WATCH: Peter Oliver reports from Warsaw on the return of Donald Tusk
Warsaw's skyline may be hidden by wintry murk on this December on Tuesday, but there is a real feeling that Donald Tusk's return as prime minister represents a new dawn for Poland.
The October election prompted a record 74.4 percent turnout, and Tusk is aware those that supported him are now looking to him to deliver.
"I will be in the debt of all those who believed in this new, magnificent, Polish hope, because the date of October 15 was a day of great hope in Poland," he said.
His nomination as PM is being assessed by parliamentarians on Tuesday and is certain to be green-lit. It's expected that by Wednesday, Tusk will have his new cabinet in position – and that's when the real work will begin.
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Newly appointed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk presents his government's program and asks for a vote of confidence in Parliament in Warsaw./ Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters
A politically divided population
Improving Poland's relationship with the EU is one of the priorities – a suitable task for Tusk, who spent five years as president of the European Council, and a potential fiscal boon for a country currently frozen out of $32 billion of EU funding due to what Brussels perceived as the previous government's democratic backsliding and interference in the judiciary.
There's a dispute on the eastern border between haulage companies and farmers over imports from Ukraine.
And among a politically divided population, there is still support for the outgoing Law and Justice party; Mateus Morawiecki's party won 7.6 million voters, a million more than Tusk's Civic Platform, but couldn't form a coalition.
While there is plenty to be smoothed over at home, Tusk will be on familiar stomping ground for his foreign trip as prime minister, attending a crucial European Council meeting on the plans for Ukrainian accession on Thursday and Friday.
Current EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that she was looking forward to seeing Tusk as Polish PM at that meeting.
"Congratulations @donaldtusk on becoming Poland's Prime Minister," she wrote. "Your experience and strong commitment to our European values will be precious in forging a stronger Europe, for the benefit of the Polish people. I look forward to working with you, starting with this week's important EUCO. Congratulations Donald!"
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