The international stage in 2008
For better or worse, these things were largely absent from the political scene in 2008. In their place, however, arose a new bugbear - the conflict between President Lech Kaczyński and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government. This led to high-profile skirmishes over things like seating at an European Union summit and the right to use the government's plane.
In 2008, the most noteworthy political events took place on the international stage. However, the atmosphere of constant disagreement between the government and the president cast a long shadow, one which complicated international relations.
Strong EU position
Poland bolstered its reputation as a leading state within the EU in 2008. "The biggest success in Polish diplomacy this year, in my opinion, was the EU accepting the Eastern Partnership, which was crafted by Poland in cooperation with Sweden," said Sławomir Dębski, director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). The Eastern Partnership is a diplomatic initiative to forge stronger ties between the EU and Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and, to some extent, with Belarus.
"It has been the first Polish initiative for five years which has finally been accepted and introduced by the EU," added Dębski.
Not all of Poland's actions in 2008 met with EU approval, however. One example involved President Kaczyński's procrastination in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, a document which he helped negotiate. Additionally, Poland went against the grain when it argued for a lighter burden in the EU's new energy and climate package, which calls for a 20-percent reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020. The government wants to negotiate a transition period for Poland's coal-dependent energy sector, arguing that the emissions limits are too strict and would harm the average consumer.
Missiles and missions
The signing of the US missile shield agreement was a significant event in Poland's foreign policy agenda this year. After long months of negotiations, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski signed the deal in August. The final outcome of the deal remains unclear, however, as US President-elect Obama appears skeptical of its merits.
"It was all done too fast, without considering the feasibility of the system," said Piotr Kuspys from Polish monthly Stosunki Międzynarodowe. "I am sure this will be used by Russia as a pretext to complain about US interference [in the region]," he added.
The Polish side in the missile shield negotiations was not free from internal conflicts - the president and prime ministers' camps each did all they could to take credit for the deal. At one point, the president sent the head of his Chancellery to Washington to negotiate, while the government had its own negotiations team there already. Then the government's main negotiator, Witold Waszczykowski, was dismissed from his post at the Foreign Ministry over ties to the president. He later moved to a position in the President's Chancellery. These events marred the government's satisfaction with the deal, which the PM described as, "the cabinet's greatest achievement this year."
The government also pulled most of Poland's troops out of Iraq after a five-year mission. Critics said that years of military support for the US had brought no appreciable economic or political benefits.
A thaw from Russia?
One of the first foreign trips Donald Tusk made as prime minister was to Moscow early this year. This was considered the beginning of a thaw in icy Polish-Russian relations, but not a turning point. A visit from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov followed in the summer, after Russian troops invaded Georgia and Poland condemned Russia. Lavrov's visit in Poland wasn't considered revolutionary, but at least it took place.
"In this case, I had hoped for more. PM Tusk said he would take a pragmatic approach to relations with Russia, and aspirations were higher," commented Dębski. "But Russia is not known for its willingness to form long-term ties," he added.
Dębski also said the lifting of a Russian embargo on Polish meat was a considerable success.
Eastern orientation
Poland's eastern policy clearly shifted from Ukraine in 2008, moving further east. After years spent championing Ukraine's cause in the EU and NATO, the lack of Polish support was keenly felt. "I would rather have seen PM Tusk visit Kiev before Moscow," Kuspys said.
In Ukraine's place, Georgia was the subject of much Polish diplomatic effort. The war in Georgia proved a chance for President Kaczyński to take charge in mustering support for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. But not everyone saw profit in the president's solidarity with Georgia.
"This involvement brought no real benefits for Poland," said Kuspys. Instead, he suggested it was a move that could potentially bring harm from Russia.
Poland also tried to take a leading role in renewing EU-Belarusian relations, with FM Sikorski making an official visit to Minsk in autumn. This came as something of a shock for the beleaguered Polish minority in Belarus, which saw Sikorski's visit as tacit acceptance of the oppressive Belarusian government.
"His remarks about uniting the underground Polish organization with the government-sanctioned one were seen as a foul-up," said Jędrzej Czerep, an expert from the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. Czerep said that Belarus' inclusion in the Eastern Partnership initiative was also significant, as was the lowering of visa fees for Belarusians.
Nothing new in the West
Relations with Germany seemed to improve in 2008. There was no progress in the matter of the Nord Stream Pipeline project - which will transmit Russian gas supplies to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, Poland and other countries - or regarding an initiative to create a museum commemorating the expulsion of Germans from post-World War II Poland. But some progress was made when the European Tribunal of Human Rights in Strasbourg declared that it would not rule on claims by German expellees.
"In our opinion, and according to the Germans, this verdict eventually decides the illegality of these claims from the German side towards Polish property owners," commented Tusk. "We moved a few steps forward in this matter," he added.
In the last days of 2008, Prime Minister Tusk also managed to gain support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the Polish stance on the EU emissions-cut plan.
