During a speech by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in the Polish lower house, lawmakers from the opposition party Law and Justice (PiS) unfurled a banner reading "TUSK=DICTATOR". The protest took place on Friday in the Sejm in Warsaw. On English-language posters, PiS accused the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk of a "coup d'état".
Metsola barely acknowledged the protesters. She described the action as democratic expression of opinion and continued her speech. Tusk responded to the action with humor and published a photo showing the banner. The PiS lawmakers, however, criticized that Metsola had ignored the situation in Poland. Lawmaker Warchoł accused Brussels of overlooking violations of the rule of law. His party colleague Wesoły said the president had not taken notice of the crisis.
At its core, the dispute is a power struggle between the pro-European government under Tusk and the Eurosceptic President Karol Nawrocki. The point of contention is control over the Constitutional Tribunal. Judges close to the government wanted to suspend the tribunal's president, Swieczkowski; Vice President Sochanski was also to be affected. Last week, riot police surrounded the tribunal's building. Nawrocki interrupted a trip to Africa and returned to Warsaw. He accuses the government of seizing a constitutional institution.
Tusk justifies his approach by saying it aims to restore judicial independence after PiS interfered with the judiciary during its time in government. The opposition counters that Tusk is dismantling constitutional safeguards to consolidate his power. The legal situation is therefore highly contested between the political camps, and the conflict between government and president continues.
It remains unclear so far how the attempt to suspend the tribunal's leadership turned out, and whether Swieczkowski and Sochanski remain in office. The available information also provides no details on the next steps of either side. The protest in the Sejm does, however, show how strongly the dispute over the judiciary now shapes Polish politics, and how differently it is assessed in Warsaw and Brussels.