More than half of Poles believe Donald Tusk’s government has failed to deliver on one of its key election promises, according to the latest SW Research poll conducted for Rzeczpospolita. At the same time, speculation is mounting over possible personnel changes within the ruling camp. Increasingly, commentators suggest that Roman Giertych could replace Waldemar Żurek over the unsatisfactory pace of the government’s promised “accountability” efforts.
As previously reported, one of the main pledges made by the parties that formed the government after the 2023 parliamentary election was to hold the previous Law and Justice (PiS) administration accountable. The commitment was included in the coalition agreement signed on November 10, 2023, by Civic Coalition (KO), the New Left, the Polish People’s Party (PSL), and Poland 2050.
The signatories declared that their goal was to investigate and hold accountable—within the framework of the law—actions of the previous government that they considered to have violated the Constitution, the rule of law, and the proper management of public funds. They also pledged to pursue legal responsibility for individuals whom they believed had broken the law while in office.
Despite several attempts, the December 13 Coalition has not delivered what it had promised to its core electorate. Among the latest examples are the discontinuation of the years-long investigation into the so-called “Two Towers” case and the decision by the Warsaw Regional Court to reject a request to issue a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Tusk disappointed with the prosecutor’s office
A few days ago, Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on both the court’s decision and what he described as the prosecution service’s clear failure under Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek.
“Yes, it is frustrating that the coordination between the prosecutor’s office and the courts is, frankly, not working well. The court concluded that since we are unable to determine Zbigniew Ziobro’s whereabouts in Europe, a European Arrest Warrant makes no sense. Some prosecutors believe otherwise. In these procedural disputes, what matters most is being lost—namely, the effectiveness of the Polish state in prosecuting alleged criminals, including former politicians. We still have a great deal of work ahead of us. I do not want to lament the state of the justice system as such, but rather the work of some of its representatives in the prosecution service and the judiciary. There is still a lot to be done.”
During the same press conference, Tusk also apologized for having been overly optimistic about the pace of the promised “accountability” process.
“Sometimes I feel that Minister Żurek has far more determination than actual means, and that his hands are somewhat tied. That’s the truth. I should probably apologize—I should have had more imagination when I promised swift accountability. I did not foresee how difficult it would be, given the situation in the prosecution service.”
Poles on the “accountability” agenda
In the latest SW Research poll commissioned by Rzeczpospolita, respondents were asked:
“Has Donald Tusk’s government met your expectations regarding holding the PiS period of government accountable?”
The survey shows that a majority of Poles assess the government’s performance in this area negatively. As many as 53.3 percent said the government had failed to meet their expectations.
Only 14.6 percent believed the government had fulfilled expectations regarding holding the previous administration accountable.
Meanwhile, 19.2 percent said they had never expected the current governing coalition to pursue such actions in the first place.
Another 12.9 percent had no opinion on the matter.
The survey was conducted by SW Research for rp.pl on July 14–15, 2026, among 800 adult users of the SW Panel online research panel. The sample was selected using a random quota method and weighted to reflect the structure of Poland’s adult population in terms of key socio-demographic characteristics.
Harsher measures against the opposition? Giertych could replace Żurek
It is also worth noting that speculation is growing that Tusk could repeat the move he made in 2025, when Adam Bodnar was replaced by Waldemar Żurek. This time, Żurek himself could reportedly be replaced—by Roman Giertych.
Commenting on the court’s decision regarding Zbigniew Ziobro, Giertych openly mocked the prosecutor’s office under Żurek’s leadership.
“After Ziobro left for the United States, the Warsaw Regional Court was absolutely right not to issue a European Arrest Warrant today (although the real question is why it took so long that he managed to leave Hungary). Article 607a of the Code of Criminal Procedure clearly states that there must be at least some evidence suggesting that the suspect may be staying within the European Union, whereas he is currently in the United States. In such a situation, if I were the prosecutor’s office, I would request suspension of the proceedings until there are grounds to believe that the lawfully detained suspect is once again within the EU. Suspended proceedings can be resumed at any time should Ziobro return to the EU, without the need to file a new application. But it would hardly be appropriate for me, a humble attorney, to interfere with the independence, impartiality, sovereignty, and autonomy of the prosecutor’s office by offering unsolicited advice.”
At the end of April this year, Giertych announced that the “Election Network” (Sieć na Wybory) was returning. In one of his posts on X, he called on users to join a coordinated campaign intended to help his political camp win the 2027 parliamentary election. He wrote that people needed to get involved if they wanted to live “in a free country” and “without corruption.”
Giertych himself admitted that the “Election Network” had two objectives. One was to remove PiS from power, which he argued had been achieved “partially.” He also referred to the government’s accountability campaign, which—despite Żurek’s efforts—was progressing “very slowly.”
“So far we have achieved only the first objective, and only partially. Accountability proceedings, although ongoing, have not yet been completed because of resistance from two environments: the prosecution service and the media. I am obviously not referring to everyone, but to the majority. Apart from the Justice Fund case, accountability proceedings have become bogged down while waiting for the 2027 election. Despite Minister Żurek’s efforts and commitment, other investigations are progressing very slowly. The changes introduced by Minister Żurek are producing results, but the inability to dismiss leading prosecutors entrenched under PiS legislation has paralyzed the structure. At the same time, journalists from media outlets that benefited by millions under PiS governments are attacking the entire ruling camp, particularly those demanding genuine accountability. As you can clearly see, these attacks bear the hallmarks of coordinated and organized campaigns.”
In practice, the initiative is expected to resemble the previous campaign, which directly targeted political opponents. Numerous examples of such activity were observed during the 2025 presidential campaign.