Though Obama left visiting Warsaw for the very end of his European tour, a spot that by default runs the highest risk of getting axed on account of technical snafus, I heard a few voices say in the days leading up to his visit, that the president was leaving the best for last.
While Obama didn’t explain his itinerary in quite those words, everything about the visit showed that the U.S. administration wants improved relations with Poland. U.S.-Poland relations were dealt a blow when Americans scrapped a missile defense shield plan in an effort to improve U.S.-Russian relations.
If words are anything to go by, love was in the air of the diplomatic world of international relations.
The U.S. president praised how far Poland has come since it jettisoned communism in 1989, and embarked on a path of systemic transformation. At the official press conference at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister Saturday, Obama said if Poland sticks to its development path, it will could be a global leader.
“Poles should feel proud and understand that if they are united and continue to develop for the next 25 years [like the country has done since 1989], then Poland will be a leader not only in Europe, but globally,” Obama said.
Though Poles certainly appreciate this kind of reinforcement, there’s admittedly been no deficit of superlatives attributed to Poland lately. A case in point is a series of recent articles in the economic press praising Poland for being the only country in the European Union to maintain positive economic growth throughout the global financial crisis.
Visit Welcome
In contrast to the official welcome, which was an impressive show of care and competence with streets closed in the heart of Warsaw and the Marriott hotel where the president and his entourage were staying turned into a veritable fortress, Obama’s reception by ordinary Poles was rather tepid.
By most accounts, the enthusiasm of the masses to see President Obama in the flesh was lukewarm, particularly according to the French press. The ‘journalistes’ seemed to take glee in insinuating that Poland’s historically staunch support of the United States is beginning to fray at the edges.
And there is certainly one aspect of U.S. foreign policy that Poles universally despise—their exclusion from the U.S.’s visa waiver program. Poles unanimously feel that their support of the United States and their contribution to the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan merits visa-free travel. But there’s still been no substantive progress on this prickly issue.
My sense is that the real reason the crowds of cheering Poles were absent is a practical one. Poles are simply construction-weary and traffic-jam shy. These days, traffic jams are a depressing and inevitable part of the Warsaw experience and the whole country seems to have been turned into a construction zone as Poland tries to catch up with Western European infrastructure standards and prepare to host the Euro 2012 soccer championships.
So, when several days before Obama arrived local media began to brim with street closure warnings saying that Warsaw would be “paralyzed” for the duration of the visit, I think most people went into survival mode and either took the day off or simply stayed as far away from the motorcade routes as possible.
In my view, the seeming cracks in U.S.-Polish relations are superficial and thus, last but not least, can be taken at face value.
Taking up the rear of Obama’s European tour may not be the most flattering place to be, but it was certainly not intended as a slight—not in the least.
