President Kaczyński and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski have faced off several times

A number of recent rows have brought foreign policy back into the spotlight, making the fallout from this tug-of-war visible, experts said. Moreover, conflict seems inevitable, since the Constitution affords power to both sides.

There's been little love lost between the president and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the Civic Platform (PO) government took power last year. Tense relations between the two branches of government gave rise to a power struggle, which is playing out in a series of high-profile rows.

This power struggle is unfortunate for Poland, experts said, as it has the potential to harm relations with other countries. There is evidence, in fact, that foreign dignitaries are looking suspiciously on Poland's sometimes schizophrenic foreign policy.

Latest rows

The latest arguments  between the President's Chancellory and the Foreign Ministry concerned the appointment and dismissal of ambassadors as well as protocol for President Lech Kaczyński's planned visit to Georgia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the president of delaying the approval of ambassadors nominated by Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski to posts in Albania, Austria and Slovakia, reported Rzeczpospolita daily. President Kaczyński's approval is needed since the appointment of ambassadors falls under his constitutionally mandated bailiwick once candidates have been accepted by the Prime Minister and formally presented by the Foreign Ministry. Once appointed, an ambassador is presented to the country that hosts their diplomatic post.

The chargé affair

According to Rzeczpospolita, Sikorski said he wanted to present nominees to their respective host countries without waiting for formal acceptance from the president. If the president was to reject their candidacies, he reasoned, the diplomats could still serve as lower-ranked chargés d'affaires.

Doing this, however, would have a negative impact on relations between Poland and the chargés d'affaires' host countries, experts said. The appointment of a lower-rank official to head an embassy could be seen as an affront to that country and might harm the two nations' diplomatic relationship in the long run, according to Professor Jan Barcz, head department of International and European Law at Leon KoŸmiński Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw (LKAEM).

"Also, a chargé d'affaires is inevitably less efficient since they do not have access to the top officials of the country they are in," said Barcz.

The head of the Sejm's Foreign Affairs Committee, Krzysztof Lisek from PO, admitted that this solution was a last resort. "Sending a chargé d'affaires would not contribute to Poland's positive image ... and I can only appeal to the president not to delay the process," he told WBJ.

The deputy head of the committee, Paweł Kowal from the Law and Justice (PiS) party, countered that the careful selection of nominees requires time to consider them. "This should be a cautious and discrete process," he commented.

Blocking ambassadors

For his own part, Radosław Sikorski is said to have blocked the posting of ambassadors who were nominated by the previous head of the Foreign Ministry, Anna Fotyga, and have received presidential approval. This includes one Jerzy Achmatowicz, who was supposed to head the embassy in Mexico.

Sikorski also allegedly pressed for the dismissal of Zdzisław Ryn, Poland's ambassador to Argentina. The unofficial reasons being Ryn's close contacts with a controversial Uruguayan millionaire of Polish descent, Jan Kobylański, who is said to hold anti-Semitic views. The opposition considered Sikorski's antagonism unjust.

"I don't understand the reasons. Although Jan Kobylański is a controversial person, I see no harm in having contact with him," said PiS' Kowal. He added that Sikorski's opposition to Ambassador Ryn had not served the image of Poland well.

Tempers flared again in late April when Sikorski wanted to close more than 10 Polish embassies, including those in Costa Rica, Yemen, Tanzania and Uruguay. This drew immediate objections from the president and the opposition, who claimed that the decision wasn't consulted with President Kaczyński beforehand.

"The decision to reduce the posts is strategic and should be accepted by both sides," Kowal said.

Meanwhile, as the conflict between the president and foreign minister rages, almost 20 Polish embassies around the world lack ambassadors. According to Barcz, leaving these posts vacant for several months could damage diplomatic relations.

An unexpected visit

Another row erupted when President Kaczyński sent a delegation to Georgia after the country's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, asked for help in the matter of Russia's alleged support for separatist republics in Georgia. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the president should have acted together with the government.

Following the visit, Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs David Bakradze told TOK-FM radio that President Kaczyński's delegation had drawn international support for Georgia and he thanked the president for his effort. PM Tusk responded, "I understand the friendly attitude of ... Georgia, but I would like our relations to be conducted with a maximum of professionalism."

The source of confusion

There's room for this tension because of the way the Polish Constitution assigns some power to shape foreign policy to both the president and PM, necessitating close cooperation if things are to run smoothly. This was certainly easy to achieve when President Kaczyński's twin, Jarosław Kaczyński, was head of government.

Donald Tusk and Radosław Sikorski have proven less malleable partners for the president than his brother. Both factions claim they are willing to cooperate, but that the other side should put more effort into improving relations.

"The president wants to be more active in [foreign] policy, which is good, but these actions need to be better coordinated," PO's Lisek said. He added that the president should not implement his own policy, distinct from the government's.

PiS' Kowal agreed, to a point. "The government has to accept that there are two bodies responsible for shaping foreign policy, and that the president has his say too," he said.

Some experts, like Lisek, noted that one possible solution to the conflict would be an amendment to the Constitution clarifying the division of powers.

Party strife

Conflict over foreign policy has highlighted differences between the ruling PO party and the president along with the opposition PiS party. Relations with the US is also a good example.

"Unlike the previous Jarosław Kaczyński government, the Tusk cabinet is not seen as pro-American," said Maciej Golubiewski, an expert from the Sobieski Institute, noting PO's tougher stance during negotiations over the US missile shield.

At the same time, Western Europe sees PO as more open to the EU, Golubiewski noted. "The government should take full diplomatic advantage of its positive image in the EU," he said. PiS's Kowal said, however, that PO's less decisive stance - on issues such as historical policy - made Poland look a weak partner to countries like Germany.

Eastern foreign policy is also a matter of concern, since PiS accused the PO government of appeasing Russia and neglecting good relations with Ukraine and Georgia, for example. Foreign Minister Sikorski, however, has publicly declared that relations with CEE countries are of strategic importance for Poland, especially considering its position within the EU framework.

While these disagreements are disadvantageous for the country's foreign policy, Golubiewski noted that Poland is not alone. Disputes between the president and the government occur even in very well-developed democratic systems.

That may be the case, but it seems that the acrimonious politicking between the president and government has had consequences. French Le Figaro daily suggested last month that President Sarkozy's visit to Poland - originally planned for April 22 - had been postponed until May 9 because the Polish side could not come to an agreement on the specifics of the visit. Poland's authorities disputed these claims, however.

Of like minds

The president and the government do share a number of foreign policy goals, including economic and political integration with the EU and NATO, increased activity in the CEE region and the maintenance of a good relationship with the US, experts noted.

"I would not dramatize this" said Golubiewski "The priorities in the Polish foreign office have been similar in each consecutive government [since 1989], it has just been differently accented."

PO's Lisek agreed. "Both the president and the prime minister support the main direction of foreign policy, such as participation in NATO and activity in the EU and the CEE region - these are key points of agreement," he said

Making the best of it

Although tensions between the president and the government are unlikely to disappear any time soon, they are indeed capable of cooperating, as the recent Bucharest NATO summit proved. Both FM Sikorski and President Kaczyński actively supported Ukraine and Georgia's future NATO membership.

That cooperation needs to continue if Poland's interests are to be served in the international arena, Barcz said. "This is in the interest of society."