On Friday evening, the media was abuzz with news: Minister Andrzej Domański had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. However, as it turned out, this was fake news, as on Saturday the Prime Minister’s office denied the report. What really happened remains unknown, but there must be something to the resignation rumors. After the National Electoral Commission (PKW) approved PiS’s financial report on its second attempt, Prime Minister Tusk wrote on platform X: „The money is gone and won’t be coming back; from my perspective, that’s the takeaway from the PKW’s resolution.”
Before the PKW passed the resolution, Minister Domański commented on Polsat News (one of the mainstream ones):
„The Minister of Finance is bound by the resolutions of the PKW, so if it is adopted by a majority vote, I will comply with it. I am bound by the PKW’s resolutions. The Minister of Finance serves only a technical role in this matter.”
As mentioned earlier, the PKW adopted the resolution on its second attempt, albeit with a “fig leaf” for itself. The first or second attempt makes no formal difference to the matter. However, the “fig leaf” complicates the issue. It concerns whether the PKW acknowledges the legality of the Supreme Court or not. The resolution only states that the PKW does not comment on this matter. Nevertheless, the dispute about acknowledging or not acknowledging the Supreme Court is where it all began. PKW member, lawyer Ryszard Kalisz, claims that the PKW does not recognize the chamber of the Supreme Court that issued the ruling on funds for PiS.
Privately, Mr. Kalisz may choose to acknowledge or not acknowledge whatever and whomever he likes. But it raises the question: who is lawyer Ryszard Kalisz in his official capacity? As mentioned earlier, he is a PKW member. This leads to another question: Does the PKW have the constitutional authority to recognize or not recognize another constitutional institution? The PKW’s competence is limited to electoral procedures. According to the Election Code of January 5, 2011:
„§ 3. The National Electoral Commission adopts resolutions within the scope of its statutory powers, particularly in cases specified in § 1 and 2.”
From this, it is clear that the PKW has no authority to comment on the legality or illegality of any chamber of the Supreme Court. Therefore, lawyer Kalisz’s statements represent an overreach of constitutional powers that neither he nor the PKW possesses.
To illustrate Mr. Kalisz’s statements, consider this analogy: Each of us has likely committed a traffic offense and paid a fine. However, that was in times when everyone respected the legal order, and no one thought to refuse a ticket because they didn’t „recognize” the police officer. Today, the situation is different. Lawyer Kalisz does not recognize one of the Supreme Court chambers. If Mr. Kalisz has the right not to recognize a Supreme Court chamber because he feels like it, then each of us also has the right to refuse recognition based on personal whims. What does this lead to? For example, if a police officer tries to issue a fine for speeding, we could straightforwardly and bluntly refuse the fine, claiming we do not recognize the officer as a policeman!
Absurd? Of course. But when lawyer Kalisz said he didn’t recognize one of the Supreme Court chambers, no journalist—believing themselves to be reliable, honest, and professionally skilled—challenged him.
Let’s return to Minister Domański and his problem, as mentioned in the title and at the beginning of this note. Based on his statement on Polsat News that he is bound by PKW resolutions and plays only a technical role (regarding disbursing funds), and on Prime Minister Tusk’s statement on platform X that „the money is gone and won’t be coming back,” there is a clear disagreement between the two men.
What will come of this disagreement? Is Minister Domański tough enough to say “non possumus” to the Prime Minister and resign, as the media speculated last evening? We’ll find out in a few days, after the Epiphany holiday.
Naturally, it’s untenable for the Prime Minister to say one thing while a minister does another. In such cases, resignation is the only option. Minister Domański, when making your decision, remember—there is life beyond the government.
