The controversy continues following Friday’s statement by the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, in which he revealed that he had been encouraged to carry out a coup d’état. On Saturday, among those who commented on the matter was Stanisław Żaryn, advisor to President Andrzej Duda.
On Friday, Sejm Speaker Szymon Hołownia confirmed media reports suggesting that he had been pressured to take part in a coup.
“I was repeatedly proposed or it was suggested to me whether I would be ready to carry out a coup d’état,”
he said during an appearance on Polsat News.
He added that these suggestions involved blocking or delaying the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected president. The Speaker emphasised that he had firmly rejected such proposals.
“But you won’t stage a coup with me. As Speaker of the Sejm, I am obliged to respect the will of the majority of voters,”
Hołownia stated.
On Saturday, Stanisław Żaryn, advisor to President Andrzej Duda, addressed Hołownia’s statement. The former government plenipotentiary for the security of the information space asserted that “the situation described by Marshal Szymon Hołownia fits the definition of a coup d’état.”
“As a public official, the Marshal was legally obliged to report this matter,”
he emphasised.
“An Internal Coalition Play”
According to Żaryn, disclosing the matter to the public might be an attempt to use the situation for manoeuvring within the current coalition:
“It’s obvious that the Marshal is now fighting to remain in office until the end of his term.”
“Thanks to the Marshal, however, we now have confirmation that the current ruling arrangement in Poland poses the gravest threats to the Republic of Poland,”
he said.
Żaryn stated that “an attempt to carry out a coup against a legally elected President of the Republic of Poland is an assault on the state’s system, an attack on democracy, and a deprivation of Poles’ right to vote.” “This is a dramatic situation!” he added.
Tusk “the Prime Suspect”
The presidential advisor also indicated that Prime Minister Donald Tusk is among the “main suspects” of having exerted pressure on Hołownia. He wrote this in the context of the fact that the first reports about an attempt to pressure the Speaker coincided with a social media post by the Prime Minister, in which Tusk stated, among other things, that “it’s hard to find legal and effective ways of operating in this constitutional mess.”
“Perhaps the Marshal’s interview means that the Prime Minister’s time in office is coming to an end…,”
Żaryn concluded.