New Polish cabinet wins vote of confidence

WARSAW, Nov 24 (Reuters) Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right cabinet won a vote of confidence in parliament today, following last month's parliamentary election.

Deputies voted 238 to 204 to endorse the cabinet after a 24-hour debate on Tusk's inaugural speech, in which he promised to push the ex-communist EU nation towards adoption of the euro and to pull troops out of Iraq in 2008.

Tusk's coalition cabinet, which includes his Civic Platform party and a small Peasants Party, replaces the conservative-nationalist government of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of President Lech Kaczynski.

Tusk's ability to pursue the government's liberal economic agenda will depend on his ability to cooperate with the president, whose term runs to 2010.

The first task facing the new government will be to push through the 2008 budget draft and reconcile promises of higher public spending with needs to reduce the budget deficit in line with EU demands.

A debate on the draft, which the new cabinet inherited from its predecessor, is due to start later today.

REUTERS RJ KP1706