Poland’s prime minister says President Andrzej Duda has delayed much-needed judicial reforms with his decision to veto two bills introduced by the governing party.
Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said in a televised address Monday night that the country’s courts need reform because they are not working well and that previous governments have been unwilling to tackle the problem.
Szydlo said that even if the pace of reform has been slowed, “we will not back down from the path of repairing the state.”
Her remarks seemed to expose a rift that the president’s decision created between him and the ruling Law and Justice party. Duda ran on the party’s ticket when he won the presidency in 2015 and the party has counted on his loyalty in promoting its policies.
Duda said the proposed changes did not guarantee improvements but gave politicians too much power over the judiciary. He said he will propose new drafts in about two months.