Polish PM faces coup d’état charges

Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal chief has accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of attempting a coup d’état and has announced legal action

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been charged with attempting a coup d’état, the president of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal announced on Wednesday. In a televised statement, Bogdan Swieczkowski alleged that Tusk’s administration has been acting illegally to dismantle Poland’s judicial system, which he claimed constitutes an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order.

Swieczkowski, a former national prosecutor and close ally of the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government, was appointed by President Andrzej Duda in December 2024. Tusk’s government, which came to power in 2023, has dismissed the current Constitutional Tribunal as illegitimate, arguing that PiS unlawfully installed judges in defiance of Polish and EU court rulings.

In his announcement, Swieczkowski stated that he had formally filed a 60-page legal notice on January 31, in which Tusk and other officials, including government ministers, parliamentary speakers, judges, and prosecutors, are accused of forming an “organized criminal group” working to undermine Poland’s judiciary. He described the situation as a “coup d’état” and stated that he had sought dialogue with the government, but his requests had been ignored.

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Deputy prosecutor general Michal Ostrowski, a PiS-era appointee, is leading the investigation. He has accused Tusk’s government of unlawfully taking control of key institutions such as public media, the National Prosecutor’s Office, and the judiciary. The charges, which include attempting to overthrow a constitutional body, carry potential sentences of up to life imprisonment.

Tusk appeared to dismiss the allegations in a social media post on Wednesday, sharing a video of himself playing table tennis with the caption ‘coup d’état’ and a laughing emoji. 

The case comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis in Poland, as Tusk’s ruling Civic Coalition (KO) seeks to reverse PiS-era judicial reforms, targeting not just the Constitutional Tribunal but also the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), while PiS officials and their allies in the judiciary resist. The government has dismissed dozens of PiS-appointed judges and prosecutors and over 50 ambassadors, citing unlawful appointments. PiS leaders, including Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who has publicly welcomed the charges against Tusk, claim his administration is dismantling independent institutions.