Poland in political turmoil as Karol Nawrocki returns mid-flight amid Constitutional Court 'coup d'etat' claims. What's happening?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Poland in political turmoil as Karol Nawrocki returns mid-flight amid Constitutional Court 'coup d'etat' claims. What's happening?")
Protesters gather outside the headquarters of the Poland's Constitutional Court in Warsaw after police blocked access to the court building Photograph: (AFP)
Poland's President Nawrocki returns mid-flight as protests and coup d'etat claims erupt over the suspension of constitutional court chief
Polish President Karol Nawrocki abruptly cancelled his visit to Africa while in mid-flight and returned to Warsaw on Friday as riot police were deployed around the country's Constitutional Court. The developments followed the suspension of the court's chief justice amid an escalating political confrontation between the centrist government and the nationalist right.
Dozens of police officers guarded the court's entrance as supporters of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) gathered to protest the removal of Constitutional Court President Bogdan Swieczkowski. The court's official account on X described the development as a 'coup d'etat', while some demonstrators chanted ‘Tusk traitor’ as they criticised Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government.
Several protesters held Roman Catholic rosaries and religious images while saying prayers. Police confirmed that three people had been arrested after attempting to enter the court complex. Tusk's government has been attempting for weeks to remove judges from the Constitutional Court who were appointed by the previous PiS administration, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. During that period, the court frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over European Union law. The EU accused Poland's highest court of being too closely aligned with the nationalist political authorities at the time.
Nawrocki returns amid political turmoil
Tusk promised to resolve Poland's dispute with Brussels after winning the 2023 election. However, the country's president, an independent politician aligned with the right wing, has blocked his appointments to the court. Former PiS prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski addressed the demonstrators and urged Nawrocki to take action.
The president announced that he had cancelled his official visit to Senegal while already in the air and ordered his aircraft to return to Warsaw. According to media reports, he was expected to travel directly from the airport to the Constitutional Court. The suspension of Swieczkowski was announced by another judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said the decision was necessary to restore the rule of law.
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, who also serves as attorney general, told journalists that he had requested the removal of the legal immunity of Swieczkowski and his deputy, Bartlomiej Sochanski. "This court has become private property; we must restore its proper functioning," he added. Tusk defended the government's actions in a post on X.
"Restoring the rule of law is our duty," he said. “After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.”
Constitutional Court rejects suspension
The Constitutional Court's official website was inaccessible on Friday evening. Meanwhile, its official X account maintained that a 'coup d'etat' had taken place and insisted that Swieczkowski remained in office. The account also stated that Korwin-Piotrowska could not assume the role of interim chief justice because she had not been sworn in by the president. Amid the uncertainty surrounding the court's leadership, Korwin-Piotrowska defended the importance of the institution. "In modern Europe, a democratic state cannot function without a constitutional court (...) that acts as a guarantor of citizens' rights and freedoms."
