Poland's president convenes crisis talks as constitutional court standoff escalates

Polish President Karol Nawrocki called emergency consultations with party representatives on Saturday after police cordoned off the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, three protesters were arrested and the court's official X account declared a "coup d'état."

Nawrocki aborted an official trip to Senegal to return to the capital, where he denounced what he called a "violation of the constitutional order" and demanded police withdraw from the building. He said the talks were necessary because of "the threat to internal security." Crisis talks were set for 1:00 pm local time (1200 GMT) at the presidential palace.

The standoff was triggered when the suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski was announced. Dozens of police guarded the building as followers of the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) protested what they called an attempt by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government to seize control of the institution. Some demonstrators chanted "Tusk traitor" and tried to push through security barricades. Demonstrator Tomasz Zaleski told AFP outside the court that Tusk was "trampling on our constitutional rights." Former PiS prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński addressed the demonstration and called for Nawrocki to act. The president pushed his way through the crowds to enter the building, local TV footage showed.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government has sought for weeks to remove the tribunal's judges, who were appointed during PiS's 2015–2023 tenure. The European Union accused Poland's highest court of being too close to the nationalist political power of the time. Tusk, a strongly pro-EU figure, vowed to end the dispute with Brussels after winning an election in 2023, but the country's president has blocked his nominations to the court.

US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose urged restraint on X, warning: "Don't take any action that could provoke violence or further escalation." "The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse," he added. Political scientist Ewa Marciniak of the University of Warsaw noted that with parliamentary elections due in November 2027, "we are already in campaign mode," raising the risk of further escalation.