Poland’s attitude to the 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the attitudes of the Polish political elite and journalists to the 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine. It refers to the statements made by the leaders shaping Poland’s foreign policy, the President of Poland, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, MPs involved in the issues of Ukraine as well as political commentators and analysts. The broadly understood issue of the Ukrainian elections was to a limited degree addressed by such newspapers as Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik, and some online portals. The failed hopes to democratize Ukraine, following the orange revolution, made Poland withdraw from supporting a single political option in Ukraine. Polish politicians and journalists expressed little interest in the 2012 parliamentary elections in Ukraine. This made the diplomatic efforts of the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, exceptional. In general, the Ukrainian election was perceived in the context of human rights, democratic standards and the geopolitical future of Ukraine. The fairly conducted election was to be a condition for the further support Poland would offer to Ukraine in signing an association agreement with the EU. Polish politicians and journalists would observe at the time that the
foreign policy of Ukraine was ambiguous, being ‘suspended’ between Brussels and Moscow. The not entirely legitimate victory of the Party of Regions did not mean that Poland would block the integration of Ukraine with the West. It was concluded that despite the emergence of authoritarian tendencies in Ukraine, Poland should promote the rapprochement of its eastern neighbor with EU states. Looking at
this matter in this way was justified by the Polish raison d’etat and the need to create a pro-Western and democratically oriented Ukrainian society.