The clash comes to a head on Tuesday, when the eight judges backed by Tusk’s ruling parliamentary coalition plan to hold a meeting to approve the tribunal’s budget and consider disciplinary proceedings against its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański.
They need a quorum of 10 of the court’s 15 judges to be present — meaning they need to peel away at least two justices chosen under the previous PiS government that ruled from 2015 to 2023.
The fight over the control of the tribunal is helping bring right-wing opposition parties together ahead of next year’s parliamentary election.
The crowd outside the tribunal protesting against Tusk’s government included PiS co-founder Jarosław Kaczyński alongside Grzegorz Braun, an extreme-right Polexit campaigner and antisemite whom Kaczyński had previously ruled out governing with. This time round, they took a selfie. Other right-wing leaders at the rally included former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and libertarian Sławomir Mentzen.
“There are plenty of differences between our programs. But ending Prime Minister Tusk’s government is the fundamental common goal,” Anna Bryłka, vice president of Mentzen’s Confederation party, told POLITICO.
Tusk’s Civic Coalition leads POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, but its smaller partners might not make it into the next parliament, opening the way for PiS and other right-wing parties, provided their leaders are able to work together.