No meeting took place between President Karol Nawrocki and representatives of the Civic Coalition (KO) on the crisis at the Constitutional Tribunal. KO club chief Zbigniew Konwiński says the invitation arrived by SMS on Saturday at around 2:40 p.m., while talks with other clubs were already underway.
As Konwiński told the Polish Press Agency (report by RMF24), in response to the invitation the club authorised Andrzej Domański and Jan Grabiec to represent it. Afterwards, according to the club chief, it received no further feedback from the Chancellery of the President. „What matters is that we received a question about a meeting when the president’s meetings with other clubs were already under way,” he stressed, as quoted by RMF24.
The Chancellery’s version
Minister in the Chancellery of the President Karol Rabenda said on Saturday on Polsat News that all parties had received an invitation to meet the president, but some had refused. RMF24 cites the statement. At the time of publication, we do not know the Chancellery’s (KPRP) response to the claim that KO received no feedback after naming its representatives.
Meanwhile, KPRP head Zbigniew Bogucki said on Saturday evening on Republika TV that the Tribunal „has been seized by force”, which he called „Tusk’s blatant lawlessness”. The post was published by the Chancellery of the President’s account:
How the consultations came about
According to RMF24, the crisis followed the announcement on Friday of a suspension of duties for Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice President Bartłomiej Sochański. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, elected by the current Sejm, was recognised as the person directing the Tribunal’s work. Tensions broke out in front of the Tribunal’s seat, and police intervened.
The president interrupted his flight to Senegal and, during the night from Friday to Saturday, appeared at the Tribunal’s building. After leaving the building, he announced urgent consultations with parliamentary forces, justifying them by a breach of the constitutional order. The sides present different versions of events inside the TK building.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in his Saturday address, which we previewed before it was delivered, said that not even the president may enter the Tribunal’s premises and issue orders to judges.
What it means
The largest parliamentary club of the ruling coalition did not take part in the consultations convened by the president, and the two sides describe the reason differently. The dispute over who leads the Tribunal remains unresolved. As of Monday, 2 November, not Sunday, there is no announcement of another meeting involving KO.
