Poland is not the 17th Land of Germany - the sooner it sinks into the consciousness of the political elite in Berlin, the better

What are the Polish-German relations just before the next round of intergovernmental consultations? Maybe good, but not hopeless, as was put by Christoph von Marschall in „Der Tagesspiegel”: „Poles and Germans have become strangers to each other”, but there is hope, because we still talk to each other and maybe something sensible will result from it. If….

If we were to use just one sentence to summarize von Marschall’s comment (I wish to send him my greetings), it would sound as follows: after the fall of the Berlin Wall the situation was beautiful and nice, unfortunately, with the arrival of the „national-populist government of the Law and Justice party” things messed up. And here is a relevant quote:

„Responsibility rests largely with the Law and Justice party; this view is shared by the majority of Europeans.”

— said the commentator of this capital’s daily, but – what must be appreciated – he also graciously noted that „Germany is not without guilt either”.

We were sometimes meeting in Berlin at various conferences, but I get the impression that my colleague, von Marschall was living on a different planet. To give you a short glance back just to refresh the memory.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall (not to mention the willingness of Chancellor Helmut Kohl to inspect the border on the Oder and Neisse River, which - he admitted – was accepted under persuasion from the USA), there was a chapter entitled „Kitsch of Reconciliation”. Does it need further explanation? Empty gestures, toasts, patting on one shoulders, posing for common photographs…. and at the same time Gorbi-, Yeltsin-, Putinmania and „practicing politics over the heads of Poles”, as it was assessed by the President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) and not only him during the red-green coalition in one of our talks published today. Earlier the same was said to me about the Christian-liberal governments (CDU/CSU-FDP) of the Kohl cabinet, by the candidate to Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder. And Angela Merkel had said the same before she took his place….

Indeed, after hugs with Prime Minister Tadeusz Morawiecki and praying together on their knees in Krzyżowa, it took Kohl six years to check off another visit to Poland, when at the same time he was flying to Moscow - as we say in Polish - with pepper, which they call in Germany: „Male friendship”…. Isn’t it? Poland, on the other hand, became an object of unrefined ridicule in the media on such a scale that even German journalists and foundations protested against it. Am I supposed to remind the offensive „Polenwitze” - a wave of songs about Poles, also in public television, or e.g. a nasty advertisement of the MediaMarkt network with Polish thieves, de facto, taken off after the outbreak of the scandal…?

Let’s take it further: after being separated from the honor and faith of „male friendships”. - Männerfreundschaften of Kohl and the gentlemen from Kremlin, Chancellor Schröder invited … Vladimir Putin, as the first guest from abroad in order to make a speech in the rebuilt Reichstag, and he called Russia a „Germany’s strategic partner”, thus undermining transatlantic relations. The friendship of these gentlemen took a caricatured form, just to mention the adoption of two children from St. Petersburg, Putin’s hometown, by the Schröder couple, which no longer exists today, or the choir of the Cossacks of the Volgadones, singing in German at “Gierd’s” birthday at his home in Hannover. Never mind, they obviously fancied each other, but at the same time Schröder prevented Poland from being included to the group of leading decision-makers in the EU (next to Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy); it was under his constraint that the so-called transitional period concerning the blocking of access to the labour market in the community for Poles (Germany was the last country to lift this ban) was extended to the maximum; and finally, together with Putin, in spite of protests not only from our country, he founded a pipeline Nord Stream1 in Europe, which, incidentally, the head of the opposition and the candidate for Chancellor, Angela Merkel considered the most wonderful day in the history of German-Russian relations. Currently, the Chancellor is forcing unilaterally the construction of Nord Stream2, which has already begun …

Should I continue? For example, making life difficult for Polish companies on the other side of the Oder River; disregard for the provisions of the so-called Neighborhood Treaty regarding support for the Polish Diaspora in Germany; or a certain amount of bad blood due to the Prussian Trust (by the way, I remember the meeting of Schröder with the „expellees” and his response to the revisionist demands: „Let me do it in my own way”); the question of building the so-called Expellees’ Centre, etc. problems casting a shadow over our bilateral relations of yesterday and today. I would like to recall the statements made then by the head of diplomacy, now President Frank Walter Steinmeier, who described NATO manoeuvres in Poland as irritating Russia and unnecessary sabre waving, or Germany’s attitude towards building an anti-missile shield in our country, the presence of American soldiers and strengthening our defense in general….?

