Poland’s election turned Germany into a punchbag, straining the Western alliance.

Poland’s populist government has turned its attention to Germany, its largest commercial partner and ally, as it fights for an unprecedented third term in office.

In a close race before Poland’s election on October 15, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have charged Germany with attempting to impose its policies on the Polish government from Berlin on migration and gas.

The conflict has weakened Europe’s mostly unifying front backing Ukraine against Russia’s incursion and destroyed a proposal for a joint Polish-German tank repair facility that would have benefited Kyiv.

Additionally, the populist PiS leadership claims that Germany is attempting to reinstall Donald Tusk, the liberal former prime minister and the party’s major electoral rival.

In particular, for older conservatives who recall the carnage of World War Two, PiS has tapped into a hostility toward Germany that still runs high in a portion of the population.

Are you aware of a location where you may read the opposition’s campaign platform? At a campaign rally, Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, said: “In German publications.

RESPONSE TO UKRAINE

His party views Tusk as a puppet of the German government because he is the “political husband” of former German chancellor Angela Merkel. Tusk claimed that his grandfather was forcefully drafted into the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War Two before fleeing to the Allied side. Merkel’s successor, Olaf Scholz, was also made fun of in a campaign film.

Months of disputes between the two neighbors have put the Western alliance’s fellowship, which has surrounded Ukraine since the Russian incursion last year, to the test. They have emerged when other concerns, such as Slovakia’s election of a pro-Russian leader, threaten disruption.

The conflict has already influenced attempts to aid Ukraine. A combined repair facility for German-built Leopard tanks damaged in the war in Ukraine was revealed in April by the defense ministers of Germany and Poland with a grin and an embrace of friendship.

But the agreement immediately fell through. In a different debate, Warsaw first refused a German proposal to install Patriot missile air defense batteries in Poland before accepting them.

According to U.S. General Ben Hodges, who oversaw U.S. Army operations in Europe from 2014 to 2017, “it’s very unhelpful that Poland, the people from the Law and Justice Party, continues to criticize Germany in such a harsh public way.”

It is harmful because it strains the bonds between two NATO partners, which strains the alliance’s unity.

The Polish defense giant Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and the German manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE), neither of which replied to a request for comment, would have collaborated on the tank facility.

One German outlet mentioned Poland’s very high repair request as one of the issues. A German diplomat who was a second source claimed that German corporations’ reluctance to disclose technical knowledge contributed to the discussions’ failure.

But it also revealed a little of what we saw in the Patriots: a general distrust of the Poles and a tendency to treat a partner in a manner that is out of character for an EU or alliance cooperation.

Currently, PGZ is repairing certain Leopard tanks with replacement components that Germany sent.

It partially hinged on how quickly and decisively the German side moved. We were bargaining. Sebastian Chwalek, CEO of PGZ, told Reuters that we regrettably have a somewhat different idea of what it should be like.

Other tanks will be repaired somewhere else, “which may be a little bit more expensive and may take a little bit longer, but it’s happening anyhow,” the German ambassador added.

We are unable to agree on such issues, which is an indication of our current relationship.

Reuters’ efforts for a response from Polish government representatives were not immediately answered.

A representative of the German Foreign Office said Berlin and Warsaw collaborate closely on issues of European security and defense but declined to comment on “current domestic political debates in Poland.”

DIMINISHING RELATIONS

Relations between Poland and Germany have been chilly since PiS first came to office in 2015, but Poles now perceive a deterioration of those relations. According to a German-Polish barometer survey this year, just 47% of respondents believe ties are favorable, down from 72% in 2020.

Many Poles, including 56% of those who responded to the opinion survey, believe Germany hasn’t done enough to make up for the harm caused by the war. Berlin rejected PiS’s demand that Germany make reparations totaling over a trillion euros.

According to a PiS source who asked to remain anonymous, ties between Berlin and Warsaw are “competitive,” and they “could work together on many issues,” some of which, including reparations, are contentious.

In a confidential statement to Reuters, two German legislators said Berlin might have been more forthright in responding to Polish concerns and taking acceptable action about the reparations debate.

“I think we should be looking beyond the ridiculous (Polish policy) that this (election) campaign has put in front of us. The time has come for Germany to examine itself, according to Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Marshall Fund.

Scholz’s administration has mainly ignored PiS’s criticism. According to a government source, Berlin was careful to avoid unintentionally inciting Warsaw.

The insider stated, “We’re walking on eggshells.” Undoubtedly, some commentators think that Polish rhetoric against Berlin may be lowered following the elections.

However, there will probably still be points of contention on both sides, such as migration, which became a major flashpoint last month due to a cash-for-visa scandal in Poland.

In all honesty, Hodges stated, “I hope that my president will invite the two leaders to Camp David in a similar manner to how he invited the leaders from Japan and South Korea.”

President Joe Biden may meet President Andrzej Duda and Chancellor Scholz at some point and say, “Fellows, we have to fix it.”