Surprise choice for new Polish prime minister

Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, a former school principal turned economic adviser, is set to become Poland’s new prime minister as he embarks on talks to form a new government that will try to reduce taxes and increase prosperity for the country’s 38 million residents.

In a surprise decision, the 45-year-old former physicist was asked to be the next prime minister by the conservative Law and Justice Party last night. Most analysts, and Poles, were certain that party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who said he wanted the job, would get it.