At Expense of U.S., Nations Of Europe Are Drawing Closer
Economics and Iraq Put A Staunch Ally, Poland, In Sync With Neighbors
For a Farmer, Glee at EU Cash
Of course W is no slouch when it comes to handing out free money to farmers, either. Indeed his generosity removed building pressure on Europe to reform their farm subsidies. But surely that largesse helped solidify the farming red states - Great politics, disastrous policy, the W trademark.
This, along with W's good showing with women voters, indicates that W won the election by:
1) Bribing Farmers
2) Scaring Mothers
Doc
By ANDREW HIGGINS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 23, 2004; Page A1
ELBLAG, Poland -- Tomasz Beaut, a pugnacious Polish farmer, won a seat in the local council here two years ago on promises to keep the European Union at bay. Amid noisy protests against Poland bowing to Brussels bureaucrats, his party even set up roadblocks.
Last month, the 46-year-old dairyman went to his bank and got a surprise: His bugbear had become a benefactor.
Thanks to the EU, which Poland joined in May, and which doles out $40 billion in farm subsidies a year, Mr. Beaut's bank balance was up by $13,500. He is building an extension to his cowshed and plans to buy more cattle.
He's also rethinking his allegiance to Self-Defense, a populist party that had campaigned against joining the EU as a threat to national identity and well-being. "I don't know who would vote for us," Mr. Beaut says. "I wouldn't."
The farmer's change of heart is part of a bigger shift that will influence not only Europe's fitful drive for unity but also whether the continent one day challenges America's position as unrivaled global power. Poland, though a staunch U.S. ally and member of the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq, has made a discovery in recent months: Its economic, diplomatic and even security interests often seem to be more in sync with Europe than with the U.S.
Opinion polls show a big majority of Poles want their troops out of Iraq and also want Europe to have a common defense policy, something Washington views as a possible threat to the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Washington's ebbing influence in this most pro-American swath of Europe reflects a broader phenomenon this series of articles has explored: Some of the largest challenges facing the U.S. now flow from the sources of its great power.
Its democratic domestic politics can leave it deaf to even its closest friends abroad. America's sheer size and might breed resentment and, in the geopolitical marketplace, stir competition. Its economic example spurs Europe to band together to compete. Its faith in elections prompts an effort, in Iraq and Afghanistan, to impose democracy through arms. For many abroad, America's goals inspire, but its actions often exasperate.
"America failed its exam as a superpower," says Lech Walesa, the former Solidarity trade-union leader who became Poland's first post-Communist president. "They are a military and economic superpower but not morally or politically anymore. This is a tragedy for us."
Mr. Walesa laments what he sees as America's squandered leadership because he thinks the EU isn't ready for prime time. Encompassing 25 nations and 450 million people, it struggles to find a common voice or mission: "Even bird-watching clubs have a clear set of goals" -- but Europe, he says, doesn't.
The glee of Poles like Mr. Beaut over handouts from Brussels underscores a question long shadowing Europe's ambitions of power: Does it embody any grand goals, or is the EU just a clearing house for subsidies and regulations? In other words, can Europe offer itself and the wider world a vision to match, and perhaps one day even supplant, America's role as "leader of the free world"?
In a campaign debate this fall, President Bush chided Sen. John Kerry for belittling the coalition in Iraq. "Well, you forgot Poland," said Mr. Bush. On a host of issues, however, many Poles, as well as some other allies, wonder if Mr. Bush has forgotten them.
Many Britons, for example, complain that Prime Minister Tony Blair has gained little in return for his steadfast support in Iraq. From climate change to treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the Middle East peace process, Washington has mostly sidestepped British requests. Poland, America's other keen ally on the Continent, smarts over Washington's refusal to grant Poles visa-free access to the U.S., a privilege enjoyed by France and 26 other countries.
Poland feels slighted in other ways. A state-owned arms company filed a formal protest earlier this year after it lost a bid to equip the Iraqi army. Polish officials also feel they got short shrift in Washington when they tried to influence U.S. decision-making in Iraq.
"We shed our blood for them but they don't treat us well," says Mr. Walesa, who visited the U.S. this fall to meet officials and politicians. He had no trouble getting a visa himself but made little headway in securing easy entry for his compatriots. "America doesn't like Poles; it only likes Walesa," he says.
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