Poland in the EU

Janusz Lewandowski has been chosen by prime minister Tusk to be the new Polish commissioner in Brussels.

The biggest looser: the outgoing commissioner Danuta Hubner, who wanted to stay. She not only ditched the left to run for the European Parliament from Tusk's party, but also brought him the 3rd best result in the country. But the favour was not returned.

Lewandowski, a former Polish minister who dealt with privatisation and was one of the fathers of the Warsaw stock exchange, is certainly a good candidate. He has been an MEP for the last 5 years, and the head of the parlimanetary budget committee for the first 2,5 (he had to leave when another Pole Jacek Saryusz-Wolski took over the foreign affairs committee).

The only spot on his image: his sometimes strange and certainly not politically correct remarks about women ("wish they were topless" he once said looking at a photo of himself with coworkers).  

Prime minister Tusk says Poland wants the industry portfolio, other people in government talk more generally about an important economic portfolio.

Gossip has it Hubner even threatened not to take up her job in the EP. Finally, the only thing she can hope for is heading an EP committee, on regional funds perhaps.

The third potential candidate for commissioner, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, will most probably be demoted to. If Jerzy Buzek is elected head of the EP, Saryusz-Wolski will not be able to stay as chair of the foreign affairs committee. He will probably continue to head the Polish delegation in the EPP.