Finance Minister Morawiecki replaces Szydlo as Polish PM

Poland’s ruling conservatives named Finance Minister Mateusz Morawiecki as the country’s new prime minister on Thursday. Morawiecki, who has also been a deputy prime minister, will replace the largely popular Beata Szydlo, marking the midpoint of the parliamentary term, Reuters said. Morawiecki, 49, was seen as the most likely candidate to replace Szydlo, 54, to prepare the Law and Justice party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, for elections due in the next three years. Local elections will be held in 2018, parliamentary elections in 2019, and a presidential election in 2020. Morawiecki, an ex-banker, is broadly favored by Kaczynski, while Szydlo lacked the full trust of the party’s chairman, according to analysts.