Georgia on His Mind

Thinking Georgia

The news that Polish President Lech Kaczyński is flying out to Georgia has divided opinion. George Bush has praised President Kaczyński for his bravery and leadership. Hardly a compliment if you see that the USA has done absolutely nothing to avoid this conflict or help in negotiations.

Silent Fear
In fact, the power institutions of the world are so afraid of Russia that nothing at all has been done to caution or admonish Russia for its acts of hostility on Georgia. Some feeble, non-threatening remarks have been made by a few countries and nothing else, nothing of substance.

Russian Motives
Actions, of course, speak louder than words and if the current status quo continues and the stance of the world’s leading power centres does not change then Russia will soon ‘liberate’ South Ossetia, then Abkhazia, after which both entities will no doubt ‘elect to join’ Russia allowing the Russians to incorporate these territories into their federal structures. As we know both areas are of strategic importance with regards to oil pipelines and access to the sea. These would be prized acquisitions for Russia.

Prometheus & Eagle

Lech’s Mission
Kaczyński mission to Georgia is brave but it may also be foolhardy. The Russian ambassador in Latvia has already warned the Baltic States and Poland not to criticise Russia. The ambassador wrote that “Quick judgements [by Poland and the Baltics] should not be made concerning this situation [the Georgian conflict] because mistakes could well be made for which they [Poland and the Baltics] will have to pay”.

Prometheus on His Mind
It is interesting to put Kaczyński’s position in context. Both Lech and his brother are known admirers of Józef Piłsudski and by extension his policy of Prometheism (discussed in brief in a previous post). If this is the case and Prometheism is a key policy also of President Lech Kaczyński’s then the mission to Georgia, together with the leaders of the Baltic States and Ukraine would appear to be something of an acme in the consolidation of this policy. For Lech Kaczyński, the fact that he is making this journey in concert with key ‘Promethian’ leaders is in itself a huge success regardless of the result once in Georgia.

Music for the Week

It’s summer, enough politicking. The weather’s picked up and it’s my birthday tomorrow so it’s now time to relax, take a step back and listen to some nice little tracks from a few of my favourite artists and a few more.

Pirate Song (sounding a lot like My Sweet Lord) on Rutland Weekend Television by George Harrison:

I’ll See You in My Dreams by Joe Brown:

River Song by Dennis Wilson (of Beach Boys’ fame):

Carmensita by the eccentric Mr Devendra Banhart:

Enjoy!

Public Secrets

Allies or Enemies?

Today’s front-page news published this morning in Dziennik is both shocking and sickening. Dziennik published a so-called top secret meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski and the Polish President Lech Kaczyński.

Secret Meeting
The meeting took place in a sound-proof chamber in the headquarters of the Office of National Security (BBN) in Warsaw. The first question is why on earth did it take place in a special room if, much to my utter surprise, the information was leaked and found on the front page of a national newspaper? The leak helps neither President Kaczyński nor Minister Sikorski, although Kaczyński will probably feel the brunt of negative opinion in the opinion polls.

The Meeting
Dziennik publishes part of the discussion between two of Poland’s most important politicians (Lech Kaczyński - LC ; Radosław Sikorski - RS):

LC: Are you a translator?
RS: What’s that got to do with anything?
LC: I’ll repeat my question, are you a translator?
RS: I don’t understand what that has to do with the topic under discussion.
LC: Please log: “He refuses to answer the question whether or not he’s a translator”.
RS: I am not a translator but I speak good English, evidence of which is a university degree I received in England.
LC: Did you translate yesterday’s telephone conversation between Donald Tusk and American Vice President Dick Cheney?
RS: No. A White House translator who was on the line at the same time translated the conversation.

And…

LC: Your ego has blown up to monstrous proportions.
RS: If you continue to insult me I will leave.
…
RS: You might be the President but you can also be a jerk.

