Czarzasty on Meeting Between PSL Leader and Mentzen: Kosiniak-Kamysz Seeks Support on the ‘Undemocratic Side’

Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty, asked about Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz’s meeting with Sławomir Mentzen, one of the leaders of the Konfederacja party, said the head of the Polish People’s Party (PSL) is “looking for support on the undemocratic side.” He added that every coalition leader has the right to meet with whomever he wants.

On Thursday, Mentzen and Kosiniak-Kamysz posted a joint photo on their profiles on the social media platform X. The Konfederacja leader captioned it “things are looking up.” The PSL leader wrote: “everyone’s talking about it today… how was my day? Very busy.”

Earlier on Thursday, Kosiniak-Kamysz presented a draft bill amending the constitution, dubbed a “constitutional reset.” He also asked for its support from the opposition groups that had declared a willingness to change the constitution, namely Konfederacja and Rozwój Plus.

Asked by journalists on Friday about the meeting between the two politicians, Czarzasty noted that “each of us, the leaders of individual parties, has the right to meet with whomever he wishes.”

– I understand that Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, a friend and a very good deputy prime minister, is looking for support on the undemocratic side. From those he may not have found on the democratic side. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Everyone has the right to dispose of his own time and to look for support for his projects – he said.

– Referring to this very project: please do not expect support from the circle that I represent, among others, and also from Waldemar Witkowski, head of the Labor Union (Unia Pracy), who is with us – Czarzasty stressed.

– Please do not look for support for changing the Constitution in this parliament. The Left (Lewica) will not support changes to the Constitution in this parliament. The Left believes that you do not change the Constitution with people who permanently violate that constitution. That is why we have held this position for many years. And we will rather not lend a hand to this – the Sejm marshal declared.

Because of that, Czarzasty said, “Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz will have to look for votes outside our circle, and he has the right to do so.” – This will not affect the coalition in any way. We also have projects that Mr. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and the PSL do not support. That simply happens – the marshal added.

Czarzasty was also asked whether he trusts Kosiniak-Kamysz.

– I have absolute trust in Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz. People talk like that and spread this kind of story, that one of our groups, the four that make up the October 15 coalition, may leave, may betray – he noted.

– Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz has already been tempted by the president of the United States, and he has already been tempted by President Karol Nawrocki. I think Mr. Mentzen will not tempt him either. He has the right, like each of us, to talk to everyone, and the coalition, I believe, as the daily votes in the Sejm show, is stable – Czarzasty stressed.

The draft presented by the PSL leader provides that the National Assembly, the joint session of both chambers of parliament, could, on a reasoned motion from the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), declare by a majority of at least 3/5 of the statutory number of members (336 lawmakers) that the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) is permanently unable to perform its duties. It would then elect a new 15-member Tribunal by the same majority, in a single vote – five judges each for terms of 3, 6 and 9 years.

Candidates would be nominated by the Sejm marshal after consulting, among others, the first presidents of the Supreme Court (SN) and the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA), and with the prior consent of the president. On the day the new panel is elected, the terms of the current TK judges would expire, and they would move into retirement.

Submitting the bill requires the signatures of at least 92 members of the Sejm; the PSL caucus has 32 members, and the PSL leader is counting on the support of Polska 2050 and has appealed for signatures to the other coalition partners, as well as to Konfederacja and Rozwój Plus. Passing a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in the Sejm and an absolute majority in the Senate. (PAP)