What happened in Poland on Friday was, in reality, an attempt at a constitutional coup – in other words, a coup d’état. This explosive story deserves an explanation:
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has disliked President Karol Nawrocki from the very beginning. Tusk does not like being contradicted. He wants to do as he pleases, without interference. Nawrocki – unlike previous presidents – has actively exercised his right of veto because, under the Polish constitution, the president can and must veto bills that are poor, contrary to the interests of citizens or which undermine democracy. This is his role under the Polish constitution.
A raw power struggle
President Nawrocki has usually put forward his own proposals instead, but these have most often been ‘frozen’ or put ‘on hold’ by Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who is the Speaker of the Sejm (Marshal) and a puppet of Donald Tusk. Nawrocki made it painfully clear that he intends to serve, first and foremost, the people who elected him. Tusk and his regime, on the other hand, wish to centralise power, in line with the wishes of the European Commission. The power struggle and disagreement between the two over Poland’s political future have only intensified month by month over the past two years since Nawrocki was elected. Tusk has now been in power since 2023.
Want to get rid of Nawrocki
The other institution in Poland that protects the people from abuses of power is the Constitutional Tribunal. It is responsible for ensuring that laws, regulations and international agreements comply with the Constitution, and for resolving disputes over jurisdiction and handling complaints. Furthermore, it determines whether the President of Poland is fit for office (for example, if he is suffering from dementia), and thus whether his duties should be transferred to the Speaker of the Sejm.
For Tusk to take control of the Constitutional Tribunal and its judges means, in plain terms, getting rid of President Nawrocki. He did the following: over the last two years, four judges have retired for natural reasons. A proposal for any new candidate must be put forward within 21 days. Tusk has delayed this for two years and has now suddenly put forward nominations for four new judges. It was passed by the Sejm.
The trickery
But Nawrocki put his foot down: to be a judge at the Constitutional Tribunal, one must take the oath in the presence of the President of Poland. The President hesitated to give his approval as he believed the appointments did not fully comply with the ceremonial rules laid down in the Constitution; a ceremony with a notary present, ‘in the presence of the President’, as it is stated. The only problem was that the President was NOT present in this instance. The whole thing was a make-believe oath and was not approved by President Nawrocki or Święczkowski.
Recently, Tusk wanted Maciej Berek on the Constitutional Tribunal as his fifth judge – his minister and right-hand man, as Tusk called him. President Nawrocki did not want him as a judge on the Constitutional Tribunal because he could not demonstrate the necessary qualifications: which include, amongst other things, at least 10 years’ experience as a lawyer.
After the gold?
Once the Constitutional Tribunal has been overpowered and a president who is an obedient puppet has been installed, the next step could be to deal with the Governor of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapiński, and the 632.43 tonnes of gold that Glapiński is in charge of. One could then transfer the gold to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and introduce the euro as Poland’s currency. That would truly have been a treat for the EU, where the shortage of funds is currently critical. Tusk has already threatened Glapiński with impeachment on several occasions. The fact that Glapiński is an upright and honest man is of little consequence. An old communist saying goes: ‘Give me a man, and I’ll find a legal clause’. So they (Tusk and co.) will no doubt come up with something.
Poland’s independence at risk
This is how Poland could lose its independence completely. A great many people in Poland fear such a scenario. That is why the tent city was set up on 12 September this year in front of the Constitutional Tribunal building to protest against Donald Tusk’s government, as the demonstrators believed the government would attempt to take over the courts illegally. That is exactly what happened, but it was halted at the eleventh hour by President Karol Nawrocki.
