Polish Finance Minister Morawiecki to replace Szydlo as premier

Warsaw (dpa) - Polish Economy and Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is set to replace Beata Szydlo as Polish prime minister.Szydlo has tendered her resignation and the Law and Justice (PiS) party‘s leadership has selected Morawiecki as her successor, party spokeswoman Beata Mazurek said on Thursday.Morawiecki, 49, is known to be close to Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling nationalist-conservative PiS."We have new tasks ahead of us," Mazurek said about the transition.Commentators assume that the party plans to concentrate more on economic policies in the near future and is therefore looking to tap Morawiecki‘s financial background.More cabinet reshuffling is expected in January.The government has come under fire from the opposition, Polish non-governmental organizations and the European Union for trying to pass controversial pieces of legislation aimed at overhauling the country‘s judiciary.Critics argue the laws would give the government too much influence over the judicial branch. The reforms have triggered protests across Poland and accusations that the government is sliding towards authoritarianism.The PiS is still clearly the strongest party in Poland, with surveys showing as much as 47 per cent of voters supporting the nationalist-conservative party.Szydlo has led the Polish government since the PiS came into power in 2015.