FM: Poland's counter-candidate to Tusk "in the game" in EU
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2013 file photo, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, vice president of the European People's Party and chairman of the European People's Party Group, cheers pro-European Union supporters at a mass rally in the Independence Square as snow falls in Kiev, Ukraine. Saryusz-Wolski is Poland's surprise counter-candidate to challenge incumbent Donald Tusk for the post of European Council head. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) (The Associated Press)
Poland's foreign minister says the government's surprise counter-candidate to challenge incumbent Donald Tusk for European Council head is "Poland's only candidate on the game."
Poland has proposed Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, 68, a center-right member of the European Parliament, to succeed fellow Pole Tusk, whose term ends May 31. Warsaw refuses to back a second term for Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, saying he supports anti-government opposition in Poland and has failed to protect the country's interests in the European Union.
Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Monday Saryusz-Wolski is "in the game." Speaking ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, he said "it's obvious he is Poland's candidate and must be taken into consideration."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He said the candidacy may be debated at EU summit this week, or later on.