrocki does not intend to renegotiate ambassadorial appointments with Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. In an interview with „Rzeczpospolita”, however, he declared readiness to talk with Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Excerpts from the conversation with Michał Kolanka were published on Monday, October 12, on rp.pl. The full interview is set to appear on Tuesday, October 13, in the newspaper and on the daily’s website.
What the president said
Asked whether he was ready to talk with Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski or Prime Minister Tusk about unblocking the appointments, Nawrocki replied that he was not ready to talk with the foreign minister. He justified this by saying that talks with him „have no meaning whatsoever”. He added that he could talk with „Minister Sikorski’s boss, that is, Prime Minister Tusk”.
„If the prime minister wants to return to the agreement that is still on the table, I am ready.”
The president also said he would not renegotiate with Sikorski, since the minister, as it turned out, cannot bring agreements to completion on his own. He recalled that he had „reached an agreement with the foreign minister once and nothing came of it”. Asked whether he would contact the prime minister first, he replied that he would not beg, and that he was addressing Tusk through the interview.
Where the deadlock comes from
The dispute over staffing diplomatic posts began under President Andrzej Duda. According to media reports, Nawrocki has not signed appointments proposed by the Foreign Ministry since the start of his term, while the Presidential Chancellery demands that names be agreed before the formal procedure. Both presidents objected in particular to the nomination of Bogdan Klich as ambassador to Washington and Ryszard Schnepf to Italy, as reported by „Do Rzeczy”.
In September, the head of the Office of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, claimed that the first package of ambassadors had been agreed with Sikorski, but that Tusk had blocked it. According to Wprost’s report, Przydacz said this on Radio Wnet. A few days ago, Sikorski revealed that the president had proposed Nikodem Rachoń as ambassador to the United States, which provoked a sharp reaction from Przydacz.
What next
As of publication, no comment from Tusk or Sikorski on the interview could be found. Until the president signs the appointments, key posts, including the one in Washington, remain without full-fledged ambassadors; Bogdan Klich heads it as chargé d’affaires. The resolution depends on whether the prime minister decides to hold talks with the president, which Nawrocki publicly expects.
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