Main focus of Monday, April 19, 2010

Sadness at Kaczyński's death brings chance for reconciliation

Poland laid President Lech Kaczyński to rest in Kraków's Wawel Castel on Sunday, amid expressions of condolence from all over the world. The plane crash and the mourning over those who died could improve the historically burdened relations between Poland and Russia, writes Europe's press.

Delo - Slovenia

Now that Polish President Lech Kaczyński has been buried the tense relations between Poles and Russians could improve, writes the daily Delo: "Now we can hope that out of respect for the victims of the accident politicians from both sides will stop their manipulating. After this second Katyn tragedy it is high time Poles and Russians started being open with each other. It is commendable that Russian Prime Minister Putin attended the memorial service in Katyn and expressed his regret. Less commendable is his claim that the Katyn massacre ... was an act of revenge for the murder of Russian prisoners of war. Such cheap excuses have long annoyed Polish politicians and they generally react accordingly. Will the new generation of Russian and Polish politicians be able to break this vicious circle?" (19/04/2010)

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The Times - United Kingdom

The plane accident of Polish President Lech Kaczyński has brought Poland and Russia closer together, a development that will have repercussions for all of Europe, writes the daily The Times: "Poland has modernised itself in an extraordinary fashion over the past few years. On friendly terms with the Kremlin and the Russian people, it could help to modernise Russia, too. But all this has a knock-on effect throughout Europe. In Warsaw they say: Poland can do much with Germany, but nothing at all against Germany. Poles-Germans-Russians; that is the axis that will shape the next decade in Europe." (19/04/2010)

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Corriere della Sera - Italy

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended the state funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczyński. A gesture of sympathy that could mean more than reconciliation with the Russia-phobic Poles, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "The coming months will show whether the reconciliation will also bring a shift of the political axis in Central Eastern Europe. After the change of government in Ukraine, which elected a Russophile president in the person of Viktor Yanukovych, Moscow could now crank up the pressure on Warsaw. On a Poland [led by Lech Kaczyński, who all his life opposed Russia] that is a member of Nato and the EU today and that fought for centuries to escape the yoke of Russian dominance." (19/04/2010)

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Dziennik Gazeta Prawna - Poland

The international attention Poland has garnered as a result of the plane crash proves that the country has become an important player in Europe, writes the conservative daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna: "The balance of power has shifted in Europe. ... The disaster that struck the president's airplane on the way to Katyn has focused the entire world's attention on Warsaw. Not only because of the huge scope of this unexpected loss, but above all because Poland is one of the most important actors in Europe. Its fate is tied to the fate of the entire continent. And the tragedy has made it even more apparent that Poland is a responsible partner that must be taken seriously." (19/04/2010)

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