Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal crisis fuels tensions between Tusk and Nawrocki
Political tensions are rising in Poland ahead of the annual Independence Day March on 11 November, which organisers expect to attract up to half a million participants. The dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal has intensified, with police stationed at the institution and opposition politicians accusing the government of interfering with its operations.
President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk held talks following a meeting of the National Security Council, an advisory body convened by the president. The initiative came from Tusk, who proposed a one-to-one meeting to discuss reducing tensions and preventing an internal conflict amid growing security threats.
The prime minister described the council meeting as “quite promising”, particularly highlighting discussions about establishing a permanent US military base in Poland. He said the country’s main centres of power, including the president and government, should continue working together despite their differences, especially in the face of increasing threats from the East.
Nawrocki, however, adopted a more confrontational position, accusing the government of committing an offence against the Constitution and demanding that it reconsider its actions before Independence Day. Tusk dismissed the president’s opening remarks as “excessively confrontational” and “detached from reality”.
Behind the exchange lies a constitutional dispute that has remained unresolved since 2015: who controls the Constitutional Tribunal, and under whose rules it should operate.
Opposition demands police withdrawal from the tribunal
Krzysztof Bosak, a leader of Confederation, has proposed a series of steps to resolve the Poland Constitutional Tribunal crisis. His first demand is the withdrawal of police from the tribunal premises and unrestricted access for judges, including its president, Bogdan Święczkowski.
Bosak maintains that Święczkowski remains the lawful head of the institution unless he resigns or is convicted by a court. His proposal reflects concerns that police presence at the building has prevented some judges, including the president and vice-president, from entering the courtroom.
In the longer term, Bosak has suggested constitutional amendments that would either explicitly define the president’s authority to examine judicial candidates or abolish the requirement for judges to take an oath before the head of state. He described Tusk’s actions as “the biggest mistake of his life”.
Grzegorz Braun, leader of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, has taken a more radical position. He argues that a negotiated constitutional reset is unrealistic because it would require agreement between deeply divided political camps.
Instead, Braun advocates a “zero option” for the judiciary, including consideration of transferring the tribunal’s powers to the Supreme Court to prevent similar crises in the future.
He also challenged the status of Maciej Berek, the government’s candidate for a seat on the tribunal. According to Braun, Berek is not a judge, and attempts to insist otherwise amount to an attack on the presidency.
Independence Day march to highlight the constitutional dispute
Organisers of the annual Independence Day March in Warsaw expect record attendance of up to 500,000 people. Nawrocki has confirmed that he intends to participate, as he has in previous years.
The Poland Constitutional Tribunal crisis is expected to become one of the central themes of the demonstration. According to RMF24, one of the main slogans will be “Zamach na TK”, meaning “Attack on the Constitutional Tribunal”.
The march is also expected to feature criticism of the Tusk government, migration policy and Poland’s relationship with the European Union. Football supporters and right-wing activists have been mobilising ahead of the event, with banners appearing at matches carrying anti-government slogans and calls to attend the demonstration.
The president’s participation will bring additional political significance to the event. Nawrocki is expected to march alongside demonstrators whose central message accuses the government of attacking the Constitutional Tribunal, further exposing the divisions between Poland’s presidency and government ahead of Independence Day.
