THE policy also consists of jokes. One such joke dates from 1994. THE then US President Bill Clinton was visiting Poland. A country that at that time it was not a member of either the EU or NATO and only a short time ago it was finding its democratic pace. Journalists were competing for an interview with the president. In a moment of good times, a journalist manages to shout a question at Clinton, in rudimentary English: “Mister President, Poland okay?” And the answer: “Okay!”.
What causes now constant laughter among journalists, but at the same time made colleagues jealous that they could not approach the president himself, can also be considered pattern for years of Polish-American relations after the change. It is a turn, not always easy, to the so-called “Big Brother”. Almost 3 decades later no one is in the mood for laughter. THE Russian attack on Ukraine closes 4 weeks and the horror in parts of Europe for what is happening is great. Even the US was forced to raise the flag and to defend “every inch” of NATO territoryas stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
New chapter
THE Poland became a state first line and visited her at regular intervals 4 major US politicians: Except from Blinkenthe Minister of Defense Lloyd Austinthe Vice President Kamala Harris and now the President Biden. “Biden’s trip to Poland could shape his presidency, as happened with John F. Kennedy or him Ronald ReaganSaid these days o former US Ambassador Daniel Fried on the private TV station TVN24. “It’s similar to Roosevelt and Churchill who met before the United States entered World War II.” According to Fried, Poland and the United States they are not allies in theory, but in a real state of war. In this context, many aspects that have shaped bilateral relations suddenly seem to come from another era. Security issues are paramount.
“Poland will take on the role of Germany during the Cold War,” he said Michael Baranowski, director of the German Marschal Plan office in Warsaw. It is an American foundation for the advancement of transatlantic relations. Baranowski speaks of a “new chapter” after Biden’s first year in office, which was marked by many ups and downs, where the negative developments outweighed the positive ones. In Washington it did not go unnoticed that Polish President Andrei Duda was late to congratulate Biden on his election victory. At a time when others were already sending congratulations after the predictions of the big American networks, Duda, who sought a close relationship with Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, congratulated him on a “successful presidential campaign”. The real congratulations from the Polish presidential palace followed after the electorate voted.
Washington-Warsaw relations had deteriorated greatly when Parliament passed a law in late 2021 on US-owned TVN24. To the surprise of many, President Duda vetoed the law. At that time, Polish-American relations were already strained by the agreement between Germany and the United States on him Nord Stream gas pipeline 2, which was completed in July 2021. At that time the US had agreed to put it into operation. The Polish government was amazed. It was, in fact, outrage. But during Trump’s presidency, it became clear that Poland had become the most important American partner on the European continent.
Lack of equal relations
For years, Poland has been considered a highly pro-American country, sparking outrage in Europe, and not just during the tenure of George W. Bush. Many Germans do not feel any understanding for the sympathy shown by Poles in the US for the last 30 years. “Many Germans have little understanding of this,” Janus Reiter, a former diplomat, told DW. “I hope that there is no longer a problem between Poland and Germany for the United States, because I think that anyone who really has his eyes open and sees and hears what is happening should understand that for us, in Europe, our position without the United States would be worse”. According to Reiter, in Poland, unlike in countries like Germany, there is a basic trust in the United States as a state, regardless of who the president is each time.
Although, as the former diplomat adds, this was not always the case under Obama, who was very popular in Germany. “There was a fear that Obama would not pay due attention to security issues and could even make concessions to Russia. “This was not confirmed, but there was a phase when US-Polish relations were cold on a human level.” In such phases the focus was on the latent category of asymmetry in bilateral relations, the lack of equal relations. According to Baranowski, the last few weeks have been an example of how this asymmetry is now being tested by a Poland that is realizing its growing importance. The reason for the confusion is the delivery of Polish MiG-29 fighter jets from Polish stockpiles to Ukraine.
A step that Warsaw avoided, because it could be seen as its entry into the war. “There was pressure from part of the US government and Poland reacted publicly and without prior consultation,” Baranowski said. Poland offered to hand over the fighter jets to the Americans, but the Pentagon refused. “From the American point of view, Poland has proved to be an unpredictable partner, transporting conflicts to the outside world, rather than resolving them behind closed doors,” Baranowski concluded. “The imbalance in relations between the two countries will become even more apparent, because Poland has become more important to the United States, but on the other hand the United States has acquired existential importance for Poland.”
DW / Magdalena Govts-Palokat / Editor: Irini Anastassopoulou
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