The fight over Poland's political system. President: If politicians do not reach an agreement, citizens will decide on the system in a referendum

The new constitution will be an attempt to systematize what is happening in Poland, President Karol Nawrocki emphasized on Tuesday, talking about work on the new constitution. He added that if the “process of destabilization of the state” does not stop, he will submit a request for a referendum next year.

In an interview for wPolsce24 television, Nawrocki was asked about work on the new constitution, which he announced in his speech after being sworn in.

The president emphasized that “this will certainly be an attempt to systematize what is happening in Poland”, adding that “the constitution has been regularly violated in the last two years.”

According to Nawrocki, public opinion cannot keep up with the number of times the constitution has been violated, which was reflected in his application to the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the regulation of the head of the Ministry of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, regarding the allocation of cases to judges.

– After almost 30 years, the Constitution certainly requires reflection – said the president. As he added, a constitutional council would be established soon, and he himself would not be responsible for the shape of the draft of the new constitution.

Nawrocki also emphasized that “if political circles do not reach an agreement” on political issues and the process of “destabilization of the Polish state” does not stop, he will do everything to ensure that next year citizens decide on the shape of the political system by submitting a request for a referendum.

President on Tusk: The worst prime minister in the history of Poland, but cooperation is needed

– I imagine cooperation with the Prime Minister on fundamental issues regarding the functioning of the state (…) invariably considering Prime Minister Donald Tusk to be the worst prime minister in the history of Poland after 1989. But today Poles expect that if necessary, we will sit down at the table together – said President Karol Nawrocki in an interview on Telewizja wPolsce24.

– I am not offended at the Prime Minister; As a Christian, I do not bear any deep resentment – he said when asked about the words of Donald Tusk, who reported on the X website that the president did not grant promotions to the first officer ranks. In the recording, the Prime Minister stated, among other things, that “to be president, it is not enough to win the elections.”

– Prime Minister Donald Tusk said much worse things about me during the election campaign. I am the president of Poland. The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister of Poland and I cannot imagine that we will not discuss fundamental issues. Our mutual assessment is widely known to the public. (…) As for me, I can bear it for the good of the Republic of Poland – commented Nawrocki.

He added that he was in contact with the prime minister and had met him several times since he took over as president.

Nawrocki said that the situation in which the heads of the secret services do not respond to the invitation of the President of Poland and do not show up for a previously arranged meeting “is a reprehensible thing.” – This should never have happened. I leave the officers and chiefs of Polish services to their own conscience. I also leave their subordinates to their own conscience whether it is appropriate for high-ranking officers of the Polish services not to react to the president's invitation – he pointed out.

He added that it was the Prime Minister who “forbade them to meet the President of Poland”, which, among other things, in the face of war on our eastern border, is a “disturbing thing”. He also indicated that he did not need the prime minister to meet with the service chiefs.

– I hope that Polish officers and the heads of Polish services will reflect and I am waiting for information when they will report to the President of the Republic of Poland, elected in democratic elections by over 10 million Poles – he said.

President: The declaration that American soldiers remain in Poland is a success for 100 days

In an interview for wPolce24 television, Nawrocki emphasized that even though American soldiers disappear in other places in Europe and remain here, these 100 days are a real success.

– Another real success is (…) Poland's invitation to the G20 summit – he said.

He noted that during these hundred days, Poles could see in legislative initiatives what he promised during the election campaign.

– These are further initiatives – PIT for families, Central Communication Port, Yes for Polish Ports, Act on the protection of Polish agriculture – he pointed out.

He added that it was also dealing with many laws.

– I signed most of these acts, including deregulatory ones, because it was a good legal solution. I also took several vetoes on matters that were important to Poles, he said. He assessed that he is also the guardian of the interests of citizens “who are not always listened to by the Polish parliament or the executive power.”

– Actually, I think that I devoted these 100 days to fulfilling the plan – 21 demands that I submitted during the election campaign – he said. He emphasized that for him, working for Poland and serving Poles is “pure pleasure and great honor.”

President: The main threat to Polish independence comes from the east

When asked about contemporary threats to Poland in an interview recorded earlier and broadcast on Tuesday on wPolsce24 television, Nawrocki said that they were “of course unchanged.”

– On the one hand, the Russian Federation is still a threat to Polish independence. Regardless of whether the Russian Federation today is exclusively post-communist in its symbolism and in references to building this state, whether it was previously a white tsarist or Bolshevik, it is still a threat – he said.

– The main, most important thing is from the east and it is a threat to our independence – he added.

– In the economic sense, this is also something known from history, it is not a military or military threat today, Germany is our partner in the European Union and NATO, but it is difficult for Germans to learn about the great economic successes of Poles – said the president.

According to him, we should also take care of this in terms of our independence – to have the right to speak with our own voice, to demand our interests, “even in the field of inland navigation or the stabilization of our borders.”

– Of course, I am not comparing these two neighbors of Poland in terms of what these countries look like, but building independence and economic sovereignty is also important for our independence – the president noted in the interview.

He added that an element of the attempt to build the best possible relations within the European Union should be the repayment of reparations by the German state. – This will be a concrete expression of good will – he said.

– Our threat in the military and military sense is, of course, the Russian Federation and we must always remember this. But our independence also means attachment to our economic and economic opportunities, said Nawrocki.

He added that “on the agenda – of course already European – is the scope of the European Union's influence on Polish sovereignty”, but noted “to be clear” that he did not mention it in the same breath as the previous threats.

President: I am trying to make our relations with Ukraine more realistic

In an interview for wPolce24 television, the president was asked about his priorities in building relations with Ukraine. Nawrocki emphasized that these must be partnership relations, and his proposals included in the presidential draft amendment to the Act on assistance to Ukrainian citizens are “an attempt to find symmetry.”

The president argued that he had not changed his view on Russia's responsibility for the attack on Ukraine, but – as he emphasized – “Poland's interests cannot be taken for something that is supposed to guarantee the implementation of all Ukraine's demands while at the same time closing ourselves off to the voices coming from the Polish public opinion.”

– I am trying to make our relations with Ukraine more realistic – said the president. – We are still ready to help, but we cannot be hostages in any relations with countries in the world – he added.

When asked whether he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Nawrocki replied that it would happen “sooner or later.” As he said, Zelensky's visit to Warsaw would be a good opportunity to meet with Ukrainians living here or to “determine matters that are very important to Poles and start the exhumation process in Volhynia.”

from/jann/