Resignation of Polish PM rejected

Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said he refused the resignation of Prime Minister Marek Belka today, a decision expected to keep the unpopular governing party in office until elections later this year.

Belka offered his resignation to Kwasniewski in fulfilment of a promise to head a caretaker government for only one year.

But the president exercised his right to keep Belka at the helm for several more months. He has said he wants to avoid a power vacuum when Poland hosts a Council of Europe summit in Warsaw on May 16-17.

“I have decided to reject the resignation of the Cabinet submitted by Prime Minister Marek Belka,” Kwasniewski said at a news conference after a meeting with Belka.

“Forming a new government today is pointless.”