Monday, May 26, 2003
OK guys, this one's important to me. On June 7th and 8th the Polish voters are invited to descend upon the polling booths en masse and vote on whether or not they want to join the European Union. Let's not mince words here: we need this. But mere days away from the big event, there are still a whole lot of citizens who believe anything but. For those of you who are avid, unapologetic readers (Hi, Mom!), you know what I think of Poles: Honest, straightforward people, they are terrific friends, comprised of grit and integrity. But lacking a bit in the ol' "pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps" department. More willing to walk away and give up on whatever idea they have when they encounter an obstacle than to actually try to surmount it. So when I hear talk that the EU will be Poland's salvation, I tend to scoff. Many folks in these here parts are waiting... waiting for EU ascension, the next generation, the next crop of politicians, for time and somebody to make it right. Pinning all their hopes on the Magical World of Brussels is a fool's errand, unless they are willing to contribute heartily to the solution of everything that ails this fine country.
But ignoring the EU is more than foolish, it is perilous. Put simply, Poland will fall into the Middle Ages if they don't join the Family. It would be inevitable. The EU rivals the States in terms of political clout, culture, and standard of living. On the economic front, the Euro has gained mightily on the dollar and picking up speed every day. To the west of Poland lies the seemingly horizon-less EU Zone, to the east lay lands that are hopelessly enmeshed in the quagmire of Communism. Sure, the Wall fell, but Belarus and Ukraine authorities actually woe that fateful day. They want the old order back, and trudging uphill in this damnable vacuum has left them bereft of bread (the edible kind), bread (the convertible kind), will, law, and common sense.
After these two, what else is there? Moldova? Russia??? Please! No doubt Russia would like to have Poland as a willing ally (for once); Poland’s geographical position in Europe renders it as the Israel of Europe, which is why so many nations had invaded over the centuries. But Russia is no shape to provide assistance, to be a stable friend to anyone. What I'm saying is Russia is not trustworthy. Now Poles say that about... well, everyone, actually. But Russia and its enigmatic leader, Vladimir Putin, remain forever shrouded in mystery and unknown motivations. Yes, their economy is recovering. When you've hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up. But they could lose it all again tomorrow.
Interestingly enough, there's a large vocal enclave of Poles who think the same about Germany: That they are not trustworthy. And that they are the big power in the EU, masterminding a Fourth Reich which will dominate Poland anew without firing a shot. The enclave thinks even less of the French, but... well, they think even less of the French. That France's position in the EU is deteriorating, and Germany is coming into ascendancy. That France is openly bickering with just about everybody in Europe right now, to them only proves their point.
These Chicken Littles not only sound like crabby old men (they often are, though they have enlisted an alarming number of crabby young men to their ranks), they're dangerous. No one country will dominate the EU in setting policy for all member nations, no matter how much France may bellow, and certainly the European Parliament will not allow any member state to control another. (Not to oversimplify in this short essay, but does Texas rule the States? Is New Jersey or Nevada indentured to California?)
The state of the state here in Poland is rather dismal, no matter what the optimists and the apologists may say. Nobody trusts the established guard, nobody. Nobody likes our current crop of leaders, precious few trust the political establishment - and Brussels, my friends, is simply another political establishment. A vote against Brussels is, in many minds, a vote against our President Aleksander Kwas’niewski (Kvash-Neyh-skee) and Prime Minister Lesyck (LE-shik) Miller and the whole of Parliament. Worse, since so many of our politicos are lobbying heavily for EU ascension, a vote against the EU is a vote for the common man - or so the thinking goes.
But the common man will inexorably be crushed by the wheels of the 21st Century if they let this opportunity slip them by. The European Community is a juggernaut; Poland, as I have so elegantly put it many times on this page, is desperately poor. Sometimes I wonder what the common folk are waiting for to start the revolution? We need the influx of money the EU will provide, we need powerful friends in high places. Simply put, we cannot go it alone. At best, we would wither into nothing, a marginal country best ignored and avoided by everyone. At worst and far more likely, we will lay ourselves open once again to invasion - be it economically, culturally, or militarily (yeah sure, we're a peaceful "Global Village" now). We will lose whatever power we are gaining and we will fade into the history books.
Some argue that we should join NAFTA, strengthen our ties with the U.S. Certainly our government is doing just that. What with our commitment to troops to Iraq and our purchase of a fleet of American F-16 fighter planes. The windfalls of fat corporate contracts both here and in Iraq for Polish enterprises has commanded respect. But I emphasize that Poland is part of Europe, and one of the most strategic pieces of land in the Northern Hemisphere. An ally so many thousands of miles across the ocean, even a strong one, will leave us open to vicious attacks of all sorts from all sides. To extend my Israel metaphor, we will never gain the prestige Israel enjoys with American administrations and we will forever be marginalized. Nothing more than a pawn, ragged and threadbare, for the rest of the Powers.
The EU has money. Poland does not. The EU has physical and political infrastructure. Poland does not. The EU has intelligentsia, I'm very sorry but Poland does not. The EU has ballsy politicians (even the female ones) and is willing to risk and grow, Poland does and is not. The demagogues here like the right-of-right orthodox catholic priest Taduesz Rydzyk (Ta-DOOSH RID-shik) and SDL opposition party leader Andrzej Lepper (AAN-jay LE-per) are promising chaos, domination, homosexuality, abortion, and every other vice know to man if we join. Opinion polls list EU support near 80% but one polling agency admitted that only 5% of those they call even want to talk to the pollsters, and many in Poland's vast outback of poorer-than-poor villages aren't even being asked. As American ex-pat's Preston Smith's Poland Monthly puts it, a two day referendum may backfire on our elite. Those with no jobs and nothing better to do now have two days to make the two or four or ten mile trek to the polling booths. All to make a protest vote against the Establishment, whatever they deem the Establishment to be.
Look, I've gone on too long already. If Poles let this one slip us by, we will regret it for a very long time. Forever, in fact. 50% of Poles have to vote one way or the other in order for this to have any meaning, and if less than 50% vote the question of EU ascension will be kicked into Parliament. Then our ascension is assured. But with two days to do this thing, nobody is going to trust the "Political Elite" to do the right thing. Poles will come out in record numbers. They will vote.
And what they might vote for terrifies me.
posted by mark 5:24 PM
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