Candidate to lead Polish state history institute rejected in rare clash between houses of parliament
The Institute of National Remembrance has been leaderless since its previous head, Karol Nawrocki, become president.
In a rare clash between Poland's two houses of parliament, the Senate has rejected the candidate chosen by the Sejm to become the new head of the state Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). The nominee, Mateusz Szpytma, has served as deputy head of the IPN since 2016, including when it was under the leadership of Karol Nawrocki, who became president of Poland last year with support from the national-conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Szpytma's candidacy has been opposed by most of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's ruling coalition, who argue he helped politicize the IPN under the former PiS government. However, some more conservative elements of the coalition joined the opposition in supporting Szpytma, giving him a majority in the Sejm but not the Senate.
Brief written by urgent.news from Notes from Poland's own syndicated text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
