Poland's Constitutional Tribunal crisis: What happened and what comes next
Poland's political crisis over the Constitutional Tribunal escalated into a physical confrontation involving President Karol Nawrocki, moving into political consultations without resolving the underlying conflict. The dispute stems from a contested change of the tribunal's leadership. The clash reflects a long-standing power struggle between Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform and Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice party. President Nawrocki has refused to swear in five judges elected by parliament, while judge Anna Korwin-Petrowska declared the tribunal's current leadership suspended. The crisis is linked to upcoming parliamentary elections in autumn 2027, with Nawrocki positioning himself as a decisive leader for the right. A critical assembly scheduled for November 3 will determine the tribunal's budget and potentially lift immunity from its current head, though a legal quorum remains uncertain.