The December 13 coalition came to power promising swift and decisive “accountability” for politicians from Law and Justice (PiS). Nearly three years into its term, however, the government has achieved little in that area. Asked about the slow pace of the investigations, Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek claimed that those responsible are… prosecutors who were promoted when Zbigniew Ziobro served as justice minister.
During the 2023 election campaign, representatives of the December 13 coalition pledged to investigate alleged scandals involving politicians from Law and Justice (PiS). Despite Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government having been in office for almost three years, it has yet to deliver any major breakthroughs in fulfilling those promises.
The case of Zbigniew Ziobro has become a symbol of the current government’s lack of effectiveness. The former justice minister is currently in the United States, where he has been publicly commenting on what he describes as the incompetence of the prosecution service overseen by Waldemar Żurek.
Żurek was once again asked why the promised investigations were not progressing at the pace originally announced. The minister argued that the reason is that prosecutors’ offices are still staffed by people who received promotions during Zbigniew Ziobro’s tenure.
“We are showing that, even as time passes, these accountability efforts will continue. Of course, I am also dissatisfied with their pace, but I am fully aware of how the prosecution service became filled with people who were promoted in the past, during Ziobro’s time. Those were political promotions,” Żurek complained.
The justice minister added that “I am also aware that there are people acting opportunistically in various places – in the judiciary, in the prosecution service, and also in public institutions.” He then declared: “We are holding people accountable. There will be no preferential treatment.”
Żurek also addressed the case of Zbigniew Ziobro.
“We already have an extradition request prepared. It is currently being translated. Two days ago, I said we would translate it within seven days and submit it to the appropriate U.S. authorities. But now imagine that Ziobro lands in Brussels. The Americans will say: ‘How can there be an extradition when he no longer lives here?’ Then I and the prosecutors will once again have to file a request for a European Arrest Warrant, and the court will schedule a hearing six months later. In the meantime, Ziobro will be free to travel across the entire European Union except Poland and then, laughing in all our faces, fly back to the United States,” he said.