The government of Donald Tusk “no longer sees Germany as an enemy, but as an ally with whom it wants to cooperate closely”, in which the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland is said to see a greater chance of success than PiS, which “ultimately achieves nothing with its aggressive and delusional approach towards Germany” – we read on the website of the German daily “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ) in the context of reparations. The newspaper refers to the issue of reparations and argues that the authorities in Warsaw expect “creative solutions” from our western neighbor on this issue.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pleased that the new government in Poland no longer views Germany as an enemy. Now he must finally meet Warsaw’s expectations with specific proposals.

– we read in FAZ.

According to FAZ, in Poland “the crimes committed by the Germans during World War II are very real”, and many monuments, museums and publications “commemorate this darkest time (…)”, almost every family suffered.

However, Poland never received any significant compensation from Germany, except for the reparations the Soviets made to East Germany.

– emphasizes the portal, noting that “this is another reason why the demands of the previous PiS government in Warsaw failed.”

FAZ on PiS’s “aggressive and delusional approach”

According to FAZ, the new government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has chosen a different path: “it no longer sees Germany as an enemy, but as an ally with whom it wants to work closely.” In this way, Tusk hopes to be more successful than PiS, which “ultimately achieved nothing with its aggressive and delusional approach towards Germany.”

Tusk and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski no longer use the word “reparations”

– the portal shows.

However, since they took power in Warsaw, they have made it clear that they expect “creative solutions” from Germany.

— wrote FAZ.

Including, for example, payments to some 40,000 more Poles who survived the war.

“That’s not enough”

Nevertheless, the fact that the German government once again went to Warsaw on Tuesday without any specific commitments makes it very difficult for Tusk to justify his actions in the country, especially against radical groups.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the federal government was trying to provide support to survivors. But this was not enough (…)

– assess FAZ.

Especially since – he added – Scholz’s statements “are also still unclear in another area that is very important for Poland: increasing defense spending.”

At a Tuesday press conference with Scholz, Tusk said no amount of money could compensate for Poland’s losses in World War II. He said a credible signal from Germany would be to take greater responsibility for the continent’s security.

In concrete terms, this means a much larger defense budget.

– FAZ said firmly.

He recalled, for example, that Poland currently spends almost 4% of GDP on defense, which is twice as much (as a share of GDP) as Germany.

When Poland was ruled by PiS, the German press often threatened that Berlin was slowly “losing patience” with the “authoritarian” government in Warsaw, that Poland had “taken advantage of the discount for Ukraine”, and Brussels should be stricter with PiS. “violation of the rule of law”. This time we see pressure on Scholz – the government in Warsaw is already “good”, so it’s better to give at least a “scratch” from your desk. I also wonder what, according to the journalists of “Die Welt”, was so aggressive and delusional towards Germany in the attitude of the previous government? Are the calculations presented accurate? Is it a worldwide diplomatic campaign and making each country realize that the “example” of the rule of law does not take into account the crimes committed during World War II? Mentioning that Germany wants to subordinate the entire EU to itself, while the provisions on federalization are already included in the coalition agreement of the current government in Berlin? Or maybe the “delusion” that many years ago Germany attacked other countries, especially brutally against Poland? After all, our western neighbor itself was a “victim” of Nazism.

Whatever the case, such articles in the German press seem like a cheeky and cynical game.

just/PAP