Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Stanislav Stremidlovsky
[REGNUM] Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, elected to this position by the new parliamentary majority (Civic Platform - Third Way - New Left), is preparing today, December 13, to take the oath of office to Polish President Andrzej Duda . After which he will fly to Brussels to participate in the EU summits, which will end on December 15.
The day before, Tusk presented a government in the Polish Sejm, which included representatives of three blocs, and named some of the priorities of his policy. Including the foreign policy section.
Explaining that now “there is a war on our borders,” the prime minister called for “returning” the country on the Vistula to the Euro-Atlantic community.
“Poland is and will be a key, strong, sovereign element of the North Atlantic Alliance, Poland will be a loyal, stable, confident ally of the United States, Poland will regain its leadership in the European Union ,” Tusk said. At the same time, he emphasized that “no one will beat him” in the EU and he will return Poland to its “rightful place.”
First of all, in Europe, the prime minister is going to talk about Ukraine. “I will go to Brussels with the justified hope that we will find a way to convince our traditional allies to stand unequivocally for freedom, republican values and the defense of Ukraine from Russian aggression,” Tusk announced.
He promised to demand the full mobilization of the West to help the Kyiv regime. However, he made a reservation that this could not mean the use of “friendly assertiveness” when it comes to national interests, and mentioned Polish entrepreneurs, transporters and farmers in this context.
Together with Tusk, foreign policy tasks will be implemented, first of all, by two ministers - national defense and foreign affairs.
The Polish Sejm dismissed the government and named a new prime minister.
The first position was taken by the chairman of the Polish Peasant Party ("Third Way") Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh , a doctor by training. He has no military experience, but for the ruling coalition this is not a minus, but a plus. They believe that a civilian politician should control the Ministry of Defense.
“The views of the leader of the Polish Peasant Party on the army are unknown, we are dealing with a politician who in this regard can be called a “blank slate ,” notes the newspaper Rzeczpospolita. In turn, opponents of Kosiniak-Kamysh claim that he is under the strong influence of Tusk and Radoslaw Sikorski, who returned to the post of head of the Polish Foreign Ministry.
However, both Tusk and Sikorsky will have to compete for the soul of the Minister of Defense with Duda. The President has long been interested in defense issues. This year he introduced a bill on army reform, which involves strengthening the role of the general staff. Kosinyak-Kamysh himself said that he was open to cooperation with Duda.
Thus, the first statements of the Minister of Defense indicate that he has a chance to find a common language with the president. Like Duda, he is betting on investment in Poland's defense potential and cooperation between national armies within NATO.
This can be seen as a divergence in the positions of Kosinyak-Kamysh and Sikorsky. The latter expressed interest in Warsaw's “leadership” in the European defense project, which is an initiative of Paris. Many Western and Polish experts perceive this project as an alternative to the “pro-American” North Atlantic Alliance.
But does this mean the prospect of splits in the Polish establishment between supporters of orientation towards Washington and supporters of orientation towards Brussels? As for Sikorski, perhaps the new-old foreign minister is playing for the long haul, anticipating difficulties in Polish-American relations if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election next year.
With this development of events, Washington will impose forced “strategic autonomy” on the European Union, and Warsaw will have to rely solely on Brussels. In this context, the Polish diplomatic department will now urgently need to revive the Weimar triangle Germany - Poland - France. And also to build new regional alliances outside of Central and Eastern Europe, to break into Scandinavia with a projection on Great Britain.
It’s difficult to say how Sikorsky can do this, although he is known for his ability to make sharp turns. As head of the Polish Foreign Ministry from 2007 to 2014, he set out to reset relations with Russia at the end of the 2000s. Moreover, as Sikorsky himself stated in June of this year, “we were there (in Moscow - editor’s note) before Barack Obama.”
But we must not forget that during the Euromaidan in Kiev, Sikorsky, together with German and French diplomats, had a hand in the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych . And after the reunification of Crimea with Russia, according to him, Warsaw “decided that it would not be possible to come to an agreement with Putin.”
Tusk himself in his “speech from the throne” did not mention Russia separately, only indirectly in the context of the Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, it is not yet entirely clear how exactly the prime minister and the head of the Foreign Ministry will build relations with Moscow.
Something will probably become clearer after Tusk’s trip to the EU summit. The Onet portal admits that the head of the Polish government may have a meeting with Vladimir Zelensky in Brussels .
In addition, according to the publication, “an early visit of the new head of the Polish government to the Ukrainian capital is possible . ”
However, first Tusk must “synchronize watches” in Brussels with European partners, after which his statements about unconditional support for the Kyiv regime can be adjusted. After all, not everyone in the EU shares this position. In particular, the Austria-Hungary-Slovakia situational bloc is opposed.
Given the eclectic nature of the Polish government and ruling coalition, Tusk will have to take into account the sentiments of those of his allies who care little about the interests of Ukraine.
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