Polish president holds crisis talks in court standoff

Poland’s president Karol Nawrocki held crisis talks with political leaders on Saturday after a dramatic showdown at the constitutional court in an escalating dispute over judicial independence.

The row over appointing the court’s judges has spawned a constitutional crisis in the EU country, where a centrist government is vying with a nationalist head of state and opposition.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government has been trying for weeks to force out the court’s judges, arguing they are not politically neutral.

He faces fierce resistance from the right-wing PiS party, whose former government appointed them.

Followers of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) gathered outside the court on Saturday, extending protests that have been running for weeks in support of its judges.

Riot police had surrounded the court on Friday when protesters rallied there following the suspension of its president Bogdan Swieczkowski.

Demonstrators chanted: “Tusk traitor” and tried to push through security barricades. Police said three people were arrested.

Responding to the peak in tension, Nawrocki — a right-wing independent — cut short a trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw where he summoned party leaders for talks at his office on “the threat to internal security”.

No breakthrough

Representatives of nationalist, far-right and some ruling coalition parties attended the talks at the presidential palace, while Tusk’s Civic Coalition party stayed away, according to Polish media.

The Left, a coalition member, said it had not been invited and would not have attended because it considered Nawrocki a party to the dispute.

No breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon.

Demonstrators outside the court accused Tusk’s government of trying to seize control of the institution.

“This is Donald Tusk destroying democracy,” protester Iwona Dudek, 62, who had travelled from a German border town with her husband, told AFP. “It’s a tragedy.”

But she added: “Donald Tusk has done the impossible. He has united the entire right wing.”

The court’s official X account described the government move as a “coup d’etat”.

But Tusk, in his speech Saturday evening, said: “Let’s call things by their name. For years in Poland there exist organisations and politicians who wish to destroy democracy and rule of law.”

He called Friday’s unrest “horrifying”.

“I very much wish that we would never have to witness similar scenes in Poland again,” he added.

‘No other way’

Tusk’s government has been trying to force out the judges, who were appointed by the PiS government that ruled from 2015 to 2023.

The court frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law.

The EU accused Poland’s highest court of being too close to the nationalist leadership of the time.

Tusk, a strongly pro-EU figure, vowed to end the dispute with Brussels after winning the election in 2023.

But the country’s president, a right-wing independent, has blocked nominations to the court under his administration.

Swieczkowski’s suspension was announced on Friday by another judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said the move was needed to restore the rule of law.

“After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action,” Tusk said on X.

“There is no other way.”

The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to approve the new judges who were nominated by parliament, so the court could function in line with the constitution and EU law.

The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to approve the new judges who were nominated by parliament in line with the constitution and EU law, a spokesman told AFP.

The US ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, warned all sides: “Don’t take any action that could provoke violence or further escalation.”

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