Poland's brand new right-of-center president, Lech Kaczynski, has been giving some interesting indications of his future policies.
In the few days since his election, he's emphasized Poland's strategic ties to the U.S. and vowed quickly to visit America while giving Russia the cold shoulder. He also seems to be leaning toward reversing his predecessor's decision to pull Polish troops out of Iraq. Finally, he sounds rather skeptical about Poland's adoption of the Euro and has promised to hold a referndum on the issue.
His support for capital punishment, as well as his opposition to a gay pride march while he was mayor of Warsaw, have not endeared him to the European intelligentsia. Rather unsurprisingly, the European media and EU bureaucrats have reacted to his election by warning Kaczynski not to "challenge" the EU's "basic principles and values." They also are reminding Poland that EU members can be stripped of their voting rights for failing to observe what the EU defines as "fundamental rights."
