Tusk
defends overhaul of Poland’s constitutional court despite protests
Prime
minister says shake-up is vital to restore tribunal crippled by years of
political disputes
Sat 31
Oct 2026 23.43 CET
Poland’s
prime minister, Donald
Tusk, has vowed to see through a contested overhaul of the country’s
constitutional court, declaring that “in certain matters, there can be no
compromise”.
In a prime-time
television address on Saturday night, Tusk was defiant, despite overnight
protests that saw riot police drafted to protect the court’s building, saying
the shake-up was vital to restore a tribunal crippled by years of political
disputes.
Paralysed
for more than a decade, the court sat
at the core of
rule of law clashes between the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party and
the EU during the party’s eight-year rule.
Since
returning to office in 2023, the centre-right Tusk has sought
to unwind those judicial changes, but his agenda has been frustrated
by opposition-aligned presidents with extensive veto powers. Earlier this
year, president Karol Nawrocki refused to swear in five judges approved by
parliament.
The
crisis flared again on Friday when a group of government-backed judges
attempted to seize procedural control of the tribunal, suspending the
PiS-appointed chief judge and deputy and prompting street protests.
Conservative
supporters assemble outside the constitutional court in Warsaw. Photograph:
Agata Grzybowska/Anadolu/Getty Images
Defending
the action, Tusk said “there was never any doubt that the court in the form
imposed by PiS was not a genuine court,” citing adverse rulings from European
tribunals.
He
compared the opposition outrage to “a thief snatching an elderly woman’s
handbag, running off, and when he is caught, he screams that he is subjected to
violence.”
Tusk
said: “Lets call things for what they are: for years, there have been
organisations and politicians in Poland who seek to destroy
democracy and the rule of law. “It is no coincidence they find support among
pro-Russian forces globally.”
He later
highlighted that Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev had joined the opposition in
outcry over the changes, accusing Warsaw of “a constitutional coup” and
“hounding the conservatives”. “And everything is clear,” Tusk said.
He also
criticised opposition-aligned Nawrocki for joining the protests Friday night
and forcing his entry into the court’s building to intervene. “In a democratic
state, no politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges –
not even the president,” Tusk said. “We Poles have succeeded too well in
building a strong state to surrender now.”
He said
it was the government’s duty to ensure its security and the conditions
necessary for the court to operate. “And I intend to fulfil that duty,” he
said.
The
confrontation sets the battle lines before next year’s parliamentary election,
with polls pointing to a close race between Tusk’s broad coalition and the
nationalist right.
However,
experts remain divided over whether the government’s procedural gambit at the
court is lawful.
Poland’s
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said on Saturday the
legal basis for the temporary suspension was “questionable”, warning it
would “not contribute” to restoring the court.
The
foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, conceded that the events
outside the court were “not elegant”, but insisted: “The alternative was to
concede an unconstitutional transformation of Poland into a presidential
republic.”
Nawrocki
held some cross-party political talks on Saturday, with no apparent
breakthrough. His senior aide, Zbigniew Bogucki, responded to Tusk’s address,
calling the prime minister “a pathological liar, who is setting Poland ablaze”.
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