Poland’s lawmakers vote in 2024 budget but approval is still needed from pro-opposition president

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers have approved the key 2024 state budget but it still needs approval from President Andrzej Duda, who is allied with the right-wing opposition. The budget adopted on Thursday also needs endorsement from the Senate before the Jan. 29 deadline, when it has to land on Duda’s desk. A delay could allow the president to call early elections. The new pro-European Union government that took office last month had to work fast to have the budget ready in time. The approved draft gives more money to education and health care and less to the president’s office and to various historical institutions that were linked to the previous right-wing government.