End of an Era: Law and Justice Party's Eight-Year Reign of Authoritarianism comes to an end in Poland

The Law and Justice Party of Poland, a populist party, has failed a confidence vote to end its authoritarian eight-year rule, which paves the way for Donald Tusk to assume leadership of the country this week. Despite falling short of a parliamentary majority in the October general election, the party, also known as PiS, had attempted unsuccessfully for two months to form a coalition to maintain its power.

The vote on Monday, which followed party lines, marked the end of a controversial era of PiS rule that had caused concern among international organizations and created deep divisions within Polish society.

Following this, centrist politician Tusk, who secured a decisive victory in October, will finally be able to establish his coalition. It is anticipated that he will be appointed as prime minister in the coming hours and will then lead his coalition to a confidence vote later this week, which he is highly likely to win.

Donald Tusk, the former president of the European Union (EU) and leader of the Civic Coalition, delivers a speech at an election night rally in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. The opposition in Poland is poised for a majority after Sunday's election, a surprising turn of events that would prevent the ruling nationalists from securing a third term and result in the country re-engaging with the European Union. Photographer: Damian Lemanski/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Damian Lemanski/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Polands pro-European opposition seems set to oust populists, but tense days lie ahead

Since taking power in 2015, PiS has been responsible for orchestrating an illiberal transformation of Poland. This has involved seizing greater control of the country's judiciary, public media, cultural institutions and companies, as well as cracking down on the rights of migrants, women, and LGBTQ+ people. However, the party failed to secure an unprecedented third term in the October election, which was largely influenced by issues such as the cost of living, the war in Ukraine, and Poland's position within Europe.

PiS won the most seats of any single party and the country's PiS-aligned President, Andrzej Duda, gave the party the opportunity to form a government despite other groups refusing to govern alongside them.

Tusk, who served as Poland's prime minister for two terms from 2007 and later became the EU Council President for five years, will now work to reverse the effects of PiS's transformation of the Polish state.

He will have to face off against a president and a court system that favors the previous ruling party, as well as satisfy a diverse coalition that includes lawmakers from the left-wing to the center-right. Stay tuned for more details on this developing story.

CNNs Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting