Add StudioX as a preferred source on GooglePoland’s president has held crisis talks with political leaders as a dispute over the independence of the country’s top constitutional court deepens, according to Al Jazeera and the AFP news agency.
President Karol Nawrocki hosted the meeting at the presidential palace on Saturday. Representatives of nationalist, far-right and some governing coalition parties attended. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition stayed away. No breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon.
What triggered the talks
Nawrocki said he called the “urgent” consultations because of a threat to Poland’s internal security. He was referring to the sudden suspension on Friday of Bogdan Swieczkowski, chief judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Swieczkowski was appointed by the Law and Justice party (PiS) during its 2015-2023 time in government. He has been accused of using his powers as head of the court to block parliament from electing new judges.
The court’s official X account described the government’s move on Friday as a “coup d’etat”.
Competing claims
Tusk argued that the court’s judges are not politically neutral. He called Swieczkowski’s removal “painful” but necessary to restore the rule of law after years of erosion under PiS rule.
In a Saturday evening speech, Tusk accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of wanting to destroy democracy and the rule of law. He said such organisations and politicians had existed in Poland for years.
The Constitutional Tribunal is Poland’s top court for constitutional matters. It has been central to a years-long political fight over the politicisation of Polish courts, which Tusk says began under the PiS government.
One key complaint from Tusk and his pro-European party is that the court’s PiS-aligned judges often ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law.
Nawrocki, himself a right-wing figure, has also blocked nominations to the court during his time in office.
Protests and international reaction
Supporters of PiS, now in opposition, gathered outside the court on Saturday. Their protests, in support of PiS-friendly judges, have been running for weeks.
The European Commission urged Nawrocki on Saturday to accept the nomination of new judges at the centre of the crisis, AFP reported.
US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose called for calm on all sides. He wrote on X: “The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse.”
Source: Al Jazeera
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
