The key facts

  • Slawomir Mentzen called on Nawrocki to urgently convene the National Security Council and seek a compromise between the parties
  • On October 30, protests took place outside the Constitutional Tribunal; police detained those attempting to storm the building
  • Nawrocki cut short his flight to Senegal and returned to Warsaw

Call for an emergency convening of the National Security Council

The leader of the Polish party Confederation, Slawomir Mentzen, appealed to President Karol Nawrocki with a call to urgently convene the National Security Council amid the worsening situation around the Constitutional Tribunal. This was reported by Gazeta.Ru citing the outlet Rzeczpospolita. In Mentzen's assessment, what is happening has already gone beyond a constitutional crisis, and the country has found itself on the brink of a coup; he believes that the leaders of political parties need to discuss the situation as soon as possible and try to find a compromise.

Protests outside the tribunal building

On the evening of October 30, a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal building in Warsaw. Several people attempted to break into the building but were detained by police. Among those gathered were the president of the Law and Justice party, opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The essence of the conflict and the president's reaction

The trigger for the escalation was a conflict over the court's leadership: a notice appeared on its website announcing the removal of President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski, while judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska declared herself acting head of the tribunal as the judge with the longest tenure. In connection with the situation, President Nawrocki decided to cut short his flight to Senegal and return to Warsaw.

Context

Earlier, according to press reports, there had already been talk of intentions to remove Polish President Nawrocki from office — thus, the crisis around the tribunal is unfolding against the backdrop of already strained relations between the president and the ruling camp. Gazeta.Ru is running a live broadcast on developments; whether the National Security Council meeting will take place and how other parties will react has not yet been reported.