President Bronislaw Komorowski has been in Paris and Berlin this week for talks with President Nicholas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel. On his first trip abroad as President of Poland since being elected in July, Komorowski has said that reinvigorating the Weimar Triangle – a diplomatic agreement signed by Poland, Germany and France in 1991 – is one of his key objectives.
Regular meetings of leaders and ministers from these countries, which had been held from the 1990s, stalled during the presidency of Komorowski’s late predecessor Lech Kaczynski.
Next year the EU‘s 27 countries will launch negotiations on the shape of the 2014-2021 budget. Many politicians are calling for austerity following the global economic crisis, which has emptied government coffers and increased national debts. “We expect the cohesion fund to be maintained,” Komorowski said, referring to the main EU aid fund. “It is so important to make solidarity real, to make development levels more equal,” he added in a news conference.
Poland is to receive some 67 billion euros in regional aid from the bloc’s long-term budget for 2007-2013. Other former communist countries from central Europe also benefit substantially from EU funds.
Some experts believe that the bloc’s budget will remain at least at the current level of around 1 percent of the Union’s economic output. The budget talks will also concern the future of the EU’s farm subsidies, which account for more than 40 percent of the expenditure. A special Parliament committee met in July.
In Berlin President Komorowski visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial near the capital, together with German President Christian Wulff, to pay respects to a war hero. He then explained that this is “a way to demonstrate our shared view of our terrible past.”
Napoleon was widely appreciated in Poland. Erecting monuments to the Emperor was not accepted by the three occupants of the Slavic country. After restoring independence in 1918 the hundredth anniversary of his death was celebrated in Poland nearly as it was in France.
Warsaw City Council has just given the go-ahead for the construction of a monument at the site of an old statue on Plac Powstańców Warszawy, which used to be known as Napoleon Square before World War Two
Article - Radio Polska; Napoleon’s Monuments in Poland – History.
Newsweek magazine compiled a list of the 100 best countries in the world to live in according to 5 categories: health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. Top 3 include Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.
Estonia ranks 32nd, Lithuania 34th and Latvia 36th. Ukraine takes the 49th place having outrun Russia 51st and Belarus 56th.
Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Cameroon are recognized to be the world worst countries.
At the end of July, Poland’s cabinet adopted a preliminary list of priorities for Poland’s EU presidency, which included the EU budget for 2014-2020. The negotiations of the EU budget for 2014- 2021 will be a crucial factor, determining the success of Poland’s presidency.
Article – August 19th, 2010.
Ora la Polonia ha il suo destino nelle mani. Lo spauracchio di una nuova complessa coabitazione è stato sconfitto. Il Paese slavo può muovere verso le riforme che necessita senza ulteriori ostacoli e con il vento davvero in poppa. Non sfruttare un’occasione del genere sarebbe imperdonabile.
Il duo Komorowski-Tusk non deve, però, sottovalutare alcuni elementi. Dalle presidenziali la Polonia è uscita spaccata in due: le regioni occidentali e settentrionali, più avanzate economicamente, hanno dato la loro preferenza al vincitore, mentre quelle meridionali ed orientali a Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Il timore, che politiche troppo liberali intacchino i precari equilibri sociali, è ben evidente. Se il sistema pensionistico o quello degli ammortizzatori verranno rivisti bisognerà farlo con estrema attenzione.
Il tragico incidente aereo di Smolensk, in cui ha perso la vita buona parte dell’establishment del Paese, è stato un colpo terribile, che, però, ha portato maggiore unità e ridotto i tradizionali toni polemici. La Polonia ha tutto per garantirsi un futuro stabile e prospero. A parte i copiosi investimenti d’oltreoceano i fondi europei – 67 miliardi di euro dal 2007 al 2013 -, versati dagli occidentali come ricompensa per aver dimenticato i polacchi per 4 decenni oltre Cortina, offrono la possibilità al Paese di diventare nel XXI secolo un polo di riferimento nel Vecchio Continente.
Terminati i vari effetti psicologici, l’epoca dei Kaczynski si è probabilmente chiusa. I due gemelli hanno costruito la loro fortuna sulle paure del cambiamento, presenti in ampi strati della popolazione, sul nazionalismo e sul conservatorismo tipico di questa gente. La Polonia di oggi è diversa da quella del 2005 uscita con non pochi cocci rotti per l’adesione all’Unione europea.
L’adesione all’euro diventa ora il primo obiettivo del duo Komorowski-Tusk. Europeismo, Alleanza atlantica e riappacificazione con la Russia sono i capitoli centrali in politica estera.
Come dimostrano le partecipazioni agli interventi in Irak ed Afghanistan, il peso internazionale della Polonia tenderà a continuare a crescere. Non è un caso che Barack Obama, dopo aver rinunciato al dispiegamento dello Scudo spaziale strategico in Europa centrale, stia mettendo in piedi un mini-Scudo regionale. Varsavia è sempre in prima fila in questo tipo di discorsi come dimostra la quasi elezione del ministro Sikorski a segretario della Nato nell’estate passata. Una Polonia solida, stabile e democratica è dopotutto una sicurezza anche per i vicini tedeschi e russi.