Foreign Policy
The tone of the conversation is shocking. The President behaves like an Inquisitor loading his questions with accusations while the Minister goes way too far by insulting the President. Together these two gentlemen are responsible for Poland’s foreign policy. If these kinds of animosities continue and the two of them are not able to behave like grown adults then the future looks grim for Poland. It is clear that Lech Kaczyński is unable to talk to people he doesn’t like which is a big problem for someone who believes himself to be a diplomat. Radosław Sikorski on the other hand is far too emotional for a man with such a position. Individually, they are political time bombs waiting to go off. Together, the results are catastrophic. Let us hope they see sense and are able to bury the hatchet and get on with what is important for the country.

Bronisław Geremek 1932-2008

Bronisław Geremek, former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-2000) and member of the European Parliament (from 2004) died yesterday in a fatal car accident when his car collided head-on with a van.

Geremek, who was a Professor of History and eminent scholar at, among others, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Sorbonne, was a key figure in Poland’s drive towards democracy during the ‘Solidarity’ period acting as one of Lech Wałęsa’s chief advisors.

Professor Geremek also oversaw Poland’s entry into NATO and as Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs countersigned the NATO accession agreement in 1999.

Bronisław Geremek was respected and loved for his wit, wisdom and positive politics. He was honoured by a number of institutions. His honours include the Order of the White Eagle (Poland’s highest decoration); the Grand Cross with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany; honorary degrees from the Sorbonne, University of Bologna, Columbia University, University of Utrecht. Professor Geremek was also an Officer of the French Légion d’honneur.

He will be sorely missed.

Land of Ifs and Buts

History is a never-ending list of what-ifs, maybes and perhapses. In a sense this post is related to a previous one (Królewiec Returns). The ‘what-ifs’ in history relate to different futures with each ‘what if’ being a bifurcation in the historical timeline. At these points, two or more alternate timelines are created but only one is ‘experienced’ by us. We won’t go into a discussion of alternate histories or sci-fi-like alternate universes but it’s fascinating to look at the geopolitical history of Europe and see how things actually did turn out and also what could have been.

Lithuania and Poland… Again
One of the previous posts looked at the possibility of Poland and Lithuania gaining new territory from the defunct Kaliningrad Oblast (to happen in the near future). This post will again mention these two countries which once shared an almighty Commonwealth. It is no mistake that historical discussions of either of these two states need to include a discussion of the other. They are intrinsically linked, rather like strands of wool that become entangled.

After Peace, War
So after so many years together as the Commonwealth of Two Nations, Lithuania and Poland became separated by the partitions. Poland was neatly divided up between Russia, Prussia and Austria whereas Lithuania wholly came under the control of the Russian Empire. After regaining independence (albeit briefly for Lithuania), Poland brutally attacked its former ally and took Vilnius/Wilno/Vilna (the capital of Lithuania). Granted, the large majority of the population was Polish, however, the surrounding area was predominantly Lithuanian and Belarusian. What is more, Vilnius has always been seen as the cradle of Lietuvių Kultūra (Kosovo could be analogous, perhaps).

Central Lithuanian Republic
Armed forces, at the behest of Józef Piłsudski, took Vilnius and the surrounding area. In order to appease the west Piłsudski did not, at first, annexe the area outright. The territory became the Republic of Central Lithuania in 1920. In fact, the Republic had its own (provisional) government, president (Lucjan Żeligowski), flag and postal stamps. After two years and disputed elections, the (puppet) republic voted for the incorporation of the whole of its territory into Poland. It was annexed by Poland in 1922. Thus ended the brief and controversial life of the Republic of Central Lithuania.

Other Bizarre Oddities
There are other such states that have had a brief and fruitless life. States such as the Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków which survived from 1815 to 1846; the Rusyn Republic of Lemkos (from 1918-1920) or the Republic of Perloja (from 1918-1923) centred around the village of Perloja in Lithuania all serve as great examples of ‘what might have been’ and how important politics can be in the face of self-determination or even sheer brute force.

