After the Constitutional Court’s chief judge was suspended, demonstrations broke out outside the court.
The deadlock remained unresolved on Saturday, meaning President Nawrocki still refuses to approve the judges whom Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European government wants appointed to the court.
In a speech to the nation on Saturday evening, Tusk condemned attempts to “destroy democracy” and called Friday’s turmoil “horrible”.
I very much hope that we never have to witness similar scenes in Poland again, he said.
Let’s face it, for years there have been organisations and politicians in Poland who want to destroy democracy and the rule of law.
The EU supports Tusk’s demand that the president approve the new judges. On Saturday, the European Commission urged Nawrocki to do so, thereby complying with both Poland’s constitution and EU law.
Tusk’s political camp and the nationalist-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, have accused each other of trying to gain control of the court.
The ousted chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski, was appointed while Nawrocki’s PiS party was in power. Since Tusk’s liberal-conservative government took office in 2023, it has been trying to overhaul Poland’s judicial institutions.
What do you think?