Warsaw, Republic of Poland (Weltexpress). The situation in the Republic of Poland is escalating following the latest shift to the left. First, Tusk and his supporters had a state broadcaster occupied because the editors and reporters were not doing as they were told; now a court building – more specifically, the building of the Trybunał Konstytucyjny (Constitutional Tribunal) in Warsaw.
The 15 judges of this tribunal are supposed to ensure compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. To this end, Tusk and his supporters elected five new judges in the Sejm, the Polish parliament. In the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Tusk and his supporters secured a majority in the most recent elections, which are usually described as free. The government has 239 supporters in the Sejm, whilst the opposition has 217. The majority in favour of the three new judges was therefore clear and genuine.
However, Bogdan Święczkowski, as President of the Supreme Court – the Constitutional Tribunal – refused to appoint these judges or to swear them in beforehand. He therefore refused to sign. And without a valid signature on the document, there is no legal act. Święczkowski was appointed by Andrzej Duda when the latter was President of the Republic of Poland. The judges take their oath before the Speaker of Parliament. That was amusing, but not legal.
For a long time now, members of the governing coalition and its parties have been hopping about the Republic like Rumpelstiltskin. ‘Today I bake, tomorrow I brew, the day after tomorrow I’ll fetch the Queen’s child; oh, how good it is that nobody knows that my name is Rumpelstiltskin,’ goes a famous line from the fairy tale in the Brothers Grimm’s book.
It is clear who the Rumpelstiltskins are in the Republic of Poland: Tusk and his cohorts. Yesterday, whilst the President was on his way to Africa and ahead of the weekend of Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints’ Day is an important public holiday in Poland), they removed the President and Vice-President of the Court from office, or rather had both suspended. In other words: both were placed on leave or removed from office, albeit only for a month. They were therefore no longer permitted to enter the court building where they are supposed to preside. The building was cordoned off by police.
The woman who issued the order for their suspension appointed herself as acting president of the court. Her name: Korwin-Piotrowska.
When Karol Nawrocki, the President of the Republic of Poland, learnt of the coup led by Donald Tusk whilst on a flight, he had the aircraft turn back and flew home. No sooner had he landed in Warsaw than he had himself driven to the Constitutional Tribunal building and appeared amongst the crowd outside the court. He did not order the soldiers to take action against the police. In the event of war, Nawrocki would be the commander-in-chief. Whether a coup d’état constitutes a state of war – because it can lead to civil war – is a matter of debate amongst experts and critics. Although no external enemy is attacking power and authority, a state of defence nevertheless applies to those in power and authority, meaning that a state of internal emergency is in effect and so-called emergency laws apply in this regard.
There is no question that this constitutes a coup d’état. Yet the coup plotters are turning the tables. Waldemar Żurek, who served as Minister of Justice under Prime Minister Tusk, described Nawrocki’s action – storming the courthouse – as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘scandalous’.
Nawrocki, on the other hand, demanded “the restoration of the rule of law and the withdrawal of the security forces dispatched by the government from the court premises”.
Both he and Święczkowski spoke of a coup d’état. The President of the Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland, who was to be sidelined by Tusk and his forces, declared: “We are dealing here with an attack on a constitutional state body.”
In the wake of the coup, two ambassadors of the Republic of Poland declared that they could no longer continue in their roles as ambassadors. The political situation in Poland is continuing to escalate in the run-up to All Saints’ Day.
Note:
See the articles
- Coup d’état in the Republic of Poland by Karol Kolumna
- Polish president convenes consultations with parliamentary parties by TASS
in WELTEXPRESS.
