Poland in the EU

Danuta Hubner, the commissioner for regional policy is definitely leaving her post to take up a seat in the European Parliament.

She announced it herself to Polish journalists in Brussels today. As she said, she will leave somewhere between tomorrow and July 14, when the new PE sits for the first time. Polish electoral law obliged her to make a decision by Wednesday.

Everybody in Poland was waiting for this announcement, since the nomination business has turned into a rather unseemly mess. First Hubner changed political sides and went to run for the Civic Platform in the election. Some suspected she was promised renomination for commissioner in exchange, but obviously not.

She got a great score, the 3rd largest in the country.  But her competitors in the PO say it wasn't really her, "even a horse would get a great score in Warsaw". Probably true, but she did do PO a big favour: if she went to run for the left, the left might have united around her and Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (who didn't run finally), which would have taken a few points off PO.

Gosip has had it for a few weeks now that the prime minister's choice for commissioner in MEP Janusz Lewandowski, a pal from opposition times in Gdansk and former minister in charge of privatisation. The Europe minister Mikołaj Dowgielewicz even said this oficially. The government spokesman later denied that the choice has been made.

The only thing Tusk has said is that there are three candidates: Hubner, Lewandowski and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski. Speculation has been ripe about why he has not announced the name. Perhaps because Hubner threatened not to take up her EP seat? If she wanted she could stay on until the end of this commission, Tusk can't remove her.

If she didn't take a seat that she won with such a majority it would be damaging to the PO, but even more to herself, so I doubt this theory. Perhaps its just more convenient for Tusk to keep her hoping. Not very nice, then.

Anyway today Hubner seemed to believe that a temporary commissioner would be coming to replace her, but the race for the next term is still open. I doubt. But there seem to be a lot of backstage games going on here. Blah, Polish politics.