Nearly half of Poles reject Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s forceful takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland, which saw riot police seize the building and key judges removed, in what is being described as a coup.
In an SW Research survey for Onet, respondents were asked whether the current government has legal grounds to carry out a “revolution” in the Constitutional Tribunal.
Nearly half, 47.8 percent of respondents, answered negatively. Another 33.1 percent held the opposite view, and 19.1 percent chose “hard to say.” Notably, only a third of Poles believe that Tusk’s move was “positive.”
The highest percentage of negative responses was recorded among people aged 35–49. In this group, 56.9 percent of respondents considered that the government had no legal basis for such actions, while 25 percent took a different position.
Żurek comments on the results: “I would also say no”
Minister of Justice. Waldemar Żurek was asked about the survey results on Friday on Polish Radio’s First Programme, and he rejected the entire premise of the polling question.
“If you asked me whether the current government has the right to carry out a ‘revolution’ in the tribunal, I would also say no,” said Żurek.
“Nobody is revolutionizing anything here. This is simply allowing legal judges to work. There is no question of a ‘revolution’ at all,” he argued.
Żurek suggested that respondents could instead be asked whether the current government has the right to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights or to implement the provisions of the constitution. “Because the constitution clearly states: ‘The Sejm elects the judges of the tribunal.’ It all depends on the question asked. I see polls that are favorable to these changes,” he concluded.
Notably, polling has also shown that nearly 50 percent of Poles believe Tusk’s should resign as prime minister following the takeover of the court. His party, the Civic Coalition, also saw a drop in support.
The SW Research survey for Onet was conducted on Nov. 3-4, 2026 using the CAWI method on a sample of 803 adult Poles.
