Germany and Poland: why are relations so tricky?
The 17th German-Polish intergovernmental consultations took place in Berlin on Monday. Key agenda points were military collaboration, cross-border transport infrastructure and the politics of memory. Germany also returned cultural assets to Poland that were stolen during World War II. The media in both countries are trying to fathom why the relationship has still not really warmed.
Still not on an equal footing
The online portal wPolityce is not convinced:
“Tusk's visit to Berlin is being pompously framed as intergovernmental consultations, but consultation happens when the parties are on an equal footing. This was not the case in Angela Merkel's day, it was not the case in Olaf Scholz's day, and it is not the case with Friedrich Merz today. It is impossible to forget the images of Merz and Tusk on their visit to Kyiv (with Macron and Starmer), when the Polish prime minister travelled in separately, only to be pushed around by Merz like a piece of furniture, with the German Chancellor constantly giving him instructions, and the helpless Tusk carrying them out.”
Friendly rapprochement with no strings attached
Rzeczpospolita sees some positive shifts in the bilateral relations:
“Tusk even described Chancellor Merz as 'friend'. ... Until now the prime minister had only visited Berlin sporadically. He feared that positive gestures towards our western neighbour will only pour oil onto the fire of PiS propaganda. Over the past weeks, support for the PiS has been falling in the polls. In spite of everything, on the eve of 35th anniversary of the signing of the German-Polish Neighbourhood Treaty there is no talk of signing a new agreement, as is the case with France, for example. That would require addressing too many sensitive issues, such as the status of the Polish minority in Germany.”
Diplomatic helplessness
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung believes relations are at an all-time low:
“High hopes that the change of government in Warsaw in 2023 and in Berlin in 2025 would also lead to an improvement in relations have come to nothing so far. Both sides are to blame, with indifference prevailing in Berlin and despondency in Warsaw. ... Major unifying projects such as the long-overdue expansion of cross-border transport routes or increased cooperation in defence against the threat from Russia have failed. Instead, all we see is diplomatic helplessness. Nowadays, the past plays a greater role than shaping a common future.”
Cynical reparation games
The SZ is outraged that still no agreement has been reached on the issue of financial compensation to Holocaust survivors in Poland:
“From the viewpoint of the very loud Polish right-wing nationalists and far right, any German contribution below the 1.3 trillion euro worth of reparations set by the PiS party - a figure with shaky historical foundations - would be insufficient. Tusk's fear therefore is that German payments might actually damage his conservative-liberal government, that he would be accused of allowing himself to be fobbed off. On the other hand, the Germans are only too keen to wriggle out of paying. At least they seem to agree that helping Nazi victims would do nothing to enhance the reputation of either government. The situation could hardly be more cynical.”