NATIONALIST POPULISM AND POST-COMMUNISM

the general population. 101 As Waldemar Pawlak, leader of the PSL said, “Our relations with our neighbours evoke a number of questions in our minds. It is not clear at all which of them are reliable partners, and which we should be afraid of.” 102 On the other hand, the representatives of ethnic minorities did not want to become the objects of political disputes or negative points of reference. In a letter addressed to the governments and self-governments, as well as to the opinion leaders, they asked a stop to any “attempts that spread nationalist attitudes, namely anti-Roma, anti-Semitic and anti-German feelings.” 103 Establishing agreements on good neighbours friendly cooperation, known as the Polish-Lithuanian and Polish-German Declarations, were among the most important tasks for the Polish foreign policy. Other issues discussed in 1991 included the Polish national minority in Lithuania, German expansion and “new colonialism”, German national sentiments as well as defensive statements concerning anti-Semitism. In terms of the Polish-Lithuanian relations, the question of the status of the Polish minority in Lithuania was frequently discussed. Stefan Niesołowski from the OKP-ZChN appealed to the Polish state “not to forget about its children, who had been separated from their motherland by force. 104 ” Waldemar Jędryka from Partia “X” stressed the importance of the Vilnius region for Poland, and asked the Polish government to maintain a “firm hand policy” 105 towards Lithuania. The tough policy of the Polish government was also underlined in the statement of the ZChN Senator Ryszard Bender, who was afraid of the “apartheid from which the Polish minority is going to suffer if it does not gain autonomy. 106 ” Polish-German relations were also viewed as a very sensitive issue by the Polish political elite and were well-reflected in the political discourse. There are several reasons why the Polish-German relationship was one of such great importance. After the changes that followed the Round Table negotiations, the myth of the so-called German threat became very vital. In this regard, Marek Jurek (ZChN) 101 According to the opinion poll gathered by Pracownia Badan Socjologicznych in January 1991, from among Poland’s neighbours, the respondents felt predominantly threatened by Ukraine (38%), followed by Germany (28%), Russia (15%), Lithuania (approximately 10%) and Belarus (approximately 7%). Czechoslovakia was viewed as the least dangerous country (3%), while about 17% of the respondents answered that Poland was not threatened by anybody. See Gazeta Wyborcza (14 February 1992), p. 3. 102 Gazeta Wyborcza (February 4, 1992), p. 11. 103 Gazeta Wyborcza (February 25, 1992), p. 2. 104 Speech of Stefan Niesołowski (OKP-ZChN) in Sejm. Gazeta Wyborcza (9 September 1991), p. 1. 105 Statement of Waldemar Jędryka (Partia “X”). Gazeta Wyborcza (22 January 1992), p. 1. 106 Statement of Ryszard Bender, (ZChN). Gazeta Wyborcza (28 January 1992), p. 15.

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