SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil spent three days this week on a delicate mission in Central and Eastern Europe – much more difficult than his Monday visit to Kiev was a two-day stay in Warsaw: German foreign policy is being criticized in Poland and skepticism towards the federal government is particularly high, which is why Klingbeil’s mission was to build a new confidence in Germany, reports the German daily Die Welt.
Lars Klingbeil was General Secretary of Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party of Germany from 2017 to 2021 and co-chair since 2021. He came to Warsaw with, among others, representatives of the European left from Scandinavia.
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Klingbeil brought with it the realization that Germany, and his party in particular, had made mistakes in foreign policy and had relied too much on Russia. In addition, he appealed to Poland to look for a common way forward in the face of the Russian threat. And finally, he presented a five-point plan for a new partnership with Central and Eastern Europe. It provides, among other things, for a common European foreign policy.
– we read in Die Welt. In addition, the expansion of the European pillar in NATO or the construction of a common energy network. As the head of the SPD emphasized in an interview with Die Welt, his proposals were received positively in Warsaw.
During the conversation I received a lot of support. We are well on our way to rebuilding confidence
– added. In the plan presented by Klingbeil in Warsaw, Germany has a “clear leadership role”. According to “die Welt”, such a wording could cause “new mistrust” in Poland.
It will not be easy to restore confidence, especially against the background of Germany’s aspirations for leadership in Europe. In other words, the claim that after years of lack of will and leadership capacity, Germany could soon again serve as a role model or leading European superpower for partner countries in Central and Eastern Europe
– we are reading.
It is difficult to consider Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who met Klingbeil, as a representative of the whole country. And after reading the report published in “Die Welt”, one can get the impression that the postulates of the SPD were accepted by… the Polish authorities. As you can see, some environments want to create just such an impression.
JJW, gah welt.de
Source: wPolityce