![]() He warned not only against a Europe weakened by ‘political correctness’ and European institutions founded on the illusion of a European demos and therefore lacking democratic legitimacy. At the Warsaw Summit, a meeting of the European far right early in December, he presented his geopolitical framework, a grand narrative for the future of the European Union. Simultaneously, Jarosław Kaczyński is developing a different rhetoric for a more sophisticated audience. This strategy seems to work well with some segments of voters. ‘Germany envious of Polish economic success’ ‘Brussels, Berlin, and the opposition plotting against Poland’ ‘The opposition and Germany want to punish Poland’ – these are just a few examples of headlines demonising the government in Berlin.Ĭrude as it might seem, this witch-hunt illustrates the current government’s need for enemies to consolidate support as well as to justify potential failures, especially in the international arena. ![]() Today, not a day passes without the public media scolding Germany. Kaczyński even went as far as using the metaphor of the Fourth German Reich.Ī decade later, under the twin brother Jarosław, he was appointed chairman of the Polish public broadcaster TVP. Back then, the architect of this allegation was fired from Kaczyński’s campaign in disgrace. It weighted heavily on his campaign, in favour of Tusk’s rival, Lech Kaczyński. In 2005, then-presidential candidate Donald Tusk was faced with an accusation that his grandfather had been a Wehrmacht soldier. This anti-German sentiment has been weaponised several times by the spin doctors of PiS. Recognising this is crucial to understanding how easy it is to activate it, without any rational premises or legitimate reasons. This topos, even if latent, is deeply embedded in Polish collective memory. The medieval Great War with Teutonic Knights became a vivid symbol in modern Polish culture, metaphorically depicting the everlasting threat coming from the German neighbour. Prussia played a significant role in the downfall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. The history of Polish-German relations is turbulent, and reaches further back than World War II. A lot has changed in Poland since 2016, when the Law and Justice party (PiS) took over. But not only the Weimar Triangle of France, Germany, and Poland seems to be a withering format of a bygone era. The reconciliation was so successful, that some were even reflecting if Warsaw could replace Paris in German European policy, or at least if the Franco-German tandem should not be expanded into a leadership trio. It seemed that, once and for all, historical animosities were overcome. Within the last two decades, both neighbours developed positive mutual perceptions and the majority is convinced that bilateral relations are rather good. The project of bringing the two nations closer together also steadily advanced. The German labour market completely opened for Poles in 2011 economic exchange blossomed. Germany was a strong proponent of Poland’s accession to NATO and the EU, which brought Polish-German relations to yet another level. The reconciliation process initiated by Willy Brandt and Egon Bahr in the 1970s was slow and arduous, finally resulting in a historic Treaty of Good Neighbourship. The Polish-German relationship has not been easy. One of them remains the bumpy relationship with Germany’s eastern neighbour, Poland. But the new government will have to face old challenges, unsolved by the departing cabinet. After the end of the Merkel era, Germany’s newly formed progressive coalition heralds a wind of change in German politics.
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