Nawrocki cuts Senegal trip and returns to Poland over Constitutional Tribunal crisis

In brief

• President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw on Friday evening.
• He cited the situation around the Constitutional Tribunal, where police were reported at the building.
• Prime Minister Donald Tusk said restoring the rule of law is the government's obligation.
• Radio Zet reported unofficially that the Presidential Protection Service advised against going from the airport to the Tribunal.

Presidential flight turned back

Karol Nawrocki interrupted his trip to Senegal on Friday evening and flew back to Poland (Prezydent wrócił do kraju w związku z sytuacją w TK. Premier: przywracanie rządów prawa jest naszym obowiązkiem – pap.pl) (Flightradar24 pokazuje zwrot samolotu Nawrockiego. Prezydent przerywa podróż – Wirtualna Polska). He had been travelling to Dakar for the Youth Olympic Games, which open on Saturday, 31 October (Pomylili Nawrockiego z Dudą. Kuriozalna wpadka mediów, zdjęcie nadal wisi – Polsat News). In a post on X, he said the president must be in Poland at such a moment (Nawrocki przerywa lot do Senegalu. "W takim momencie prezydent musi być w Polsce" – Dziennik.pl). Flight tracking data showed the aircraft turning around. He landed in Warsaw that evening (Nawrocki wrócił do Polski. Przerwał podróż do Senegalu przez sytuację wokół TK – Dziennik.pl).

Dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal

The return came as tensions over the Constitutional Tribunal escalated. Reports placed police at the Tribunal's building. Tusk wrote that restoring the rule of law is the government's obligation. Prof. Andrzej Polus of the University of Wrocław told money.pl that Poland's foreign policy suffered because of internal friction ("Duże pokłady surowców" w Senegalu. Niewykorzystana szansa prezydenta – Money.pl).

Security concerns

Radio Zet reported, citing unofficial information, that the Presidential Protection Service (SOP) advised against the president travelling from the airport to the Tribunal (Nawrocki wraca do Polski. Tego ma odradzać mu SOP – Wirtualna Polska). The station's reporter wrote that the protection on the plane was not enough in a crowd situation.

Read also

• Nawrocki enters Constitutional Tribunal after midnight; scuffles and leadership dispute deepen