The key facts
- Poland's ruling coalition, according to RIA Novosti citing a Sejm deputy, is preparing a motion to remove President Karol Nawrocki
- The trigger was accusations of organizing prostitution at the Grand Hotel in Sopot, as well as grievances over fan brawls and snus use
- Actual removal requires a motion by at least 140 members of the National Assembly and support from two-thirds of its membership; Nawrocki rejects the accusations
Coalition prepares motion to remove president
A political crisis is escalating in Poland around President Karol Nawrocki: representatives of the ruling coalition intend to raise the question of launching a procedure to remove him from office. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing an unnamed deputy of the Polish Sejm. 'The cup of patience has overflowed. The question of launching a procedure to remove the president from his post will be raised,' the agency quoted the parliamentarian as saying.
The trigger: the Grand Hotel story and other grievances
The trigger was new details of the scandal surrounding Nawrocki's past, when the future president worked as a security guard at the Grand Hotel in the resort town of Sopot. Earlier, Polish journalists published an investigation whose authors claimed that the politician may have been involved in organizing sexual services for the hotel's guests. According to the deputy, the coalition's grievances are not limited to the hotel story: among the grounds also cited are reports of Nawrocki's involvement in brawls between football fans and his public use of snus, which, the parliamentarian asserted, the coalition considers incompatible with the status of president.
Balance of forces and the actual procedure
Supporters of the initiative are counting on backing not only from forces aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk but also from deputies of former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki's 'Development Plus' movement. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Law and Justice party, is expected to speak in defense of the president. However, there is a long way from statements to actual removal: Polish law does not provide for a simple parliamentary vote of no confidence in the president. To hold the head of state accountable before the State Tribunal, an official motion by at least 140 members of the National Assembly is required, followed by support from at least two-thirds of its established membership; if such a decision is made, the president will temporarily be unable to perform his duties until the tribunal considers the case.
The president's position and the background of the conflict
Nawrocki himself rejects the accusations of involvement in organizing prostitution and is contesting in court the publications of the Polish portal Onet, whose journalists gathered testimony about his activities at the Grand Hotel. This is not the president's first conflict with Tusk's cabinet: earlier, as Life.ru reported, Nawrocki accused the prime minister of spreading alarming statements about the Russian threat citing an alleged CIA reportwhich, according to the presidential chancellery, it had never received, and suspected the head of government of exploiting fear of war for political ratings; Tusk's cabinet representatives, for their part, insisted that the American intelligence information had indeed been conveyed to the Polish leadership.