Looking Back
To this day, many Poles hark back to the past and ruefully wish that their forbears had not made the mistakes that so cruelly extinguished the huge Commonwealth. “If only we had managed to hold onto our territory (from the Baltic to the Black Sea)…” There is something universal in longing for the past and wishing that things could have been done better so that our future might now be more rosy. All nations and peoples do it. Another example, and interesting bifurcation, is the creation de jure of a Ruthenian state in 1658. Had the Principality/Duchy of Ruthenia become a de facto state it would have laid the foundations perhaps of a fledgling Ukraine - “one of the great what-ifs of Eastern European history” according to Andrew Wilson of UCL. Those pesky what-ifs…

Get Wałęsa

The political climate in Poland is abubbling, afrothing and afoaming due to the imminent publication of SB a Lech Wałęsa (the Secret Police and Lech Wałęsa) by Sławomir Cenckiewicz and Piotr Gontarczyk. The authors of the book, two historians who work for the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), claim that the former President of Poland and legendary leader of Solidarity Lech Wałęsa was in fact a communist agent (Polish TW = tajny współpracownik = secret agent) with the pseudonym “Bolek”. A double agent, no less. This has sent shock waves across the Polish political landscape causing an incredible polarisation of an already divided political scene.

Bolek or Not
There are in effect two camps. Those who believe Wałęsa is the now mythical “Bolek” and those who believe there is no way on God’s Earth that the leader of Solidarity, the man who defeated communism and a devout Catholic could have played for both sides. The “Bolek” camp is headed by the terrible twins, wannabe Machiavellis, Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński who very early on in their political careers made it clear that they thought Wałęsa was “Bolek”. Interestingly, they only made their opinions known when Wałęsa threw his former aide Lech Kaczyński out of his office and decided he was unfit to work in politics and when Wałęsa decided to put an end to the ill-fated government of Kaczyński buddy Jan Olszewski (as well as Antoni Macierewicz).

Campaign of Dishonour
The truly annoying thing about this campaign to discredit the Nobel Peace Prize winner is that Kaczyński and Kaczyński have quite literally pulled out all the stops to besmirch Wałęsa. The IPN is loaded with Law and Justice (PiS) cronies who have not yet been cleared out by the government of Civic Platform (PO). Several days ago, Polish National Television (TVP) broadcast a so-called documentary which provided ‘hard evidence’ that Wałęsa was “Bolek”. Actually, this ‘papumentary’ was more an advert for the book. TVP is of course headed and managed by a whole slew of PiS sympathisers casting a dark shadow over the journalistic credibility of the programme. What is more, the now infamous book is an alleged history based on IPN documents. It is odd that a history book posits a thesis at the beginning rather than look at the facts and then draw a conclusion.

What if…?
The question on most people’s lips is what will happen (or become of Wałęsa) if it turns out that he did collaborate with the SB. Those people who survived communism know full well that a large majority of people did collaborate. So what? They did so to survive. I suggest the younger generation go out and watch the poignant Das Leben der Anderen which shows how communism was never truly black and white. We are rarely confronted with true, pure evil in life and people usually come in shades of grey. If Wałęsa did collaborate (which I severely doubt) then I’m sure he did it to protect the fragile, embryonic democracy that he was trying to nurture. If he did collaborate why doesn’t he admit it? Life is never black and white and to point the finger and to name names would do no good now. The facts are that Wałęsa did more for freedom than most men do in their whole lives and that can never be taken away from him.

Bubble Bursts

Played 3, lost 2, drawn 1, scored 1, conceded 4. This Polish team was simply woeful and perhaps the worst team of the tournament. Poland lost 0-1 to Croatia who after qualifying for the next round decided to rest practically their whole team and play a reserve side. However, Croatia’s reserve side outplayed and outclassed a dreadful Polish side that simply did nothing.

Why?
40 million or so Polish people were convinced that the national side would be able to put up a good performance against Germany, beat Austria and grind out a decent result against Croatia. But why? Why was the whole of Poland so convinced this would happen when reality demonstrated to us that Poland were never up to the task. In fact, the Poland that turned out at Euro 2008 looked a far worst team than the one at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The reason for this misplaced optimism arose from the now historic victory against Portugal in the qualifiers. The sad truth, however, is that Poland never actually looked a good team and that one victory against Portugal seemed to spur the Poles on and believe in something no more than a pipe dream.

