“I’m not the 13th prime minister”, replied Donald Tusk to a journalist’s comment on the jinxed nature of that unlucky number at his first press conference as PM at a greeting ceremony at the government chancellery early Friday afternoon.
“Minister Pawlak (newly-elected deputy premier) has been PM twice, so No. 13 was in fact Jarosław Kaczyński. That explains a lot”, Tusk added.
The ex premier Kaczyński did not turn up to any of the main events of the day due to previously planned holiday. Instead, he sent Tusk a congratulatory letter comprised of three sentences of best wishes and “no advice”, as the new PM put it.
Donald tusk praised his new cabinet, “The Members of the Ministers’ Council generally have a lot of children, [the government] comprises the highest number of women in the history Polish government and as many as five ministers are not affiliated to any party”, Tusk told the press conference.
Donald Tusk also appealed for "kindness” and "understanding" for the debuting government spokeswoman Agnieszka Liszka.
Tusk refused answers to any questions on the new policies to be adopted by his government claiming that his inauguration speech in the parliament would provide a more appropriate forum for addressing political issues.