New Premier Sees Poland as a Bridge

Prime Minister Leszek Miller, a Communist-turned-social democrat, declared in his inaugural policy speech to parliament Thursday that Poland will seek a major role linking the nations of the West with the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Poland must turn its geographical position, which over the centuries has made it vulnerable to invasions by great powers, into a political and economic asset, Miller said. “In the past a curse,” the country’s location between Germany and Russia, which both invaded Poland during World War II, “now can be a great opportunity,” he said.

“We are very happy with the new climate, new language and new initiatives, which are reviving the relationship between Poland and Russia,” Miller added. “The people who dominate now in contacts between our countries are entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and by nature they introduce into the discussions a pragmatic language and effective activity.”

Efforts to “deepen the dialogue at the highest level” will be promoted by a planned visit by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to Warsaw in mid-January, Miller said.

Miller placed his comments firmly in the context of Poland’s loyal membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, close alliance with the United States, a “community of interests” with Germany and a desire to win entry into the European Union as quickly as possible.

A “mission” of his government will be to play “an active role in Central and Eastern Europe,” Miller said. “It is not just historical ties that unite us but our common concerns for the security of the region, European Union aspirations and knowing the painful problems of transformation.”

The ideal of Poland serving as a bridge between the West and many of the Slavic nations of the former Eastern Bloc has wide support both in Polish society and among politicians. As a Slavic nation that has been tied to the West for a millennium by the Roman Catholic faith--unlike the traditionally Orthodox nations to its east--Poland has a strong cultural basis for this desire. But the main motivations now are economics and national security.

“In a situation where Poland is not squeezed between two enemies and can be a country specializing in East European politics, it is obvious that it can derive all kinds of benefits,” said Kazimierz Michal Ujazdowski, an opposition member of parliament from the Law and Justice party.

Poland hopes to be “a bridge, but from the position of a loyal member of the European Union,” he added.

Until recently, however, Poland’s goal of achieving warm relations with Moscow while strengthening economic and security ties with Western Europe and the United States has been sidetracked. In 1999, Poland joined NATO over Moscow’s vehement objections. The next year, Poland expelled nine Russian diplomats accused of espionage, and Russia retaliated by expelling nine Polish diplomats.

The two countries achieved a breakthrough in their relations when Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, another former Communist, held what he called “very sincere and extensive” talks with Putin last week at a Moscow summit.

Putin’s January visit to Warsaw will be “an important event, the first visit by a Russian president to Poland in eight years,” Kwasniewski told reporters in Moscow. Kwasniewski also praised an upswing in economic and scientific ties between the two countries.

In his talks with Kwasniewski last week, Putin described Poland’s economic development since the 1989 collapse of communism here as a “model” for the Russian economy, according to the state-run Polish Press Agency.

In his policy speech, however, Miller painted the state of the Polish economy in the darkest terms, blaming the previous center-right government for plunging economic growth and soaring unemployment.

Miller pledged that during his first 100 days in office his government will “stabilize the country’s finances,” requiring “self-discipline and many sacrifices.” Miller also warned the central bank, known as the National Bank of Poland, and the Monetary Policy Council, another key institution, against implementing anti-inflation measures “at any price.” Such a policy “can lead the country into a deep recession and worsen unemployment,” he said, while emphasizing that he was not challenging the constitutional independence of the central bank.

Later in the day, the Monetary Policy Council cut Poland’s benchmark interest rate to 17% from 18.5%. The expected move was generally supported by economists.

Miller put a populist spin on his speech but spoke of his economic plans largely in generalities, without offering many details of his economic plans.

“I can say one thing,” he declared. “Economic and social changes will not be carried out at the cost of the poorest, the unemployed and the helpless--not by building islands of riches in a sea of poverty.”