The court has been dominated since 2015 by appointees friendly to the Law and Justice party (PiS). Tusk’s centrist coalition ousted PiS in 2023 and is trying to restore the court’s legitimacy.
The revival of such tactics in Warsaw felt like an ominous portent of confrontations to come. The move is risky ahead of an election due by next autumn in a deeply polarised country.
Tusk is attempting to restore legitimacy to the constitutional court after years of PiS-friendly control. The high-octane clash over appointments and leadership is now playing out in public.
The weekend’s confrontation followed Tusk’s attempt to address illegalities from that period. The legal and moral facts of the case, according to the account, are on Tusk’s side.
Tusk is taking on the legacy of a government that undermined the rule of law and democratic norms over two terms in office.
Extraordinary scenes followed. Right-wing demonstrators massed outside the court building in the early hours of Saturday. Nawrocki pushed past security forces to protest.