A coup is unfolding in Warsaw. Poland’s president has turned his plane around to be present at the scene. Police have cordoned off the Constitutional Tribunal building, but Nawrocki forced his way through and became involved in a physical confrontation with newly appointed constitutional judges nominated by the Tusk government but not recognised by the president.
The extraordinary events in Warsaw began when Poland’s justice minister moved to seek the lifting of the immunity of the president of the Constitutional Tribunal and his deputy.
At the same time, the Tribunal’s former leadership announced on its social media channels that its website had been “illegally taken over.” They stressed that Bogdan Święczkowski remains the legitimate president of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Shortly after 6 p.m., Warsaw Police Headquarters issued a statement saying that officers were carrying out their statutory duties on the premises of the Constitutional Tribunal, but were not present inside the building itself. Meanwhile, a spontaneous protest broke out at the scene. Police later reported that three people had been detained on suspicion of trespassing on the Tribunal’s premises.
However, Święczkowski, who was appointed under the PiS government, unsurprisingly refused to accept the move. Police had surrounded the Constitutional Tribunal building, but he nevertheless managed to enter its headquarters. He was only able to do so after protesters used saws to force open an entrance that police had previously secured with chains.
Donald Tusk made a surprising statement. Rather than seeking to defuse tensions, he appeared to reaffirm the legitimacy of the course of action that had led to the confrontation.
“Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of lawlessness under PiS, this is a difficult, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way,” he declared on X.
But what do the Polish people think of all this?
