Polish President Karol Nawrocki convened urgent crisis consultations at the presidential palace on Saturday amid a escalating conflict over the independence of the nation’s top constitutional court.
The talks were attended by representatives of nationalist, far-right, and selected governing coalition parties. However, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing centrist party, Civic Coalition, chose to boycott the meeting, and no breakthrough was reported by Saturday afternoon.
Nawrocki explained in a formal statement that he called the emergency session “due to the threat to Poland’s internal security” triggered by Friday’s sudden suspension of Constitutional Tribunal Chief Judge Bogdan Swieczkowski.
In a separate evening address addressing the unfolding crisis, Prime Minister Tusk launched a sharp critique against conservative nationalist leaders, accusing them of attempting to “destroy democracy and rule of law.”
“Let’s call things by their name,” Tusk declared during his speech. “For years in Poland there exist organisations and politicians who wish to destroy democracy and rule of law.”
Supporters of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party assembled outside the Constitutional Tribunal building on Saturday, extending weeks of demonstrations staged to support PiS-aligned judicial figures.
The Constitutional Tribunal serves as Poland’s highest authority on constitutional matters. It remains at the center of a protracted battle regarding judicial independence, which Tusk maintains began during the former PiS administration from 2015 to 2023.
Swieczkowski, appointed during PiS rule, faces allegations of abusing his judicial authority to prevent parliament from appointing new tribunal members. Tusk defended Swieczkowski’s suspension as a “painful” but imperative measure to re-establish legal standards following years of degradation under conservative leadership. Swieczkowski, whom the PiS appointed during its 2015-2023 government, was accused of using his powers as head of the court to block parliament from electing new judges.
On Friday, the court’s official account on X denounced the government’s intervention as a “coup d’etat.” Meanwhile, Nawrocki, who aligns with the political right, has continuously blocked judicial nominees under his presidential administration.
A core grievance voiced by Tusk and his pro-European administration centers on allegations that PiS-aligned judges regularly prioritized domestic Polish legislation over European Union law.
International observers have expressed growing concern over the dispute. The European Commission urged Nawrocki on Saturday to approve the pending judicial appointments at the heart of the standoff. Additionally, US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose posted on X urging restraint, writing that “the last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse.”
