Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski

In an episode that could potentially strain relations between Warsaw and Washington, Radek Sikorski, an Oxford-educated politician who has lived in the US, was reported to have made the jibe by an opposition politician, Ryszard Czarnecki, reports Daily Telegraph. Writing in his blog, Mr Czarnecki, an MEP, quoted the foreign minister as saying: "Have you heard that Obama may have a Polish connection? His grandfather ate a Polish missionary." A spokesman for the Polish foreign office conceded that Mr Sikorski had made the controversial comment, but denied that the foreign minister had intended to insult Mr Obama, whose father was Kenyan. "Mr Sikorski did ... Read Full Story

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, good time Charlies, gay pride advocates, Tinky Winky ... Read Full Story

The Polish Women’s Party was founded in 2007 and has around 1,500 members. It represents the concerns of women and is a refreshing contrast to the stuffy conservative Law and Justice Party of the Kaczynski twins. The women's party is hoping to clear the 5% required in order to get a seat in the Polish parliament. The election poster of the Polish Women's Party (Partia Kobiet) features seven naked candidates. The image stands for freedom and women’s rights in a country that has been besieged by narrow doctrinaire thinking of the Catholic conservative variety. Manuela Gretowska, who founded the party offered some insights when ... Read Full Story

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 ... Read Full Story

The next time you bitch about how bad our government is in the US, take a few moments to consider the alternatives. In case you don't keep up with European politics, let me paint you a picture. In the accompanying picture, one of the twins is named Lech, and is the President of Poland. The other is Jaroslaw, his twin brother that Lech appointed as Prime Minister, a job Jaroslaw had originally promised that he would not accept if Lech was elected. The symbol of the political party that they founded is a yellow rubber duck. Jaroslaw, at age 58, has never held a ... Read Full Story