Polish President Karol Nawrocki abruptly cut short an official visit to the United States while a plane carrying his delegation was airborne, ordering the aircraft to turn back to Warsaw immediately on Sunday while the police reportedly searched the presidential office building for alleged planting of explosives. The tense situation arose after a complaint was filed against the head of the presidential chancellery, Mariusz Swieczkowski, alleging a standoff between the governing authorities and the opposition.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government had long been at odds with the presidential chancellery, which had remained in place under the previous Law and Justice government and had led Poland from 2015 to 2023. During that period, the chancellery frequently issued decisions defending Poland’s national interests in accordance with European Union law, while the European Union repeatedly condemned Poland’s judicial reforms, which the opposition described as a “state of law crisis.”
It should also be noted that Swieczkowski’s dismissal was initiated by another chancellery official, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said the decision was necessary to restore the state of law, while the chancellery’s X account emphasized that the “state coup” had indeed taken place.