Belka fails to win Parliamentary vote of confidence

He needed 226 votes to win. After the vote Belka said that this was still a better result than he had expected. This raises the question of "what next". President Aleksander Kwaśniewski said that despite the result, Belka's cabinet is still in power for the time being. Belka, still backed by Kwaśniewski, said that he did not expected to win on his first attempt an will go for a second try. However, the initiative has now passed from the President to the Sejm to select a PM. (Gazeta Wyborcza, 15-16 V, pp. 1, 2, 3, 17, 19, 30, various TV news reports) D.W.