Poland's Central Bank Governor Adam Glapiński appears to have broken the country's constitution, Donald Tusk, the man set to become Poland's next prime minister, said on Friday amid debate over whether the monetary policy chief should face a state tribunal.
Critics of Glapiński say he compromised the independence of the central bank by tailoring monetary policy to suit the outgoing ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Glapiński denies the allegations and has provided robust and often lengthy defences of his record during monthly press conferences. He sounded a more conciliatory tone on Thursday, however, stressing the independence of the central bank and saying he would cooperate with the incoming government.
"The governor of the National Bank of Poland will not appear before the state tribunal for one monetary policy decision or another," Donald Tusk told a news conference, saying that "mistakes" were not a reason for doing this.
"However, there are many indications... that he performed his duties in a way that was contrary to the constitution and the principles of law," he said, adding that there would be no "witch-hunt".
Tusk said that the central bank governor by law is supposed to be neutral, but that Glapiński's approach to this had been "peculiar".
Some lawyers say a quantitative easing programme launched during the pandemic broke constitutional rules that forbid the central bank from funding government borrowing.
The central bank has warned that putting Glapiński, whose ties to PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński go back decades, before a tribunal would damage the economy.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters