Polish PM Tusk vows no retreat in standoff with Constitutional Tribunal

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed Saturday not to back down in his standoff with Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, declaring the court in its current form is not independent and accusing the opposition of inciting violence to undermine the rule of law. Tusk spoke hours after riot police deployed outside the court and two top judges were suspended, while President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the nationalist Law & Justice party, returned early from Senegal to hold consultations. Tusk's ruling Civic Coalition skipped the talks, and he insisted the tribunal must function independently and constitutionally, rejecting compromise on the matter. The dispute stems from the tribunal being stacked with political appointees during Law & Justice's eight-year rule, with the EU's top court ruling in 2021 it was not impartial. Tusk, who won 2023 elections on promises to restore rule of law, has faced repeated vetoes from Nawrocki, and the conflict's outcome could influence EU nations facing far-right electoral gains.