Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported that President Karol Nawrocki issued 45 vetoes in his first year, compared to 35 vetoes across Aleksander Kwaśniewski's ten-year presidency.
The president blocked legislation covering public collective transport, civil registry divorce procedures, and pre-trial detention regulations.
Tusk cited presidential holds on the State Protection Service leadership, officer promotions in the ABW and SKW, court assessors, and ambassadorial appointments.
Tusk compared the 45 vetoes to records by Bronisław Komorowski (4), Lech Kaczyński (18), Andrzej Duda (19), and Lech Wałęsa (27).
On 1 October 2026, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk released a video lasting over 15 minutes on social media, accusing President Karol Nawrocki of systematically blocking the government's legislative agenda. The recording was published hours before a scheduled national address by Nawrocki. In the video, recorded in a podcast studio with a football jersey and a poster of the Sopot Grand Hotel in the background, Tusk stated that Nawrocki issued 45 presidential vetoes during his first year in office. Tusk characterised this conduct as a deliberate political method designed to weaken the governing administration.
“From the point of view of Karol Nawrocki, a bad situation in Poland, in Polish homes, means greater trouble for the Polish government. That is why he does not hesitate to use this presidential privilege in an absolutely unprecedented way.”
To provide context for Nawrocki's first-year total, Tusk cited historical figures from previous Polish presidencies. Bronisław Komorowski issued 4 vetoes, Lech Kaczyński vetoed 18 bills, and Andrzej Duda issued 19 vetoes. Lech Wałęsa recorded 27 vetoes over five years, while Aleksander Kwaśniewski registered 35 vetoes across his ten-year tenure. Tusk noted that if Nawrocki served two full five-year terms at his current rate, he would reach approximately 450 vetoes. Tusk stated that the authors of the Polish Constitution intended the presidential veto for exceptional circumstances such as state security.
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Tusk highlighted specific legislative proposals rejected by the president during his first year. These included an amendment to the public collective transport act, provisions enabling fast-track divorce procedures at civil registry offices, and changes to rules on pre-trial detention. Beyond legislative acts, Tusk reported that the president halted several key institutional appointments. The blocked appointments included the head of the State Protection Service (SOP), first officer rank promotions within the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW), court assessor nominations, and diplomatic ambassadorial assignments.
“Vetoing bills is a method, a strategy of harming the basic interests of the state, just to harm the government and build the president's position in complete discord with what the constitution says.”
The prime minister directly challenged Nawrocki's political slogan, asserting that the president's actions served to damage state functioning rather than protect citizens. Tusk argued that using vetoes to stall ordinary governance represented an attempt to acquire executive powers assigned by the constitution to the cabinet. Law and Justice politician Zbigniew Bogucki responded to the broadcast by calling the prime minister a political crowbar operator. The public exchange occurred as political tensions mounted ahead of Nawrocki's planned national broadcast.
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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk released a video detailing 45 presidential vetoes by Karol Nawrocki in his first year, alleging unconstitutional obstruction of government reforms and state security appointments.
AI text based on reports by polsatnews.pl, naTemat.pl and Rzeczpospolita. Published .