Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has vowed to push through a contested overhaul of the country’s constitutional court, saying “in some issues there can be no compromise.”
In a prime-time televised speech Saturday night, Tusk was defiant, despite nightly protests that saw riot police deployed to protect the court building, saying the shakeup was vital to restore a court paralyzed by years of political strife.
Paralyzed for more than a decade, the court found itself at the heart of clashes over the rule of law between the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party and the EU during the party’s eight years in power.
Since returning to power in 2023, the center-right Tusk party has sought to overturn these judicial changes, but its agenda has been thwarted by opposition-aligned presidents with broad veto powers. Earlier this year, President Karol Nawrocki refused to swear in five judges approved by Parliament.
The crisis erupted again on Friday when a group of government-backed judges tried to take control of the court proceedings, suspending the PiS-appointed chief judge and his deputy and sparking street protests.
In defense of the action, Tusk said that “there was no doubt that the court in the form imposed by PiS was not a real court”, citing unfavorable decisions by European courts.
He compared the opposition’s outrage to “a thief grabbing an elderly woman’s handbag, running away, and when he is caught, he shouts that he is being abused.”
Tusk said: “Let’s call it what it is: 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 from pro-Russian forces globally.”
He then pointed out that former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had joined the opposition in protesting the changes, accusing Warsaw of a “constitutional coup” and “harassment against conservatives.” “And everything is clear,” Tusk said.
He also criticized Nawrocki, an opposition party, for joining Friday night’s protests and forcing him 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 said. “We Poles have been too successful in building a strong state to capitulate now.”
He said it was the duty of the government to ensure its security and necessary conditions for the functioning of the court. “And I intend to fulfill that duty,” he said.
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The showdown defines the battle lines ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, with polls indicating a tight race between Tusk’s broad coalition and the nationalist right.
However, experts remain divided on the legality of the government’s procedural approach in court.
The Polish Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said on Saturday that the legal basis for the temporary suspension was “questionable”, warning that it would “not contribute” to the reinstatement of the court.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski acknowledged that the events outside the court were “not elegant”, but insisted: “The alternative was to admit an unconstitutional transformation of Poland into a presidential republic.”
Nawrocki held cross-party political talks on Saturday, without any apparent progress. His top aide, Zbigniew Bogucki, responded to Tusk’s speech, calling the prime minister a “pathological liar, who is setting Poland on fire.”
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