God-fearing with a partial market economy is how EU citizens see Poland

Citizens of EU member states consider Poland and Poles as backward and they do not feel any solidarity in notions of a common European identity. Only about 20% of EU citizens agree with the statement that the market economy in Poland is similar to that found in West European countries. About 45% of Austrians, French and Brits, and 39% of Germans consider Poles as very cordial. However, almost 10% of Poland's Western neighbors associate theft when thinking about Poland. Poles are thought to be very religious, say 63% of Austrians, 69% of the French and 73% of Germans. This corresponds to the opinion that the Catholic Church is very powerful in Poland, a view supported by 30% to 40% of EU citizens. What is really surprising is that only 33% of Austrians, 32% of Germans, 28% of French and 18% of Brits think that Poland has a Parliamentary system similar to their own. This supports the thesis that Western societies may have noticed changes in Poland, but have no idea about their significance. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A6) M.M.