WARSAW — Poland’s stint at the top table of European foreign policy lasted only about a year and half; now it’s being derailed by open political warfare between the country’s president and prime minister.
Poland was absent from the White House crisis meeting that saw top European leaders rush to Washington to protect Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Donald Trump. An earlier effort to revive the Weimar Triangle of Poland, Germany and France is fading as Paris and Berlin warm ties on their own, and Poland’s status as one of Kyiv’s most important allies is being undercut by political battles over Ukrainian refugees.
Those internal divisions will be on full display on Wednesday, when newly elected right-wing President Karol Nawrocki will be at the White House to visit his political ally Trump, who openly campaigned for him during the Polish presidential election earlier this year.
That’s dismaying pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who sent a nitpicking message to Nawrocki, reminding him that under the Polish constitution it’s the government led by the prime minister that sets Polish foreign policy.
“It will probably take some time for the president’s office to get up to speed, to fully understand the rules of the game and the consequences of the constitutional provisions. I will patiently explain and inform them what such cooperation should look like,” needled Tusk.
No love lost
The visit is turning into a power play between the two politicians — whose distaste for each other is unconcealed.
Nawrocki’s office reacted with disdain on getting instructions from the foreign ministry on the goals of the U.S. visit.
Rafał Leśkiewicz, Nawrocki’s spokesperson, called them a “joke” printed out on a single sheet of paper.
The foreign ministry fired back that it was, “in fact the position of the Polish government, which is by nature concise.”
“The government’s approach is reductionist. They see the president as merely putting a face to policy or acting as a spokesperson, reading prepared instructions,” Radosław Fogiel, an MP for the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party that backs Nawrocki, told POLITICO.
“Representing the country means something broader. The president, as the state’s representative, cannot be limited to a government spokesperson role,” said Fogiel, who is deputy chair of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.
But the government is adamant that Tusk holds the reins.
“The president represents Poland but presents the position of the state, which is the position of the government, even if he disagrees with it,” foreign ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński told Polish media, adding: “There cannot be two foreign policies for one state.”
Fighting for power
The battle is part of a broader war over who rules Poland.
Tusk leads a centrist coalition that took power in December 2023 after ousting the PiS government that had been in charge for eight years. Nawrocki was backed by PiS, and his victory in June, plus Trump’s return to the White House, derailed Tusk’s hopes of bringing Poland fully back into the EU mainstream.
Tusk did have success in unblocking billions in EU cash that had been frozen by Brussels over worries that the previous PiS government was politicizing the courts and undermining the rule of law. His government was also welcomed back at the bloc’s top table — boosted by Poland’s rapidly growing military and defense budget as well as its stellar economic performance.
Now he’s embroiled in a guerrilla war with Nawrocki, who is using his national mandate to try and carve out a bigger role for himself, both at home and abroad.
In his first few weeks in office, Nawrocki vetoed a flurry of government-backed legislation.
During a stormy meeting last week between Nawrocki and Tusk’s Cabinet, the president tried to get involved in the details of a project to build an airport in central Poland, berated the finance minister and called on the government to update its program to include his own campaign promises.
While Nawrocki won’t have an easy time upending Tusk domestically, he does have more latitude outside the country.
The trip to Washington will be Nawrocki’s first foreign visit — a sign of the importance of the U.S. to Poland and also of the political ties between the Polish and U.S. presidents.
Nawrocki and Trump will hold “bilateral discussions, not only about Ukraine but also about Poland’s security. We must focus on threats to Poland, because there are plenty of them. That does not mean we will not talk about Ukraine’s future, because Poland cannot be left out of that discussion,” Nawrocki’s foreign policy aide Marcin Przydacz said earlier this week.
Tusk and Nawrocki are set to meet one-on-one ahead of the trip to Washington; the alliance with the U.S. is seen as crucial to Poland’s security by all sides in the deeply divided country.
Targeting Ukrainians
Poland’s fierce domestic political infighting is also straining Warsaw’s relations with Kyiv. The government’s competing against Nawrocki on who’s tougher against immigrants — including Ukrainians who fled to Poland after Russia’s attack.
Nawrocki last week vetoed a government-sponsored bill extending help for Ukrainians in Poland, arguing it would put Ukrainians ahead of Poles in accessing health care and the 800-złoty (€188) monthly child benefit.
The vetoed bill also put in question further financing by Poland of Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet.
“This is the end of Starlink internet, which Poland provides to Ukraine,” Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski wrote on social platform X.
“Mr. President, you must stop blindly attacking the government in the name of a political battle. You are hurting people who are fighting for their independence and at the same time helping Russia,” he added.
Nawrocki’s office stressed Poland’s stance on supporting Ukraine’s defense is unchanged. He has now submitted his own bill on aid to Ukrainians in Poland, which, he said, could restore Starlink financing if the parliament — controlled by a majority fiercely opposed to Nawrocki — passes it.
The government said it’s submitting its own proposal to restore Starlink financing for Ukraine ahead of the next parliamentary session, due Sept. 9-12.
The post From hero to zero: Poland’s foreign policy fizzle appeared first on Politico.
