Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has vowed to push through a highly contested overhaul of the country’s constitutional court, asserting that “in certain matters, there can be no compromise.”
In a prime-time television address on Saturday night, Tusk remained defiant in the face of overnight protests that required riot police to guard the court’s building. He argued that the proposed shake-up is essential to restoring a tribunal that has been paralyzed for years by political conflicts.
For over a decade, the court has been effectively paralyzed, serving as the focal point of rule-of-law clashes between the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party and the European Union during the party’s eight-year governance.
Since returning to office in 2023, the center-right Tusk has worked to reverse these judicial reforms. However, his agenda has been obstructed by opposition-aligned presidents wielding extensive veto powers. Earlier this year, President Karol Nawrocki refused to swear in five judges approved by parliament.
The crisis escalated on Friday when a group of government-backed judges attempted to take procedural control of the tribunal, suspending the chief judge and deputy appointed by the PiS party and triggering street protests.
Defending the move, Tusk stated that “there was never any doubt that the court in the form imposed by PiS was not a genuine court,” citing adverse rulings from European tribunals.
He likened the opposition’s outrage to “a thief snatching an elderly woman’s handbag, running off, and when caught, screaming that he is subjected to violence.”
Tusk stated, “Let’s call things for what they are: for years, there have been organizations and politicians in Poland who seek to destroy democracy and the rule of law. It is no coincidence that they find support among pro-Russian forces globally.”
He also highlighted that Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, joined the opposition’s outcry over the changes, accusing Warsaw of “a constitutional coup” and “hounding the conservatives.” “And everything is clear,” Tusk remarked.
Tusk also criticized opposition-aligned President Nawrocki for joining the protests on Friday night and forcing his way into the court building to intervene. “In a democratic state, no politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges—not even the president,” Tusk asserted. “We Poles have succeeded too well in building a strong state to surrender now.”
He stated that it is the government’s duty to ensure security and the necessary conditions for the court to operate. “And I intend to fulfill that duty,” he declared.
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On Saturday, the European Commission urged Nawrocki to approve the new judges nominated by parliament, enabling the court to function in accordance with the constitution and EU law.
This confrontation sets the battle lines ahead of next year’s parliamentary election, with polls indicating a closely contested race between Tusk’s broad coalition and the nationalist right.
However, legal experts remain divided over the lawfulness of the government’s procedural gambit at the court.
Poland’s Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights stated on Saturday that the legal basis for the temporary suspension is “questionable,” warning that the move will not contribute to restoring the court.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski conceded that the events outside the court were “not elegant,” but insisted, “The alternative was to concede an unconstitutional transformation of Poland into a presidential republic.”
Nawrocki held cross-party political talks on Saturday, but no apparent breakthrough was reached. In response to Tusk’s address, his senior aide, Zbigniew Bogucki, called the prime minister “a pathological liar who is setting Poland ablaze.”