Success in Failure
The much-maligned, tainted and corrupt Polish Football Association (PZPN) needs to have a long, hard look at itself. On the backdrop of what has been going on in Polish football in recent years - corruption, dodgy refereeing, bizarre decisions by the PZPN regarding promotions and relegations (with rules changes every year and sometimes even mid-season) - then the Polish national side have done unbelievably well. In fact, their success in the qualifiers is unprecedented when compared to the quality of domestic football and respect has to go to Dutch coach Beenhakker for his work on and off the field.

Quo Vadis, Polonia?
It would be foolish to sack Beenhakker because, as I’ve mentioned, Poland were never going to pull up trees and suddenly become world beaters. They simply didn’t have the quality, speed, guile, passion or know-how to win a game. This will be particularly worrying and personally deflating for Leo who now completes his THIRD international tournament without winning a single game. But Poland can take heart from the fact that they did qualify for this tournament in the first place, they are hosting the next Euro tournament and they have, in their goalkeeper Artur Boruc, a player who will no doubt go on to greater things and, God willing, will be a shining light for Polish football for the next ten years or so.

Fizzled Out… Again

Warsaw city centre was an interesting place to be last night. After another lacklustre performance of excruciatingly bad proportions which saw Poland get a draw against hosts Austria, the denizens of Warsaw were surprisingly chirpy singing “Nothing’s happened, nothing’s happened, we still love you Poland”. The 1-1 draw effectively spells the end of the line for both teams as fellow group members Croatia and Germany look likely to progress into the next round.

Battered Defences
Poland were dismal in the first half which saw an eager Austria encamped in Poland’s half, battering Polish defences like an irate storm. Poland have goalkeeper Artur Boruc to thank that they didn’t go into half-time 3-0 or 4-0 down. As it happens, they did have Boruc, as well as lucky charm Roger Guerrero who popped up like a Brazilian magician to bag Poland’s first ever goal at the European Championships. Poland went into the break leading 1-0 but never truly deserved it.

Second Half Woes
Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker no doubt gave his players a roasting at half-time and the Poles came out looking more value for their money but Austria were hardly going to give up. Both teams had their chances but every Polish fan would admit that Poland have not yet turned up for the tournament and look a sorry shadow of the team that qualified for the Championships. Ebi Smolarek, Dariusz Dudka and Mariusz Lewandowski who have been so influential in previous games looked lost and ill at ease with the ball. It was end-to-end stuff but both teams looked feeble.

Kick in the Balls
With 90 minutes on the clock Poland looked to have secured a surprise victory but when evil English referee Howard Webb awarded a highly spurious penalty to Austria in the 93rd minute 40 million Polish hearts sunk. Goodness knows what he was thinking and it was without doubt one of the poorest decisions Webb has made in his footballing career, but that is the stuff football is made of and Poland can hardly blame the referee for a terrible performance throughout.

Bye Bye Leo?
The worry now is that the Polish Football Association (PZPN) will make a knee-jerk decision and sack Leo Beenhakker for a pretty dreadful showing at Euro2008, although I think it more likely that Beenhakker will resign. That would spell disaster for the Polish side which has recently managed to pick itself up, dust itself down and begin to play with a better mentality despite Euro2008. On the other hand, Leo Beenhakker is still the only manager at Euro2008 NEVER to have won a game during either the World Cup or European Championships.

Fizzled Out

After all the hype, glitz and talk of victory, Poland’s players served up one of their most lacklustre performances in recent years. In fact, probably one of their worst performances since Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker took over the helm becoming Poland’s first ever foreign manager.

Euro Début
Poland lost 0-2 to Germany who overwhelmed, outplayed and outmanoeuvred Poland on every front. Before hand, the Polish press, the players and Beenhakker himself had played up the possibilities and potential of Poland’s football team saying that Poland’s début in the European Championships will see Poland break their duck and finally manage to beat Germany.

