Tusk defends suspension of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal president as protesters gather again

WARSAW, Poland -- Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday that his government would press ahead with efforts to restore the independence of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, as hundreds of protesters gathered for a second night against the suspension of the court's president. The pro-European government said the suspension is necessary to restore judicial independence, while critics from the opposition have likened it to a 'coup d'etat.'

Political Crisis Deepens

President Karol Nawrocki, who opposes the pro-European government, turned back his plane during a flight to Senegal on Friday evening and returned home. On Friday night, he made his way to the Constitutional Tribunal despite the chaos and said he helped the suspended court president enter the building.

Police said they detained three protesters on Friday night after some threw objects at officers and tried to break through the security fence around the court. The dispute over the long-embattled Constitutional Tribunal is likely to deepen political polarization in Poland a year before a parliamentary election.

Judicial Independence Battle

Critics in Poland and the European Union accuse PiS, which led the country between 2015 and 2023, of imposing political control over key judicial institutions. Reforms introduced under the PiS government prompted the EU to impose fines on Poland.

Tusk's pro-European government came to power in 2023 with a promise to restore the independence of the judiciary. Since then, its efforts have been blocked by vetoes from two successive presidents aligned with PiS, including Nawrocki. The functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal had been impaired for years.

The Court of Justice of the European Union had said it was no longer an impartial court after PiS appointments. Even after Tusk took power, efforts to balance the court were hampered by Nawrocki and the tribunal's president, Bogdan Święczkowski.

Opposition Response

On Friday evening, the Constitutional Tribunal's website announced the suspension of Święczkowski. Shortly after, the protesters — including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński and far-right politicians — began rallying outside the building.

The government says Święczkowski repeatedly broke the law and jeopardized the tribunal's work. Święczkowski became head of the court under the former PiS government. Tusk has accused him of blocking judges elected by the parliamentary majority from taking up their posts at the tribunal.

Coalition Tensions

Przydacz said that the president had invited all parliamentary parties to talks on Saturday in an effort to defuse tensions and find a solution to the crisis. The government is a broad coalition made up of Tusk's centrist Civic Coalition, the Left, and two more conservative groupings, Poland 2050 and the Polish People's Party, or PSL.

Representatives of Poland 2050 and PSL, along with several opposition parties, met with Nawrocki on Saturday, while Tusk didn't attend. The president's camp is hoping that the crisis surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal will erode Tusk's parliamentary majority.

Speaking on Saturday night, Tusk compared PiS to a man who steals an elderly woman's purse and then claims to be the victim when police catch him and take it back. PiS' response to the suspension of Święczkowski represents 'another stage in the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland' by PiS and the president, Tusk said.