Triumph for the opposition and trouble for PiS. Reactions to Duda’s veto

After the President announced his decision, Jarosław Kaczyński, the chairman of the party, and party members who are state functionaries, rushed to the headquarters of the Law and Justice party. Kaczyński's deputies – Beata Szydło, Mariusz Błaszczak, Antoni Macierewicz and Mariusz Kamiński – as well as members of the political committee of PiS – Ryszard Terlecki, Marek Kuchciński, Mateusz Morawiecki, Piotr Gliński and Stanisław Karczewski – were present.

Entering the party headquarters, PiS leaders declined to make extensive comments on the President's decision, which was already known at the time.

“We are going to consider our reaction to this development,” Deputy Marshal (Speaker) of the Sejm Ryszard Terlecki briefly stated the reason for the meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki openly admitted his surprise and disappointment. After the meeting, Stanisław Karczewski also said he was disappointed.

On Monday afternoon, after his meeting with members of the PiS leadership, chairman Kaczyński met with Zbigniew Ziobro and Jarosław Gowin, leaders of the two co-governing parties, Solidarna Polska and Polska Razem.

One can learn more about the prevailing mood among PiS members from statements made by other politicians of the party, who do not belong to Kaczyński's inner circle. Deputy Minister of Justice and member of the PiS caucus Patryk Jaki posted an emphatic statement on social media, in which he directly attacked the President's position.

“Do not believe this nonsense about the need for reform, but a ‘different’ one. It was exactly the same with decommunization, background checks to weed out communist-era police collaborators, property restitution etc. They always said reform was needed, but ‘a different one’, ‘not too hasty’ etc.”

However, in the conclusion of his speech, the President made it clear he wanted a reform of the judiciary, but not the one envisaged in the acts he vetoed. Andrzej Duda ended his speech by saying: “I want to amend these acts by invoking presidential legislative initiative, to ensure that the Polish judiciary system and life in Poland in this respect become better, that Poland is better, more friendly to its citizens, with a stronger state, one that provides justice, security and well-being.”

PiS MP Andrzej Matusiewicz, who represents the authors of the draft law, took a completely different position.

“Since protests were strongly publicized and the President must guard the constitution and the rule of law, I think that in the future the decision made by Andrzej Duda will prove to have been correct,” Matusiewicz told Gazeta.pl.

In the interview quoted, Matusiewicz admitted that PiS would not be able to overrule the President’s veto, and therefore the changes in the National Council of the Judiciary and the Supreme Court were unlikely to be adopted in the form advocated by the ruling party.

Opposition parties, on the other hand, were happy to talk about the President’s veto. The politicians did not conceal their satisfaction at the double veto. However, they expressed dissatisfaction with the announcement that the third law passed by the Sejm – on common courts – would be signed, greatly increasing the power of the Minister of Justice over the appointment of head judges.

At a meeting with journalists in the Sejm, the Civic Platform’s (PO) MP Mariusz Witczak emphasized that public protests against the laws and the final veto of the President defeated the coup, which Witczak believes Jarosław Kaczyński had intended to carry out.

“Jarosław Kaczyński has suffered a major defeat; it has been a heavy blow. He tried to push through a fundamental change in the political system, a change opposed by the people, whose will he so often and so eagerly invokes. He has been severely chastised,” stressed Witczak. He also advised the President to veto the third act – on common courts – as well, “since he has already stepped on the path of mortal conflict with Jarosław Kaczyński.”

“This matter must be settled. We will not leave it like that,” the chairman of PO Grzegorz Schetyna said at the Sejm in the afternoon.

The leader of Nowoczesna, Ryszard Petru, also appealed to the President to veto the law on common courts.

“Its adoption will only damage the Polish judiciary branch,” he claimed.

The Nowoczesna party has announced its active involvement in the drafting of the bills on the National Council of the Judiciary and on the Supreme Court, to be submitted to the parliament by President Duda.

According to Nowoczesna MP Joanna Schmidt, the President’s announcement opens up the opportunity to begin genuine consultations concerning the courts and the system of justice.

“Nowoczesna will certainly join in the consultations. We also have experts, who may contribute their knowledge and experience to draft legislation on the Supreme Court that will make the judiciary system more efficient, rather than merely introduce personnel changes”.

Kukiz'15 MPs Stanisław Tyszka and Tomasz Rzymkowski also announced their intention to participate in the work on the presidential drafts.

“I hope we can make rapid progress on an authentic reform of the judiciary,” said Deputy Marshal Tyszka.

“We want to begin this reform as soon as possible. It should respond to the needs of citizens, rather than the needs of political parties,” Rzymkowski chimed in.

Supporting the President’s announcement, PSL chairman Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz also stressed the need to reform the system of justice, but in a different way than the one pushed by the Law and Justice party.

“We need to think about the changes in the Polish judiciary branch, because we cannot allow a stalemate to block progress,” said the PSL leader.

Reacting to the President’s veto, politicians of all opposition groups stressed the role of public protests that lasted many days and took place in Warsaw, as well as in other Polish cities. They thanked citizens for their participation in demonstrations and pickets.

Źródło: tvn24.pl