Damian Width: Decision to Initiate Pardon process As for Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik, does that mean the president is broken?
Andrzej Anush: I think it's a good decision. First, this was done mainly for humanitarian reasons, following the appeal of the wives of the arrested politicians. Secondly, we know the situation in which the detention took place. It is a completely unprecedented case that the police enter and detain former ministers in the presidential palace. I think this will describe a day not only in the history of Polish politics, but also in the history of European politics.
I believe that the circumstances of this arrest had a decisive influence on the large turnout at the “Protest of Free Poles” organized by PiS in front of the Seimas. The president announced his decision regarding Kaminski and Vesik minutes before the demonstration began, in what I take to be a desire to reduce tensions, otherwise violent clashes or even riots could result.
However, as far as the legal procedure is concerned, in my opinion, the President confirmed the 2015 decision to pardon Kaminski and Vesik, but from a political point of view, he shifted the issue to the shoulders of the ruling camp.
Prof. Wojciech Miślecki said that the entry of the police into the presidential palace is a “crossing of the Rubicon” by the new government. According to press reports Arrest of PiS politicians was made possible by SOP officers. Was there treason in the entourage of the president?
I believe that from an institutional point of view, yes, there was a betrayal. I can't imagine that the service responsible for the security of the president, his office and the head of state in general, just helped the police to enter the presidential palace and in some strange situation because, according to the chief. in the office, without a court decision. Allowing such a situation proves that the management of the law firm lacked diligence.
What should Andrzej Duda do now?
In my opinion, under these circumstances, the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should consider calling in the military police, and the military police should take over the protection of the President. Because the SOP, which is subordinate to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration as a state institution, brutally attacked the office of the President, violating not only good customs and certain public order. I think that with gendarmerie soldiers next to him, the president will have a greater guarantee that the military police will remain loyal to him in another such unpredictable situation.
In your opinion, is the president thinking of submitting the budget bill to the constitutional tribunal, or perhaps dismissing the parliament and holding early elections? The latest polls do not give PiS a better result than on October 15.
If the Seimas fails to deliver the budget to the President by January 29, then the situation is simple – the deadline has been extended and the President can dissolve the Parliament. Time is constantly flying, and after the postponement of the sessions of the Seimas from this week to the next, the deadlines are even tighter.
On the other hand, the issue of possible referral of the budget bill to the Constitutional Tribunal is a much broader problem, because if the tribunal finds that the Sejm was wrongly appointed, all issued bills may be called into question. And then we would have a total constitutional crisis.
What do you think? “Protest of Free Poles” Organized by PiS near the Sejm? People weighed in, expressed opposition, but then what?
It is clear that the voters of the united right or patriotic camp have already recovered from the post-election shock, and it seems to me that currently the PiS electorate is more mobilized than some politicians of this party. This should give them food for thought, especially in the context of early election considerations.
Also read:
Will the president call early elections? “He's got an ace up his sleeve”