WARSAW (Reuters) - Both parties in Poland's governing coalition back parliamentary speaker Ewa Kopacz to be the next prime minister, an aide to the Polish president said on Monday.
Janusz Piechocinski, the leader of the junior partner in the coalition visited President Bronislaw Komorowski earlier on Monday and expressed his support for Kopacz, presidential spokeswoman Joanna Trzaska-Wieczorek told reporters.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is to step down to take up the post of president of the European Council. Tusk's Civic Platform party has already backed Kopacz to succeed him.
The presidential spokeswoman said that Komorowski would accept Tusk's resignation this week, and on Thursday afternoon would invite Kopacz, as the ruling coalition's candidate, to meet him for talks.
Under Poland's constitution, the president nominates a prime minister. The prime minister-designate forms a new cabinet which is then submitted to a vote of confidence in parliament. The ruling coalition has a small majority in the legislature.
(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Marcin Goclowski)
