German Council on Foreign Relations

No. 25 September 2020 COMMENTARY

Poland’s New Foreign Minister Orbiting Closer to the Center of Power

Zbigniew Rau, who was appointed for- Czaputowicz was promptly replaced, eign minister on August 26, will help on August 26, by Zbigniew Rau, an ac- align the trajectory of Polish diplo- ademic and politician without any dip- macy with the government’s gener- lomatic experience. He is taking over a al line. His appointment fits into the weakened ministry that has lost a lot logic of a larger government reshuf- of influence within the state appara- fle, expected this fall, which aims for tus led by the national-conservative Adam Traczyk Junior Fellow, Robert Bosch Center a greater centralization of power. His (PiS) party as key for- for Central and Eastern Europe, higher standing in the governing PiS eign policy decisions and portfolios — Russia, and Central Asia party may, however, halt the gradual including Warsaw’s EU policy and rela- loss of relevance of ’s Ministry tions with Washington — have already for Foreign Affairs. moved to the president’s and the prime minister’s office. Poland’s Foreign Minister resigned from his post on August 20, 2020, leaving office against THE SUCCESSOR the backdrop of upheaval in Belarus and a recent increase in diplomat- Zbigniew Rau is a professor of law spe- ic tensions between and cializing in political doctrines and lib- Poland that he had tried hard to im- eral theories. Between 2005 and 2007 prove. While the timing was a surprise, he served as a senator and later also as Czaputowicz’s resignation as such was the voivode (the highest representative not. In mid-July, he had already an- of the central government in the re- nounced that the time was ripe for gions) of Łódź. In 2019 he was elected change at the top of Polish diplomacy, to the lower house of parliament, the adding that he had signaled to Prime , where he immediately took over Minister his wish the chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs to leave the government months earli- Committee. In this role, Rau has be- er. In effect, his resignation predated a come known as a relatively conciliato- widely expected major government re- ry but not very energetic chair. In the shuffle by some weeks. past, despite his academic background, No. 25 | September 2020 2

