On the face of it Poland seems to be doing okay. Economic growth is around the 6% mark. It is the recipient of a whopping 49 billion in EU subsidies. No power is menacing its borders. No passing planes are dropping propaganda leaflets. But you wouldn't guess any of this from listening to Polish PM Jaroslav Kaczynski in recent weeks.

Kaczynski feels threatened by many things. In fact his list of real and imagined bogey persons is so extensive it seems to have no end. Subversive homosexuals, amoral liberals, Pope bashers, mini-skirt wearers, scheming Russian billionaires, gay pride advocates, Tinky Winky and topping the list ... Germany.

Despite the fact that Germany and Poland are 'friends' these days, that fragile reality didn't stop PM Kaczynski from suggesting recently in a radio interview that "something very negative" is happening in Germany. This very negative "something" he never exactly spelled out. However the following comments left even challenged listeners in little doubt about his meaning ... "Like an era which has already passed ... one that a large majority of Europeans didn't have the courage to talk about ... it is the same today."

Kaczynski didn't actually include reference to a "fourth Reich" or even "Madam Hitler", preferring instead to couch his concerns in language such as "this kind of thing" and "these kinds of statements" etc.

Aside from historical grievances dating back to WW2 and beyond, what exactly is Kaczynski's beef? Well they are too many to enumerate, but chief among them is his conviction that Germany is the new EU bully on the block, and that Polish interests are being undermined. Given that Poland obtained entry to the EU a lot faster than predicted and that it is the recipient of generous subsidies, it seems curious that Kaczynski is making veiled allusions to the the Nazi era. A little over-the-top maybe?

Aside from the ancient grudge match with Germany, Kaczynski has a number of reasons for being difficult. Poland doesn't like the voting system at the EU with the "double majority" provision. It sees this as favoring more powerful nations and went out on a limb by demanding special concessions. Kaczynski has been calling for a system that would allow for assessment based on the square root of Poland's population. He even went further out on the limb to argue that Polish war dead should be added to the calculations. Recent reports suggest that political realities will compel Poland to soften its stance on this issue.

Some of this can be read as anti-German. Given historical enmities, it is risky for Kaczynski to be engaged in any initiatives that appear to be giving Germany a leg up. This perception was best expressed by Austrian Chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, who recently characterized Polish obstructionism as a hard nosed refusal to pave the way for German success.

Old-style drum beating nationalism still plays in Poland where some sections of the population look back rather than forward. A lot of this is understandable given the experience of WW2. German initiatives have at times opened old wounds and deepened mutual suspicions. An example of this was the demand by Erika Steinbach, a Christian Democrat, for compensation to be paid to Germans expelled from Poland after WW2. Given that Nazi activities in Poland amounted to the mass victimization of a people, Steinbach's proposal was to say the least, highly controversial.

Poles in turn haven't been reluctant to test German patience. But at the root of PM Kaczynski's attempt to resurrect old demons, may lie a fairly banal explanation. His popularity is in decline and in order to shore up his leaking numbers, he has decided to make Germany the whipping boy. A decision that is always very popular with a key percentage of his constituents.

About the Author

Aidan Maconachy is a freelance writer and artist based in Ontario. You can visit his blog at http://aidanmaconachyblog.blogspot.com/