Look No Stars
Unfortunately (for Poland), nothing could be farther from the truth. Poland’s key players - Ebi Smolarek, Maciej Żurawski and Jacek Krzynówek - showed none of the skills that have made them so reliable in recent years. The Polish team simply didn’t turn up and were nothing like the team that had beat Portugal 3-2 in the Euro Qualifiers. But in all truth, it was Germany, or to be more precise Lukas (Łukasz) Podolski, who really shined.

Polish-born Winner
Podolski scored two and ran the show for the Germans. Ironically, Łukasz was born in Gliwice, in Poland and is one of three Polish players in the team (also Mirosław Klose and Piotr Trochowski) and his muted celebrations were well received by Polish fans who realised that Łukasz, by his own admission, had quite a dilemma on his hands playing against the country of his birth. He was also the only German player to swap shirts with a Polish player and actually put on the Polish shirt. He was also the only (Polish) player to give an interview to the Polish press straight after the game - the Polish captain refused.

Team Spirit?
Whether Poland manages to beat Austria and Croatia and progress to the next round is all in the hands of this crop of players and Leo Beenhakker but it seems that the team was already doomed before the kick off. Kuba Błaszczykowski, a key player, is thought to have had a tiff with Beenhakker regarding his fitness. The manager believed Błaszczykowski was a risk, Kuba disagreed and left the squad. Also, reserve keeper Tomasz Kuszczak returned home with an injury.

Tough Time
The feeling from within the Polish camp is that something is not right. If Poland are to finally do something, make a mark on European football (as their long-suffering fans hope), they will need to finally pull their finger out and show some mettle against hosts Austria and dark horses Croatia. Dream team? I think not. Well, at least Robert Kubica won the Grand Prix…

Piłsudski the Patriot?

Poland’s greatest hero and perhaps greatest leader was without doubt Józef Piłsudski, affectionately known by the masses as “the Marshall” (Marszałek = head of the armed forces) or “Granddad” (Dziadek). He is regarded as the father of the Polish post WWI independence movement and the person who single-handedly made Poland’s independence a reality. In a word, the father (or even grandfather) of the nation. The man is Poland’s ultimate hero. Thanks to Piłsudski’s military nous (and a great big slice of luck), Poland was able to defeat the Red Army in 1920: the so-called Vistula Miracle (Cud nad Wisłą) and fortify their newly regained independence and position within Europe. Many claim that had Piłsudski lived into the 1940s (he died in 1935), Hitler would never have had the balls to move on Poland.

Choice Words
Anyway, I love the guy because despite the mythical status that he holds among average Poles, he was quite the character. I’ve been doing some research on the man and it seems that he wasn’t quite the chivalrous knight we might think him to be. In fact, Piłsudski had quite a temper on him and a particularly interesting way with words.

Patriot?
In this post, I’m recounting some of his choicest statements, opinions and words of wisdom. Well… the most interesting opinions according to my humble self, of course. A great leader? A hero? A patriotic? Take a look at this selection of jewels and judge for yourself. Here are the quotations:

Quotations
Piłsudski is doing the battlefield rounds when he spots one of his severely wounded soldiers screaming and shouting:
“Czego krzyczysz… tylko noga? A tamtemu głowę urwało i nie krzyczy…”
(Why are you shouting? It’s just your leg? That guy had his head torn off and he’s not shouting…)

Describing Poland and the Poles:
“Naród wspaniały, tylko ludzie chuje.”
(A wonderful country but the people are arseholes/pricks/dicks)

Commenting on the importance of religion:
“Religia jest dla ludzi bez rozumu.”
(Religion is for people with no mind)

Piłsudski was asked what the policies of his party were:
“Najprostszy z możliwych. Bić kurwy i złodziei…”
(The simplest possible: beat the hell out of the prostitutes and thieves…)

Commenting on the nature of Polishness:
“Umiłowanym stanem Polaków jest niezdecydowanie.”
(The preferred state of Polish people is indecisiveness)

Asked what he thinks about Poland, the ‘Marshall’ said:
“Rzeczpospolita to wielki burdel, konstytucja to prostytutka, a posłowie to kurwy!”
(The Republic is a great big whorehouse, the constitution is a prostitute and the MPs are whores!)

Brilliant!