The Polish administration and the country's president are at odds concerning the selection of diplomatic representatives.
In Poland, the pro-European administration headed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk is butting heads with conservative President Andrzej Duda over his stand against the confirmation of several new diplomats. Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz voiced the need for an envoy to Israel to reporters, a day after Tusk dubbed Duda's tactic on the ambassador situation as "incredibly reckless."
Tusk's administration, which has been in the driver's seat for a year now, decided to shake up a plethora of ambassadors across the globe. Many of the current ambassadors were placed by the previous, nationalist-conservative government spearheaded by the Law and Justice (PiS) party. Duda, who maintains a close relationship with PiS, termed the ousting of diplomats by Tusk's administration as "manipulation." On the digital platform X, Duda stated that the Polish ambassadors to the US and Ukraine cannot be relocated by the government because "only the President of the Polish Republic has the power to do so."
According to Polish legislation, the government is in charge of international relations. However, the government and the president interpret their working relationship in distinct ways. One such rule stipulates that the president appoints and discharges ambassadors, but only after a proposal from the prime minister has been sanctioned.
The standoff over ambassadors is just one of the numerous disagreements between the government and the president. Tusk alleges that the head of state is impeding the government's operations, particularly in sectors such as justice, media, and women's rights reforms.
Although the president's authority in Poland is somewhat restricted, Duda can veto any new bill with his veto power. Moreover, the Constitutional Court and partly the Supreme Court still have the influence of PiS loyalists, who governed the country until last December.
The pro-European Prime Minister Tusk expressed his concerns to the international community about President Duda's interference in the appointment of new diplomats. Despite the political tensions, it falls under the President's duty, as per Polish legislation, to appoint and discharge ambassadors after a proposal from the Prime Minister.
