No Polish Joke

16 June 2003


Poland Says "Yes" in EU Referendum

Poland became the latest country to hold a plebiscite to see whether its population was in favor of joining the European Union. Leaving aside for the moment the fact that such a ballot is a Bonapartist trick of old, the affirmative camp claimed victory with around 58% of the electorate bothering to show up. Europe will do Poland much good, and already the Poles are showing the habit of taking their democracy for granted.

Post-communist Poland has never had what one might call high voter turn out -- almost American in their ambivalence, the Polish voters had worried the "Yes" partisans that less than half the people would vote, forcing the parliament to act on formalizing ties. However, the outcome is a good thing both for Europe and for Poland.

First of all, anything that stabilizes the former-Warsaw Pact nations is a good thing. Second, anything that provides markets and jobs is worth serious consideration. Third, Poland is a second-tier power in Europe that can say "no" to Britain, France, Germany and Italy when necessary as a leader for the smaller states.

One does not expect great things from Poland. It is economically, socially, militarily and otherwise not a powerful nation. However, it has a history as a nation that can offer the Balkans a model. It has had its own struggles with imperialism (having spent the 19th century in limbo, and the 20th occupied) that gives it a credibility in peace-keeping that the western Europeans and Americans lack.

Having missed, as Mr. Chirac said, an opportunity to say nothing, one hopes that Poland will continue to resist such calls for silence. If only on the grounds that it has been quiet too long.