Poland's new president draws battlelines with government over constitution

By Barbara Erling and Alan Charlish

WARSAW (Reuters) -New Polish President Karol Nawrocki vowed on Wednesday to change the country's constitution to protect its sovereignty in an address to parliament after his inauguration that set the scene for a battle with the government over democratic standards.

Nationalist Nawrocki's speech began what looks set to be at least two years of bitter conflict with centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who wants to move Warsaw closer to the EU and roll back contested judicial reforms implemented by the president's allies, the conservative Law and Justice (PiS).

The president has the power to veto laws, leading to the political deadlock already seen under the previous presidency of PiS ally Andrzej Duda, which ended on Wednesday. The president can also propose his own bills.

He did not specify what changes he was seeking, but called for limits on which areas the EU can influence. PiS accuses Tusk of undermining the constitution in his efforts to unwind the court reforms, which the EU said subverted democratic norms. PiS says they made the system fairer and more efficient.

However, a change of constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. PiS are currently in opposition after losing power in 2023, but hope that Nawrocki's win will spur them to victory at the next parliamentary election in 2027.

"Recently, the Polish constitution has been violated so regularly that we, as the political class, must begin working on solutions for a new constitution that will be ready for adoption, I hope and believe, in 2030," Nawrocki said.

The former head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, who was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, said he was opposed to illegal migration and Poland adopting the euro.

No parties in Poland have proposed joining the euro zone in the foreseeable future, while both the government and PiS have tried to talk tough on immigration.

"I will therefore be the voice of those who want a sovereign Poland that is in the European Union ... but is and will remain Poland," he said, as he promised to oppose any attempts by Brussels to "take away Poland's powers".

'NO COOPERATION'

PiS lawmakers in the chamber were jubilant, while those from the broad pro-European coalition led by Tusk looked on in dismay.

"The new president, who announces the breaking of the constitution, a lack of respect for the rule of law ... is definitely a bad start," Deputy Prime Minister Krzystof Gawkowski, from smaller coalition partner the Left, said on X. "There will be no cooperation here."

The government says that PiS politicised the judiciary during eight years in power that ended in 2023. PiS denies that, saying its reforms, which changed the way judges are appointed and their disciplinary procedure, aimed to remove residual communist influence.

However, the government's progress on rolling back PiS's reforms has been slow, and this along with a failure to deliver on other promises such as liberalising abortion laws has hurt its popularity.

Hundreds of supporters of Nawrocki gathered outside parliament in a sea of red and white Polish flags, before marching to the Presidential Palace.

PiS had urged their supporters to turn out en masse, accusing their liberal opponents of trying to subvert the will of the people with court challenges to the election defeat of Rafal Trzaskowski.

The Supreme Court validated the election result, saying that irregularities at some polling stations had no material impact on the overall outcome.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Barbara Erling and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Alex Richardson and Alison Williams)