Tusk Vows 'No Compromise' on Tribunal Overhaul in National Address as European Commission Presses Nawrocki

Since a Sejm-backed judge suspended Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski on Oct. 30 and Nawrocki pushed his way into the building overnight, the fight has moved from the courthouse steps to the national stage. On Saturday evening, Oct. 31, Tusk went on television and refused to give ground.

"In certain matters, there can be no compromise," the prime minister said.

Tusk's argument

Tusk called Friday's events "scandalous incidents" and said he hoped Poland would never see such scenes again. Restoring calm, he said, cannot mean tolerating lawlessness. "A democratic state has to be strong and capable of enforcing justice," he said.

He laid out a sequence. His government, he said, proposed solutions that PiS and the president blocked. The parliamentary majority then waited for the terms of PiS-era judges to expire. "The Sejm made its choice, the judges took the oath, but the president did not deign to receive that oath," Tusk said.

He went further on the court itself. "There was never any doubt that the court in the form imposed by PiS was not a genuine court," Tusk said, pointing to adverse rulings from European tribunals.

His rhetoric was sharp. He likened the opposition's 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."

He also said such forces find support among "pro-Russian forces globally," and cited a statement by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev accused Warsaw of "a constitutional coup" and of "hounding the conservatives." "And everything is clear," Tusk said.

Nawrocki and the opposition

Tusk turned on the president directly. "In a democratic state, no politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges – not even the president," he said.

Nawrocki's camp tells it differently. The president's statement accuses the government of violating the constitutional order and forcibly taking over a constitutional body. He called for the "forces of coercion" to leave the building and summoned parliamentary group leaders to consultations on "stabilizing the political situation."

The Tribunal's own account says Święczkowski remains in charge. It rejects the authority of Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, the government-backed judge who announced the suspension, and calls the operation a "coup d'état." PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki joined protesters outside, calling the move unlawful.

Korwin-Piotrowska's side says Święczkowski blocked newly selected judges from taking their seats and oversaw irregularities in the assignment of cases. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek was among those who requested the police deployment, which was justified by potential threats to judges and staff.

Who pushed whom

The physical confrontation at the entrance remains disputed. Maciej Berek, a Tribunal judge elected in September and now a government minister, posted video that appeared to show Nawrocki pushing through a group of judges. Berek said the president "forcefully bumped into" Korwin-Piotrowska.

Nawrocki's allies say the judges they call usurpers used force against him and violated his constitutional authority. Leaked audio from the late-night meeting, as reported by Breitbart, has Nawrocki telling Korwin-Piotrowska and two others that they are not judges. It also has presidential chancellery chief Zbigniew Bogucki accusing her of staging a coup.

Police said they did not use batons or handheld gas launchers. By their account, at least four people were detained: three who climbed a fence onto the grounds and one for allegedly insulting an officer. Police also said objects were thrown at officers.

Outside pressure

The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to approve the judges nominated by parliament so the court can function in line with the constitution and EU law. U.S. ambassador Tom Rose called the situation at the Tribunal "very serious" and urged officials and protesters to avoid actions that could escalate it.

The Tribunal has been at the center of rule-of-law clashes between PiS and the EU since 2015. The Guardian reports that the court has been largely paralyzed for more than a decade. Since returning to power in 2023, Tusk has said his agenda is blocked by vetoes from two successive PiS-aligned presidents.

What comes next

The standoff lands a year before a parliamentary election. The Guardian reports that polls point to a close race between Tusk's coalition and the nationalist right.

Two questions are open. One is what comes out of Nawrocki's consultations with parliamentary leaders. The other is whether the president will accept the oaths of the judges the Sejm chose, which is the step the European Commission is demanding and which he has so far refused.