Opposition politicians try to storm Polish parliament

WARSAW — Two Polish lawmakers from Poland’s former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party scuffled with security outside the Polish parliament on Wednesday in an effort stage a dramatic return to the legislature.

The fight was over whether Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik would be allowed back into parliament. They were convicted and jailed on abuse of power charges before being pardoned by President Andrzej Duda, a close ally of PiS.

Duda and Law and Justice leaders insist that the two are still MPs, despite a decision by Szymon Hołownia, the speaker of parliament, to declare their seats vacant as the Polish constitution bars people with a conviction from serving as a deputy.

“The fight that Maciej and I are fighting is not a private issue of ours,” Kamiński told reporters after parliamentary security prevented them and their backers from entering the legislature.

He added that Hołownia’s decision barring him and Wąsik is “a crime against democracy. The parliament is sitting with an unconstitutional number of deputies.”

“You will not rule forever. For each of these criminal actions that you take directly against us, but actually against democracy in our country, you will be brought to justice,” Kamiński said.

Jarosław Kaczyński, the PiS leader, said the goal is to file charges against Hołownia.

But the speaker isn’t backing down.

“Mr. Wasik and Mr. Kaminski, by virtue of a ruling by the Warsaw District Court, are not MPs, and nothing will change in this regard,” he told reporters. “Regardless of the actions taken by those who want to make a fuss or start a brawl here. They will not be allowed into the chamber, they will not take part in votes.

PiS has tried to use the case of the two former MPs to highlight their charge that Donald Tusk’s new government is running roughshod over the rule of law, also pointing out the new administration’s takeover of the public media, the replacement of senior prosecutors tied to PiS and an upcoming effort to remove judges the government says were improperly installed by the former PiS administration.

Duda has also seized on their ouster, sending the budget bill to be examined by the Constitutional Tribunal, a top court, because the two were not allowed to vote.

But so far the effort isn’t turning around Law and Justice’s political fortunes.

The party is losing support and is now well below the 34.5 percent it won in the October election. POLITICO’s poll of polls shows PiS with 30 percent support, 1 percentage point behind Tusk’s Civic Coalition.

The fight over Kamiński and Wąsik is only one part of a much broader battle between the new coalition government and PiS.

The Tusk government’s next target is likely the Constitutional Tribunal, a body that PiS stuffed with loyalist judges and which the government says is no longer a court of law.

In the next weeks, the legislature may vote to remove five judges the government says were improperly appointed by Duda; there is also talk of an effort to amend the constitution to reform the tribunal.