A statement by Paweł Kowal of KO on the program Woronicza 17 drew criticism from PiS’s Marcin Przydacz on social media after Kowal claimed that the president does not conduct foreign policy, citing the recall of ambassadors by Radosław Sikorski without President Andrzej Duda’s consent. Kowal defended Sikorski’s decision, noting the context of his actions during the period when the KO-PSL coalition governed, a stance Przydacz reminded Kowal of when Kowal publicly supported the rights of the president in the same matter earlier.
On neo-TVP, Kowal supported Sikorski’s decision to dismiss 50 ambassadors without consulting President Duda’s personal view, arguing that the president’s lack of direct control over such personnel matters is a long-standing constitutional nuance.
The president confers professorships and appoints ambassadors but is not the supreme authority over all professors or all ambassadors. He appoints judges but is not their boss, and while he plays a role in foreign policy, he is not the government and does not conduct foreign policy single-handedly. Simple distinctions, Kowal asserted on the program Woronicza 17.
— Kowal said.
READ ALSO: Min. Ćwik on recalling ambassadors: They imagine the president knocking on Sikorski’s door. The head of the Foreign Ministry first went to the media.
A blacksmith used to do the opposite
Former Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz responded to Kowal’s remarks by recalling his own past statements, which advocated the opposite view. The shift in stance illustrates how positions can evolve over time in public debates on presidential powers and ambassadorial appointments.
Przydacz reflected on how life changes. Kowal once defended the powers of the President of the Republic of Poland in appointing ambassadors. At that time he served under Lech Kaczyński; today his role has shifted, yet the constitutional framework remains unchanged.
— wrote Marcin Przydacz on the X platform.
Przydacz included in the discussion a decade-old remark that the president had been bypassed in the process of reviewing ambassadorial candidates.
Radio TOK FM reported on Wednesday, citing unofficial sources, that Lech Kaczyński signed several ambassador nominations on November 15, and shortly after, the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee received a letter seeking advice on those appointments. The ministry would learn of the matter six weeks after the nomination, according to the report.
— the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs recalled the situation.
A similar event occurred in 2008 when the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee gave a positive opinion to three ambassadorial candidates, bypassing the president’s views in the process. No candidates were presented to President Lech Kaczyński. The media quoted Kowal, who said that the opposition (then PiS) did not have the opportunity to speak freely in the committee and that such precedent was unacceptable and harmful.
READ ALSO:
— ONLY HERE. Bezhalów in Sikorski’s ministry. Ignaczak-Bandych: Legally, ambassadors cannot be recalled without the president’s consent
— Sikorski recalled the ambassadors? Minister Paprocka: Announcing this is an absolute distortion and misinterpretation
koal/X/Wprost
Source: wPolityce