2024-09-19 14:14 update: 2024-09-20, 15:09
Photo: PAP/Łukasz Gągulski
Polish President Andrzej Duda has sharply criticised Prime Minister Donald Tusk over his words that the legal hurdles left behind by the former government called for resorting to 'a democracy in struggle'.
The two politicians represent two opposing political camps. Duda is affiliated with the former ruling party, the nationalist-leaning Law and Justice (PiS), while Tusk is the head of a new pro-European government and leader of the centrist Civic Platform (PO) party.
Since taking over from PiS in December last year, Tusk's government has been determined to bring back the rule of law standards in Poland, which according to the current ruling coalition, and also to European institutions, had been violated by the former government. Duda is a serious obstacle on this path, as he has the power to veto laws passed by parliament.
Complaining about the situation, Tusk said recently that he only has access to tools that "do not give me the possibility to repair the reality."
"I'm talking about legal solutions prepared by our predecessors, whose intention was to demolish this (constitutional - PAP) order, not to strengthen or build it," Tusk said. "So as a historian, I think I can easily put forward a thesis that today we are facing the need to act in the categories of a democracy in struggle."
Tusk's words met with criticism from Duda on Thursday, who said that "citizens are listening with trepidation" to the words of Tusk, who, according to Duda, "justifies the violation of constitutional standards, justifies the violation of law, the violation of all rule-of-law principles in an absolutely extreme way."
Duda also said Tusk is motivated by "political vengeance."
Restoring the country's rule of law standards is one of the conditions imposed by Brussels on Warsaw when it comes to the transfer of billions of euros in European post-pandemic funds that had been frozen when PiS was in power. (PAP)
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