Public media
The Polish government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk suffered a major setback in the restructuring of public media on Thursday. According to the Constitutional Court, only the National Council of Social Communication could dissolve the radio, television station and news agency. This committee was created under the PiS government.
01/18/2024 7:37 pm
Online since today, 7:37 pm
“The right to dismiss board members rests exclusively with the National Social Communication Council”, clarified the Constitutional Court. Shortly afterwards, the Ministry of Culture described the verdict as invalid. He cited irregularities in the appointment of judges, all appointed under the recently replaced national-conservative PiS government.
The ministry also referred to previous decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), according to which the Constitutional Court in its current composition is not an independent body. This intensifies the dispute between the new government led by Prime Minister Tusk and supporters of the former ruling PiS party, which also includes President Andrzej Duda.
Dispute over media in Poland
Under the former PiS government, Poland entered a collision course with the European Union in several areas. Due to doubts about the rule of law, PiS's judicial reform was met with harsh criticism in Brussels. But the handling of the media was also criticized. The international community froze billions in aid destined for Poland.
AP/Michal Dyjuk The Constitutional Court thwarted Tusk's plans on Thursday
Former EU Council President Tusk now wants to reverse PiS's judicial reform and reform structures in the public media. The TVP Info news channel was temporarily shut down in December and the other TVP channels did not broadcast news for some time. Managers were also fired. Tusk and his supporters accused the media – especially TVP Info – of biased reporting in favor of the PiS government.
PiS fueled protests against the Tusk government
The conflict in the Polish media landscape is one of several that erupted after the change of power in Poland. Given the current composition of the Polish Constitutional Court, many lawyers doubt its legitimacy. However, some others, such as the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, question the Ministry of Culture's actions.
The litigation that followed the change of government is leading to increased internal political tensions in Poland. Last week, tens of thousands of supporters of the eliminated PiS party gathered in front of parliament to protest the arrest of two former ministers who were convicted of abuse of power. Duda said he had initiated a process to pardon the two politicians.