The Guardian view on Poland’s political turmoil: an ominous portent of bigger battles to come | Editorial

By Editorial · The Guardian Opinion

Donald Tusk is attempting to restore legitimacy to the country’s constitutional court. In a polarised country and continent, that carries political risks The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, must occasionally look towards Budapest and sigh. A landslide victory in elections last spring enabled Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, to act with ruthless determination to clean up the country’s politics after 16 years of corrupt Orbánisation . Mr Tusk, whose centrist coalition ousted the far-right Law and Justice party (PiS) in 2023, is similarly taking on the legacy of a government which undermined the rule of law and democratic norms. But his efforts have been relentlessly boxed in by the blocking tactics of Poland’s (PiS)‑backed president, Karol Nawrocki. At the weekend, this standoff escalated into a crisis with wider implications for the European Union as well as Poland itself. Exasperated by Mr Nawrocki’s attempts to veto the appointment of new judges to the country’s constitutional court – which has been illegitimately dominated since 2015 by PiS‑friendly appointees – Mr Tusk backed the enforced appointment of a new head, and the suspension of the court’s president and vice‑president. Extraordinary scenes followed, as rightwing demonstrators massed outside the court building in the early hours of Saturday morning and Mr Nawrocki pushed past security forces to protest. Continue reading...