Poland’s ruling coalition to bring central bank head before court over hurting

WARSAW, Poland — The majority of Poland’s r uling pro-European Union coalition lawmakers have taken steps Tuesday to bring the head of the central bank before a special court on allegations of acting against the country’s financial interests and abusing his powers.

The motion to try National Bank of Poland chief Adam Glapiński before the State Tribunal is part of the coalition’s efforts to reverse the actions of its right-wing predecessors, widely considered undemocratic, and to bring those responsible to account.

The tribunal’s tasked with trying top state officials suspected of violations of the nation’s constitution and laws.

The controversial Glapiński was appointed in 2016 by the then-ruling conservative Law and Justice party and is currently in his 2nd term. The allegations against him include unlawful funding of state deficit from state-issued securities, weakening of the national currency, the zloty, ahead of key elections, acting in the interest of Law and Justice and helping its electoral campaign, as well as approving hefty bonuses for himself

The coalition, which came to power in December and is led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, filed the motion at the parliament office, thus beginning a lengthy procedure that could strip Glapiński of his post and get him banned from all state positions.

The motion filed by 191 lawmakers of the coalition will spur an investigation of the allegations by a special parliamentary committee, which if substantiated, will require parliamentarians to vote on trying Glapiński before the tribunal.

Observers say this procedure can take up to a year.

Four cases have been heard before the tribunal since it was established in 1921. Most cases have been dismissed but two of the defendants were banned from active political life.