On Thursday December 18, Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty condemned President Karol Nawrocki’s order to dismantle the historic Round Table from the Presidential Palace, urging it be preserved as a museum exhibit.
Sejm Marshal Criticises Dismantling Decision
Marshal Czarzasty said the Round Table’s decisions were foundational to Poland’s post‑transition stability, its EU accession, and its constitution, marking the start of unity beyond divisions. He described President Nawrocki’s justification – “breaking consensus, breaking the language of cooperation, and searching for compromise principles” – as a rupture, and said the president’s plan for a “new era of contacts” is a step backward.
Marshal Proposes Transferring Round Table to Museum
The marshal told President Nawrocki that the Table should be handed to a museum as a symbol of the post‑communist era and that the president himself should accompany it. He warned that without the Round Table’s decisions, leaders such as former presidents Kaczyński and Duda, and himself, would not exist, and that ending those principles sends a bad signal for democracy.
Marshal Urges Calls to Founders of Modern Poland
Czarzasty advised the president to reach out to key figures who shaped the state, including Władysław Frasyniuk and Lech Wałęsa, to explain what the Round Table means and its relevance to the possibility of becoming president.
President Orders Dismantling of the Round Table
President Karol Nawrocki, speaking at a press conference, declared that the Palace cannot host the Table and should be handed over to history. He added that from 2027 visitors will be able to see it at the Museum of Polish History.
President Declares the End of Post‑Communism
Nawrocki concluded that free Poland can no longer idealise the Round Table, that it should be remembered but not honoured in the Palace, and that post‑communism has ended in Poland, proclaiming, “Long live free Poland!”