I’ll end up with this list, because it is getting unpleasant. One’s point of view depends on the point where one is seated. Mr von Marschall shows some understanding for Poland’s protests regarding the Baltic pipeline Nord Stream2 , which “is not in line with the European energy policy”; he praises the boom in our economic exchange, but he also mentions that the “efforts of Germany” to establish minimum wages for delegated workers, drivers or builders are being underestimated, which, I quote literally: „In Central and Eastern Europe is not seen as a noble act for the good of the oppressed, but shameless protectionism to steal from the Balkans, Poles and the Czechs their competitive advantage”… For the sake of balance, Der Tagesspiegel commentator also noted that the German economy is using EU Member States in the east as an extension of the production line, but it skimps on research and future-oriented projects to enable their development. At the same time the protests of the countries of our region taking place on the EU forum, concerning the sale of poorer quality goods at the same, and often at higher prices than in Germany, have escaped his notice. Clearly, in the context of intergovernmental consultations, local elections in our country are more important, which led the author of the Berlin daily to the following conclusions:

„The Law and Justice (PiS) remains the strongest party. Germany cannot hope that it will lose power quickly. The Law and Justice party must learn for itself that success has limits. It represents only one third of voters”.

— states Mr von Marschall.

If so, one could ask how many voters are represented by the German government today, not to mention the ratings of the CDU/CSU Chadecs themselves, social democrats from the SPD, or Chancellor Merkel by name….? But never mind, it is about our bilateral relations with Germany and their „frustrating experiences with Law and Justice”. Since „Poles and Germans have become strangers to each other”, as stated in the title of „Der Tagesspiegel” publication, the suggestion that shouldn’t be missing is: „What shall we do about it?”.

„First of all, do not give up hope for reason and corrections in Poland. (….) It is better to speak openly about differences than to mask them with kind rhetoric”.

Well, Vielen Dank, Kollege Christoph. For the sake of order, I summarize the rest of the tips: secondly, thirdly and fourthly, „to support Poland’s participation in EU projects”, but not to give up „in fundamental matters”, such as judicial reform (by the way, in Germany after reunification, it took only one day to deprive the judges from the East Germany of their possibility to adjudicate and they are now appointed by the federal minister and parliament), and finally:

„Take advantage of the opportunities for influence, for example in the negotiations on the next EU budget.

This is indeed a very „creative” contribution to overcoming the impasse in Polish-German relations…. I am now looking forward to the popularization of this text and the final advice in the German, Polish-speaking media. The Polish should be made familiar with what the neighbours think about them and how bad the situation is in Poland. By the way, when it comes to German press, the foreign capital has its shares in…. literally three low-cost titles out of a total 650, but it’s meaningless. When a US investor wanted to buy the daily Berliner Zeitung, everyone between the Oder and the Rhine protested: journalists, politicians, the entire intellectual elite of the republic. They claimed that there will not allow any American publisher to shape German public opinion, which I will leave without comment….

The neighbors quarrel, sometimes hard. But they can communicate again if they want to, and if they open their eyes to common interests

— concludes von Marschall. I agree in full: „if’. First of all, if it sinks into the consciousness of the political elite in Berlin that Poland is not the 17th federal state of the Federal Republic. The sooner, the better…

Piotr Cywiński

Journalist, publicist, reporter and author of books. He specializes in international issues. Longstanding parliamentary commentator, accredited in Bonn, Brussels and Berlin, author of numerous interviews with heads of government of the EU, European Commission and NATO, as well as reportages from countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, including war zones, such as the Balkans and Rwanda. Between 1989 and 2011 he worked in the weekly Wprost, then he was a commentator of „Uważam Rze”. He published the books „Season for Europe” and „The End of Europe”. (written together with Roger Boyes from The Times). He also publishes in opinion-forming foreign press. Currently, he is a permanent columnist-commentator of the weekly “Sieci“” and the portal wPolityce.pl

Tłum: KJ