New leader for Poland's opposition PO party

Schetyna was the only candidate for the post, and took over from former PM Ewa Kopacz following the PO’s crushing defeat in Poland’s October general elections.

“This will be the beginning of serious discussions within the party,” Schetyna said.

According to a recent poll by Millward Brown for private broadcaster TVN, Civic Platform - which led a coalition government for eight years until losing the general election - would take 14 percent of the vote if a general election were to be held this month, while opposition party Nowoczesna would garner 27 percent.

The appointment ceremony for the new PO leader at around 2pm on Tuesday was attended by several hundred party activists, MPs, MEPs and local government officials.

Later in the day, party officials will meet to discuss the future of the PO, which was co-founded in 2001 by Poland's Donald Tusk, the current head of the European Council.

Schetyna was first elected to parliament in 2005, and has been Speaker of the lower house of parliament, foreign minister and was briefly acting president following the 2010 death of then-President Lech Kaczyński in the Smolensk plane crash. (rg/pk)