For anyone from the ex-communist world with a medium-term memory, the frantic efforts under way to save Greece (and the other wobbly southern members of the euro zone) are rather puzzling. For a start, what is so bad about default and restructuring?
Tag Archive: Poland
May 06
Long piece on power and history
Following last month’s joint Polish-Russian memorials to commemorate the Katyń massacre, and the outpouring of Russian sympathy since the plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 others, CEPA Senior Fellow Edward Lucas offers a penetrating look at the politics of historical reconciliation in Central Europe.
Apr 30
Diary Lemberg-Tallinn
It is never a waste of time to visit the capital of Galicia, which in Latin is called Leopolis (literally, Lion City). But you can waste a lot of time rowing about the name. In the Austro-Hungarian empire the city’s name was Lemberg. It was commonly known as that in the English-speaking world too (it is named thus in a Baedeker travel guide, belonging to your diarist’s great-aunt, who travelled in those parts more than a century ago).
In pre-war Poland it became Lwów (pronounced Ler-voof) and to this day many Poles still use that name. Indeed, they can get quite cross if you call it anything else. Even after the historical reconciliation with Lithuania and Ukraine in recent years, the loss, in 1945, of Poland’s eastern provinces, and particularly the great cities of Wilno (now Vilnius) and Lwów, still rankles…
Apr 22
Europe view on Poland. Politics as normal?
In the churches of Warsaw and other Polish cities, the funerals continue but questions are looming. Why were so many of the country’s top brass on the plane that crashed on April 10th, killing President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 94 others, including some of the country’s brightest and best military officers? Some of the relatives are, privately, furious. They say that their menfolk were ordered to travel to the Katyn memorial service as a backdrop for the launch of Mr Kaczynski’s re-election campaign.
Bosses often waste busy people’s time for reasons of their own. But every decision that led to the crash now looks questionable.
Apr 20
A Lithuanian view on Katyn and Smolensk
For 70 years the word Katyn is an open wound in the memory of the Polish nation. It can be healed only by the victory of truth against lie. This battle lasts since 1943, when Goebbels wrote in his diary on the day the Germans were retreating from Katyn: with no doubt the Russians shall blame the Germans for this crime. The Nazi ideologist guessed right because there was no difference in the essence of these enemies. During the trial in Nurnberg the Soviets tried to accuse Nazis of the Katyn massacre but the allies didn’t dare to confirm the fake, and it was nonsuited due to the “lack of evidence”.
Mar 08
Why not extend and reverse Nabucco?
This just in from London-based Polish gas expert Greg Pytel Greg Pytel Extended and reversible Nabucco – competitive and secure natural gas market for Europe There has been an ongoing debate about constructing Nabucco pipeline: a pipeline designed to transport natural gas from Central Asia, Middle East, Caspian and even North Africa via Turkey and …
Mar 05
Katyn update
The Kremlin is gradually sorting out (or at least defusing) its historical rows with the ex-captive nations. First it was Putin’s visit to Hungary on the anniversary of ’56 (see this report). Then it was Prague for 40 years after the 1968 invasion see this one, in Russian. Now comes Katyn, with official confirmation that …
Feb 20
Poland’s big chance
This is the English version of my most recent column for WprostPoland leads. Who will follow? Europe’s new foreign policy is somewhere between tragedy and farce. Lady Ashton, who is meant to be in charge of it, is arousing a mixture of ridicule and astonishment. She is still commuting from London to Brussels, fails to …
Feb 11
Europe View 170–Prickly Poles
The furious reaction to the earlier piece on the Polish blogosphere provoked this exasperated response Europe.view Better say nothingFeb 4th 2010From Economist.com The minefield of writing about Poland POLAND is the largest and most successful of the eastern European countries. A safe enough statement? Probably not. Someone will immediately start quibbling that “eastern” Europe doesn’t …
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