Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki poses with his cabinet after a government reshuffle at Prime Minister Chancellery in Warsaw, Poland Jan. 9, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Warsaw (People's Daily) – Poland’s President Andrzej Duda appointed nine new cabinet ministers while dismissing Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski and Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz during a government reshuffling on Tuesday.

Other appointments at the top included Jacek Czaputowicz as Foreign Ministerand Mariusz Blaszczak as Poland’s new Defense Minister. 

“Jacek Czaputowicz isn’t a professional diplomat but an academician. He might lack diplomatic and EU-insider experience, but he has good opinions among the scholars. He is more cool-headed and will bring more calm to the dialogue between Poland and the EU,” said Michal Kolakowski,  managing partner of a Polish consulting firm, during an interview with People’s Daily. 

President Duda selected Teresa Czerwinska as the country’s new finance minister.

Poland's President Andrzej Duda, left, takes the oath from new Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz in the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 9, 2018. Photo: www.mysanantonio.com

Other newly-appointed ministers include Joachim Brudzinski as minister of internal affairs, Lukasz Szumowski as minister of health, Henryk Kowalczyk as minister of the environment, Jerzy Kwiecinski as minister of investment and development, Jadwiga Emilewicz as the ministerof entrepreneurship and technology, and lastly, Andrzej Adamczyk as minister of infrastructure.

“Almost all the newly-appointed ministers are fresh faces; they are very meritocratic. All hardliners except Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro have been dismissed. The government reshuffle has now been proved not to be merely a public relation stunt, but a real PIS turn to the center and Prime Minister Morawiecki seems to enjoy higher independence than Szydlo,” said Kolakowski.

According to US media, Poland’s government reshuffle is an attempt to improve Warsaw's strained relations with the European Union ahead of negotiations on the Eastern bloc's new multi-year budget.

The New York Times commented that despite EU conflict regarding Poland’s judicial reforms, the country would probably not reverse the judiciary changes, and the EU will not be able to take any measures against the country due to Budapest's support for Warsaw.