“A constitutional crisis broke out in Warsaw on Friday
evening as politicians reportedly physically clashed at the offices of Poland’s
Constitutional Tribunal amid accusations of a “coup d’etat” by the globalist
government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
A longstanding struggle for control over the Polish
judiciary came to a head on Friday as Prime Minister Tusk’s government sought
to forcibly appoint judges to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) and replace its
chief Bogdan Święczkowski.
While appointees to the court must be approved by President
Karol Nawrocki, the conservative politician who is aligned with the former Law
and Justice (PiS) government has so far refused to swear in any of Tusk’s
picks. Thus, the prime minister, in a supposed bid to restore the rule of law,
has sought to circumvent the law and appoint judges through the parliament,
having the speaker of the Sejm swear in his selections.
One such appointee, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced that
she would be dismissing the head of the Tribunal Bogdan Święczkowski and his
Bartłomiej Sochański, as she attempted to take control over the body.
In response, opposition leaders from the conservative Law
and Justice party, including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime
Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, gathered outside of the Tribunal’s building,
claiming that the move was unlawful and amounted to a coup, Rzeczpospolita
reported.
President Nawrocki cut short a diplomatic trip to Senegal to
return to Warsaw over the matter. In a sensational turn, after arriving at the
Tribunal, the president was said to have gotten into a scuffle with rival
politicians as he tried to enter the building. Three protesters were arrested
following the fracas.
Government minister Maciej Berek said: “To use the most
delicate of terms – the President forcefully bumped into Judge Anna
Korwin-Piotrowska and began pushing his way through a group of other Judges.”
In turn, Nawrocki’s allies accused the judges — whom they
labelled as “usurpers” — of using force against him and of violating his
constitutional authority by seeking to subvert his role in officially swearing
in justices.
Meanwhile, leaked audio from the late-night meeting
inside the Tribunal reportedly recorded President Nawrocki telling Anna
Korwin-Piotrowska and two others that they are “not judges”.
Additionally, Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Chancellery of
the President of the Republic of Poland, was heard accusing Korwin-Piotrowska
of staging a “coup d’état”.
Following the chaotic evening, Nawrocki released a statement
calling for the “forces of coercion” to leave the Constitutional Tribunal
building, while accusing the Tusk government of “violating the constitutional
order of the Republic of Poland and forcibly taking over a constitutional body
of state.”
“Due to the threat to the internal security of the Republic
of Poland, I am calling urgent consultations today with representatives of
parliamentary forces in order to stabilize the political situation and restore
constitutional order. I thank everyone who is under the jurisdiction of the
Constitutional Tribunal,” the president said.
Nawrocki suggested that First President of the Supreme
Court, Zbigniew Kapiński, “also does not recognize as legal the actions taken
by persons usurping power” over the Tribunal.
While allies of Korwin-Piotrowska appeared to have taken
over the Constitutional Tribunal’s website, they did not seem to take control
over the body’s X account, which declared: “Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a
judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. All persons participating in these
actions are committing the crime of a coup d’état.”
For his part, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is facing a
challenging re-election campaign next year, said that his efforts were intended
to “restore the rule of law”.
“After years of lawlessness under PiS this is a difficult
process, sometimes painful and it requires decisive action. There is no other
way,” he said.
Whether Tusk’s pro-EU government is successful in taking
control over the Tribunal could have significant ramifications for the upcoming
parliamentary elections in 2027, with much of Tusk’s promised domestic reforms
having been stifled by President Nawrocki and his PiS predecessor Andrzej Duda.
Dismantling the conservative power structure in the
domestic courts has been a longstanding aim of Brussels, with the EU Parliament
declaring in 2021 that the Constitutional Tribunal is “illegitimate,” and
“unfit to interpret constitution”.
However, there has been international backlash, including
from U.S. Ambassador to Poland Thomas Rose, who wrote on X: “The events
unfolding tonight at Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal are very serious indeed.
We appear to be witnessing an unprecedented confrontation over the government’s
use of state power and the independence and authority of a constitutional
institution.
“Both sides offer sharply different accounts of what
happened and why. Whatever the facts ultimately establish, thousands gathering
outside the Tribunal make an already dangerous situation more combustible. The
last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far
worse.”
“America is on Poland’s side. It is not our place to
judge or interfere in its internal affairs. Our concern is for the stability,
security, and democratic future of a country we are proud to call our friend
and ally,” Ambassador Rose added.
“I hope everyone involved—government officials, law
enforcement, and demonstrators alike- will take a deep breath, and don’t take
any action that could provoke violence or further escalation.””
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