COMMENTARY Poland’s New Foreign Minister: Orbiting Closer to the Center of Power

he did not shy away from taking a radi- lations between the two countries. The His loyalty is to Kaczyński and not cal stance on cultural issues consistent agrément can be seen as a present and to Poland’s radical justice minister, with the governing party’s narrative. jump-start for Rau by Poland’s strong- ; it is therefore highly man Jarosław Kaczyński who, accord- unlikely that the new foreign min- Although Rau is not one of the leading ing to various sources, was stalling the ister will encourage initiatives that PiS figures, unlike Czaputowicz he has procedure. don’t have Kaczyński’s or Morawiecki’s a fairly strong political position within blessing. At the same time, Rau, unlike the ruling party. This is due to his pre- Czaputowicz, will not act as a calming vious involvement in circles affiliated WHAT TO EXPECT influence should PiS headquarters de- with former President Lech Kaczyński cide to take a harsher line. and good relations with an influen- According to his own statements, Rau tial PiS figure and a close friend of wants to continue “the foreign pol- the Kaczyński family, Janina Goss. PiS icy pursued so far along the lines set A WAY OUT OF leader Jarosław Kaczyński himself is in the past months and years while MARGINALIZATION? assumed to have selected him as a coordinating the efforts between the minister, preferring him to the ambi- government and the president.” Rau’s When Czaputowicz was appoint- tious and well-connected politicians elevation seems to fit well with the ed two-and-a-half years ago, Poland’s of the younger generation — Szymon thorough reshuffle of the government de-facto leader Kaczyński described Szynkowski vel Sęk and Paweł Jabłońs- expected this fall. Apart from the re- this – publicly – as an “experiment.” ki, who both hold the rank of deputy duction in the number of ministries, it It turned out that the experiment not foreign minister. aims to achieve greater centralization only concerned the minister himself but the whole structural architecture of the Polish foreign policy apparatus. What followed was an unprecedented marginalization of the already troubled According to his own statements, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The new division of competencies Rau wants to continue the foreign limited the MFA’s room for maneuver on the diplomatic front. The key sec- policy of the past months and years. tions of Polish foreign policy are man- aged by the president, , and the prime minister. Since Donald Trump became US president at the The newly appointed minister has been and reduce the autonomy of minis- beginning of 2017, Duda’s office, to- able to swiftly get to grips with his po- tries, thus ensuring that the govern- gether with the Ministry of Defense, sition. One day after his nomination ment is more manageable. has been taking care of transatlantic he took part in the “Gymnich” meet- relations and security issues. It also ing of EU’s foreign ministers in Ber- This could be good news for the MFA. oversees the Three Seas Initiative, lin; next, he headed to Slovenia for the In recent years, ministers from the rul- while Prime Minister Morawiecki deals Bled Strategic Forum. Furthermore, ing coalition’s radical wing caused ma- with European affairs. only days after his nomination the Pol- jor problems for Polish diplomacy by ish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) taking unauthorized initiatives. The The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deg- announced that it had finally granted most prominent cases were the so- radation was completed by the formal its agrément to the designated German called “Holocaust law” and the call for transfer of the position of secretary of ambassador to Warsaw, Arndt Freytag Poland to withdraw from the Istanbul state for European affairs (with Kon- von Loringhoven. This sensitive issue Convention on preventing and com- rad Szymański as the incumbent) and had been poisoning diplomatic rela- bating violence against women and do- the departments dealing with EU af- tions between Germany and Poland for mestic violence. fairs from the MFA to the Chancel- weeks, and Czaputowicz had been un- lery of the Prime Minister, which took able to solve it, despite his close, cor- While Rau’s views are further to the place after last year’s parliamentary dial personal relations with his German right than Czaputowicz’s, it is unlike- election in November 2019. The move counterpart, , and his re- ly that he will support Poland’s hard- was approved by Czaputowicz at the peated efforts to improve bilateral re- liners in meddling in foreign affairs. time; since leaving his office he has No. 25 | September 2020 3

COMMENTARY Poland’s New Foreign Minister: Orbiting Closer to the Center of Power

criticized it as harming Poland’s Eu- ropean policy by effectively causing a communication breakdown between the two institutions.

As a result, during Czaputowicz’s ten- ure, the MFA was reduced to a merely administrative role and sidelined when it came to formulating foreign policy. This became highly visible during the current crisis in Belarus. During the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine back in 2014, then foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, stole the limelight as he led his German and French counterparts to Kyiv. Six years later it was Prime Minister Morawiecki who presented a five-point plan for Belarus and called Rauchstraße 17/18 for an extraordinary European Council 10787 Berlin meeting. Czaputowicz played only sec- ond fiddle. Tel. +49 30 2542311-0

It is unlikely that Rau will significant- [email protected] ly change the structural position of the www.dgap.org foreign office within the state appara- @dgapev tus and reclaim key competencies. En- joying a stronger position within the The German Council on Foreign Relations PiS and given the aims of the coming (DGAP) is committed to fostering impactful government reshuffle, the MFA un- foreign and security policy on a German and der his leadership might orbit closer to European level that promotes democracy, the center of power than it did under peace, and the rule of law. It is ­nonpartisan Czaputowicz. By doing so, it could re- and nonprofit. The opinions expressed in gain at least some of the influence be- this publication are those of the author hind the scenes and pave the way for and do not necessarily reflect the views of improving cooperation with the prime the German Council on Foreign Relations minister’s and president’s offices and (DGAP). streamlining the flow of information and expertise within the government. Publisher This would make the MFA a more rel- Deutsche Gesellschaft für evant (but possibly also an even more Auswärtige Politik e.V. complicated) partner for its European counterparts, including in Germany. ISSN 1864-347

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