Pro-EU Polish PM brings ‘Russian bots’ into court showdown
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused his political opponents of receiving support from an 'army of Russian bots' amid a constitutional crisis in Warsaw, though he provided no proof for the claim.
The accusation came after a judge elected by Tusk's governing majority ordered the suspension of Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and his deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski, both linked to the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. The tribunal's existing leadership rejected the suspensions, declaring that all those participating in the attempted takeover 'are committing the crime of a coup d'état.'
Constitutional Crisis Escalates
Unrest erupted on Friday when the suspensions were ordered, triggering street protests around the court building and a heavy police deployment. Nawrocki canceled a planned trip to Senegal and personally pushed his way into the tribunal to confront Korwin-Piotrowska and her allies, telling them that 'you are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.'
Is it greed, stupidity or treason?
Tusk's Russian Bot Claim
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Tusk defended his actions, claiming his rivals were 'seeking to destroy democracy and the rule of law.' He alleged that 'in this conflict, they're using an army of Russian bots online' and that they 'even received public compliments from the Kremlin's chief ideologue,' though he provided no further proof or elaboration.
The Polish PM, a strong supporter of EU integration who served as president of the European Council from 2014 to 2019, has long criticized PiS judicial reforms as undermining judges' independence, as well as Nawrocki's refusal to administer the oath to five Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by the current parliamentary majority.
Opposition Response
Responding to Tusk's address, the president's chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, called the prime minister a 'pathological liar' and accused him of setting Poland ablaze while pretending to extinguish the fire. 'It's hard to find a single word, expression, or sentence that would be true, that would reflect the actual or legal reality,' he added.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev described the situation as a 'constitutional coup,' suggesting that 'Brussels' protégé Tusk' was persecuting PiS conservatives over their hostility toward Ukrainian Nazi collaborators.
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