Post by bescheid on Jul 21, 2007 14:47:23 GMT -7
With the approach of a new political party created by consolidation of two existing parties, a higher level of expertise and a new situation may come into existence.
A situation of a {win win} possibility for both the Warsaw Government under Kaczynski and with the Bush Administration of the Washington Government.
Washington President Bush, needs an extension for Polish troops in Afghanistan. Warsaw Kaczynski needs the power and prestige of The United States as a bulwark in insurance against over bearing Russian presence as an overhead shadow.
Coupled with a strong alliance with The United States, Warsaw would have a hedge up to counter any implied or real political pressure from Germany. It is a poker game of high stakes and risk.
The risk will began in the coming winter months with energy supplies of Russian sources.
SPIEGEL ONLINE - July 17, 2007, 12:57 PM
URL:
tinyurl.com/2z4nfs
------POLAND'S TWO-HEADED 'FOX'-----
New Party Wants to Axe EU Deal
Poland's right wing is consolidating, and may end up threatening the newly-minted EU treaty. Two extremist politicians on Monday joined forces amid pledges to put the brakes on Polish integration into the EU.
AFP
"Strong as a lion and cunning as a fox:" Giertych (left) and Lepper are joining forces.
Thought the worst was over in Poland for the revised European Union treaty? Not if two small, but radical members of Warsaw's coalition government have their way.
On Monday, Andrzej Lepper of the Self-Defense Party and Roman Giertych of the nationalist-Catholic League of Polish Families said they would form a single party and campaign together in the next election on an anti-European and anti-reform platform.
The new party will be called Liga I Samoobrona, or League and Self-Defense (LiS), Giertych said on Monday. Though Lepper said his party would remain part of the current government, the move still opens up the possibility for early elections down the road.
Giertych said the party would be as "strong as a lion and cunning as a fox," a reference to the party's acronym, which means "fox" in Polish. He added that the party's "goal, above all, is to defend Poland from adopting the reformed treaty" -- a reference to the revised EU treaty hammered out in marathon negotiations during the late- June EU summit. The euroskeptic party also plans to block adoption of the euro, the common European currency.
The party brings together two groups with divergent interests and political analysts questioned how smoothly they could be merged. The Self-Defense party focuses on rural, agricultural voters and small business owners, whereas the right-wing League of Polish Families, as its name suggests, is a family values affair, with a focus on staunch opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay rights.
The establishment of the new party is a response to a decision by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski last week to fire Lepper, who had until then served as Agricultural Minister and deputy prime minister, over a corruption probe. Lepper has denied any wrongdoing and claims he was snared in a sting operation by anti-corruption police -- a move he described as an effort to remove him from office. The situation had thrown the already troubled Polish government into a state of crisis.
Reacting on Monday, Kaczynski said the move could make ratification of the EU treaty impossible. He added that the compromise was "worthy of defending in parliament," but that it might not be possible to overcome opposition from the government's junior coalition partners. The treaty is expected to be signed at an EU summit in Lisbon in December and must then be ratified by national governments -- either through votes in parliament or public referenda.
Missile Shield Talks in Washington
Separately, Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Monday met with United States President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington, where the two discussed the planned missile shield, which will see 10 interceptors built in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. The plan is fiercely opposed by Russia, which, with NATO now leading up to its front door, sees the missile shield as a threat to the balance of power in the region.
Kaczynski described the shield as a "foregone conclusion." But the Polish leader also sought to assuage Russian concerns on Monday, saying: "It is aimed at the defense of our democracies against the countries who might have or already do have nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction. So it is really a defense instrument."
Over the weekend, Russia said it would pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty after 150 days in protest over the shield.
Kaczynski and Bush also discussed the situation in Iraq, where 900 Polish troops are currently stationed. According to recent polls, the majority of Poles oppose an extension of the Polish military's mandate in Iraq. The Polish government is mulling over whether to withdraw its troops by the end of the year.
dsl/reuters/ap
Charles
A situation of a {win win} possibility for both the Warsaw Government under Kaczynski and with the Bush Administration of the Washington Government.
Washington President Bush, needs an extension for Polish troops in Afghanistan. Warsaw Kaczynski needs the power and prestige of The United States as a bulwark in insurance against over bearing Russian presence as an overhead shadow.
Coupled with a strong alliance with The United States, Warsaw would have a hedge up to counter any implied or real political pressure from Germany. It is a poker game of high stakes and risk.
The risk will began in the coming winter months with energy supplies of Russian sources.
SPIEGEL ONLINE - July 17, 2007, 12:57 PM
URL:
tinyurl.com/2z4nfs
------POLAND'S TWO-HEADED 'FOX'-----
New Party Wants to Axe EU Deal
Poland's right wing is consolidating, and may end up threatening the newly-minted EU treaty. Two extremist politicians on Monday joined forces amid pledges to put the brakes on Polish integration into the EU.
AFP
"Strong as a lion and cunning as a fox:" Giertych (left) and Lepper are joining forces.
Thought the worst was over in Poland for the revised European Union treaty? Not if two small, but radical members of Warsaw's coalition government have their way.
On Monday, Andrzej Lepper of the Self-Defense Party and Roman Giertych of the nationalist-Catholic League of Polish Families said they would form a single party and campaign together in the next election on an anti-European and anti-reform platform.
The new party will be called Liga I Samoobrona, or League and Self-Defense (LiS), Giertych said on Monday. Though Lepper said his party would remain part of the current government, the move still opens up the possibility for early elections down the road.
Giertych said the party would be as "strong as a lion and cunning as a fox," a reference to the party's acronym, which means "fox" in Polish. He added that the party's "goal, above all, is to defend Poland from adopting the reformed treaty" -- a reference to the revised EU treaty hammered out in marathon negotiations during the late- June EU summit. The euroskeptic party also plans to block adoption of the euro, the common European currency.
The party brings together two groups with divergent interests and political analysts questioned how smoothly they could be merged. The Self-Defense party focuses on rural, agricultural voters and small business owners, whereas the right-wing League of Polish Families, as its name suggests, is a family values affair, with a focus on staunch opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay rights.
The establishment of the new party is a response to a decision by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski last week to fire Lepper, who had until then served as Agricultural Minister and deputy prime minister, over a corruption probe. Lepper has denied any wrongdoing and claims he was snared in a sting operation by anti-corruption police -- a move he described as an effort to remove him from office. The situation had thrown the already troubled Polish government into a state of crisis.
Reacting on Monday, Kaczynski said the move could make ratification of the EU treaty impossible. He added that the compromise was "worthy of defending in parliament," but that it might not be possible to overcome opposition from the government's junior coalition partners. The treaty is expected to be signed at an EU summit in Lisbon in December and must then be ratified by national governments -- either through votes in parliament or public referenda.
Missile Shield Talks in Washington
Separately, Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Monday met with United States President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington, where the two discussed the planned missile shield, which will see 10 interceptors built in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. The plan is fiercely opposed by Russia, which, with NATO now leading up to its front door, sees the missile shield as a threat to the balance of power in the region.
Kaczynski described the shield as a "foregone conclusion." But the Polish leader also sought to assuage Russian concerns on Monday, saying: "It is aimed at the defense of our democracies against the countries who might have or already do have nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction. So it is really a defense instrument."
Over the weekend, Russia said it would pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty after 150 days in protest over the shield.
Kaczynski and Bush also discussed the situation in Iraq, where 900 Polish troops are currently stationed. According to recent polls, the majority of Poles oppose an extension of the Polish military's mandate in Iraq. The Polish government is mulling over whether to withdraw its troops by the end of the year.
dsl/reuters/ap
Charles
Charles.
