Poland
Posted by Peter W. Schramm
Lech Kaczynski, the president-elect of Poland, is making clear that his administration is pro-American, and he is taking a tough line toward Germany and Russia. The Germans are worried. Interesting, nicht wahr?
4:19 PM / October 24, 2005
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Of course, its a given that youd appreciate Kaczynski for those stances. Hes also taken a hard line against Polands gays, banning gay parades twice (he claimed it was for the safety of all concerned), arguably in violation of the Polish constitution. The pro-American stance of Kaczynski is not at all different from his predecessors Kwasniewski or Walesa, but you didnt mention the two main planks of his candidacy that actually got him elected - his pledge to maintain and improve Polands somewhat generous social welfare benefits (at least 20% of Poles are lazy...err...unemployed) and to rein in privatization and liberalization of the economy. The article you linked to also rightly noted that "The deployment of 1,500 troops is unpopular in Poland," but with such a (relatively) small contribution to the Coalition of the "Willing," it wasnt a decisive issue that could sway voters. The support for the war in Iraq among Polish people has plummeted; and now people are just ticked off that they still need to get visas just to visit their families in Chicago.