Un’ultima considerazione in chiave italiana. Kaczynski si era già fatto fotografare davanti agli stabilimenti Fiat di Tychy. Dopo la sua elezione avrebbe fatto di tutto per difendere l’industria dell’automobile in Polonia. Questo non significa affatto che Komorowski sarà da meno.
Giuseppe D’Amato
E’ stato un lungo testa a testa che solo all’alba consolida il piccolo vantaggio di Bronislaw Komorowski. Troppa l’incertezza legata ai dati degli exit polls: circa 6 i punti di differenza tra i due candidati. In serata Kaczynski aveva ammesso la sconfitta, ma Komorowski non aveva festeggiato, aspettando la conta ufficiale.
“E’ stata una campagna elettorale particolare – ha osservato lo speaker della Camera bassa del Parlamento – sviluppatasi all’ombra di una catastrofe”. Anche Jaroslaw Kaczynski non ha mancato di ricordare il fratello presidente Lech, morto nella tragedia aerea di Smolensk in aprile.
“Dobbiamo continuare – ha detto il leader conservatore per cambiare la Polonia. Un movimento è nato dalla morte di quei martiri”.
58 anni, cattolico, padre di 5 figli Komorowski è per rafforzare le riforme di mercato e per velocizzare l’integrazione del Paese nell’Unione europea. Alleato del premier Donald Tusk non utilizzerà il veto del capo dello Stato con la stessa frequenza come fece il predecessore Lech Kaczynski.
Komorowski 53.01%, Jaroslaw Kaczynski 46.99% Turnout, 55.31%
Mr. Komorowski: “Tonight we will open a small bottle of champagne and tomorrow we will open a big bottle,” “We thank everybody – the more so that it was an unusual campaign, a difficult campaign held in the shadow of catastrophe.”
Mr. Kaczynski: “We have to continue changing Poland.. We have to continue to be mobilised, we must win,” “A movement has emerged from their martyrs’ death.”
Former President Aleksander Kwasniewski: tomorrow “Poland will wake up with a 100 percent government {…} with 100 percent expectations.”
On Sunday, 27 June, the first debate between Bronisław Komorowski and Jarosław Kaczyński took place live on the national television. For an hour the two candidates went head to head on domestic and foreign issues facing the country, as well as economic matters.
The TV presidential debate was considered as ‘inconclusive’ by many experts. Komorowski and Kaczyński need to lure leftist voters in Sunday’s run-off after the candidate of the leftist opposition SLD party won 13.68 percent in the June 20th first round of voting.
Analysts say some leftist voters will back Komorowski due to their dislike of Kaczyński ‘s nationalistic, eurosceptic brand of conservatism. However, some say Kaczyński may gain the backing of some left-leaning voters as he favours more state spending.
According to an opinion poll for Polish Radio, Komorowski has the support of 51.3 percent of voters, Kaczynski is the 43.3 percent, 5.4 percent of people are undecided.
Article Polskie Radio, June 28th, 2010.
63-летний главный редактор крупнейшей польской “Газеты выборчей” Адам Михник: 
«В российско-польских отношениях нет симметрии. Россия — великая держава. Польша — страна среднего масштаба в Евросоюзе. Все зависит от того, какие тенденции возобладают в Кремле».
«Партия братьев Качиньских до сих пор была партией национального страха, национального комплекса неполноценности, национальной угрозы. Их идеология сводилась к тому, что все против нас: и русские, и немцы».
«Коморовский? Он консерватор. Либеральный. Католик. Демократ. Ответственный. Стабильный. Нормальный. Но, хотя я буду за него голосовать, он не герой моего романа».
«Лично мне никакое примирение с Россией не нужно. Я всю жизнь считал себя антисоветским русофилом».
«В Польше уже нет истерического отношения к вашей стране. Но кое-что осталось в нашей подкорке. И если такие настроения целенаправленно подогревать, то все это можно разбудить снова — как, кстати, и антисемитизм, и германофобию. Нынешняя Польша — страна успеха»
«С моей точки зрения, присвоение Степану Бандере звания Героя Украины — огромная ошибка Ющенко». Однако «…героизация Бандеры — это не символ возврата нацизма. Это символ поиска Украиной своей национальной идентичности».
«Реальный вызов для России — это не Польша, не Америка и не Западная Европа. Западная цивилизация — это, напротив, ваш натуральный союзник. Ислам и Китай — вот в чем сегодня заключается реальный вызов для России».
Статья Михаил Ростовский Московский Комсомолец № 25378.
Mikhail Rostovsky Moskovskij Komsomolets
Polls gave Bronislaw Komorowski up to 41.54% of the vote, short of the 50% needed for an outright win. He beat Mr Kaczynski’s brother, Jaroslaw, into second place with 36.46%.
In third place is Grzegorz Napieralski (Democratic Left Alliance) with 13.68 percent. Turnout was 54.85 percent.
The results of the first round of the presidential election have split Poland in half, with western and northern regions supporting Bronislaw Komorowski
and eastern and southern Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
National Election Committee, PKW, data.
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