Polish President cuts trip short as court dispute with PM escalates
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Poland on Friday after a far-right ally was removed from the presidency of the country's top court, escalating a conflict with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government over judicial control. The Constitutional Court said its most senior judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, had suspended Bogdan Swieczkowski, a court president appointed by Tusk's predecessor and linked to the far right, and assumed command. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the court, with right-wing politicians accusing Tusk's government of staging a "coup against the tribunal." The dispute stems from 2015, when the nationalist Law and Justice party attempted to appoint judges to seats already filled by the previous government, leading to EU accusations of weakened rule of law. Tusk's coalition, in power since 2023, has pledged reforms, but Nawrocki, elected in 2025, has blocked efforts, including refusing to swear in three of six parliamentary-nominated judges this year.