Undiplomatic behavior

Ten Polish ambassadors have been recalled because the Foreign Ministry doubted they would follow the government's foreign policy.

ast week the Foreign Ministry stated that it is unacceptable that ambassadorial posts had been taken by people related to the former secret services and the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). Foreign Minister Stefan Meller intends to recall 10 ambassadors closely connected with the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) or former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski.

Paweł Dobrowolski, the Ministry's spokesman, refused to reveal the names until new ambassadors have been appointed. However, the Polish media identified them as the ambassadors to Algeria, Argentina, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Israel, Lithuania and Slovenia. The ambassador to Germany has already said that his mission is ending.

Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz is convinced that these are regular measures that make Polish diplomacy work for the benefit of the country: "In Western civilization, secret-service officials and workers should not perform any function; the same applies to the people from the former [communist] party apparatus."

According to the Prime Minister, the changes in the diplomatic posts are part of transformations in the Foreign Ministry that aim to homogenize Poland's international policy.

SLD criticized the decision and called it "a personal revenge." Civic Platform (PO) wants to go further and dismiss at least 20 ambassadors who they accuse of discrediting Polish diplomacy for years.

The recalled ambassadors are supposed to leave their posts by the end of March.