Romney Is Coming to Poland Because He Needs Us

Let’s not revel in how important we are, however. The Republican candidate for president needs Poland to attack his rival.

Nevertheless, this will be an important moment in Polish-American relations. For the first time in history, an American presidential candidate will visit Poland, right before an important nominating convention, no less. In the coming week, a team from the Romney campaign will visit Warsaw to plan out the itinerary and the details of Romney’s trip. For Poland, this should be a proud moment.

Every presidential candidate in the U.S. who challenges an incumbent has the same problem. He has to show voters that he too can be effective on foreign policy and be effective as the America’s most important diplomat. The president not only has to represent American trade interests around the world, but must also show strength in the face of foreign enemies and crises, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis or 9/11.

Romney is in a difficult situation, much more difficult than Barack Obama was four years ago. Candidate Obama was a senator, and the U.S. Senate regularly handles matters of foreign policy, from ratifying treaties to taking care of the armed forces. As a governor and businessman, Romney lacks experience in terms of war and diplomacy.

A candidate in a position like Romney’s is forced in such situations to take trips around the world. During his presidential campaign, Obama visited Great Britain and Germany. Romney will also visit London, but at the same time, Ann Romney’s horse will take part in the dressage tournament at the Olympics.

Romney will also visit Germany and Israel. This is an obvious choice. Germany, next to France (which has a socialist president and is probably no friend to the GOP) and Britain, is America’s most important ally in Europe. If Romney becomes president, he will have to build a relationship with Germany in order to solve the economic crisis affecting both sides of the Atlantic.

Israel, which was also on Senator Obama’s itinerary last campaign season, is a mandatory stop for any aspiring American politician. The reasons are numerous. American presidents have had to face problems in the Middle East for over 60 years. Secondly, Israel is America’s closest ally in the world. Finally, a visit to Israel is important to be able to conduct any business with Jewish special interests in the U.S.

Romney’s campaign will make sure that Mitt’s photos from his time abroad will be shown in as many forms of media as possible, talking to various heads of state. This will be done to create the image of Mitt Romney, the great American diplomat.

Does this mean that Warsaw is as important for Mitt Romney as London, Berlin or Jerusalem? Does it mean that a picture with our prime minister, Donald Tusk, is as important as one with David Cameron? Unfortunately, no.

Romney is coming to Poland in order to prepare the attacks on Obama that he plans to unleash in the fall. Poland’s inclusion in Romney’s European tour gives a hint as to how those foreign policy-based attacks will look.

Romney will most likely accuse Obama of abandoning America’s traditional allies. He will point to the shift in focus from Europe to Asia as an example of how Obama is forgoing closer relations with countries such as Poland in favor of unpredictable and autocratic regimes, like the one in Myanmar.

We will most likely hear about Obama’s gaffes, like his decision to withdraw from the anti-missile shield that was supposed to be built on our soil or the problems with sending a delegation to the 70th anniversary observances of the start of the Second World War.

The topic of U.S.-Russia relations will come back as well. Poland, as the abandoned ally, will be an excellent starting point for criticizing Obama’s foreign policy and his cozy relationship with Dmitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. The infamous recording of Obama promising then-President Medvedev to be “more flexible” after the November elections will probably come back as well.

Romney’s decision to visit Poland, however, cannot be viewed just through the political advantages that he hopes to gain from it. It doesn’t mean that Poles should not be happy to host Mitt Romney in Warsaw. Politics are the same everywhere; everything that politicians do has some sort of political function to help them win.

It is in our interest to use Romney’s visit to the best of our abilities. We should not repeat the mistakes of the French election, where Polish politicians ignored the Socialist candidate altogether. Francois Hollande won the election, and we lost a valuable chance to establish a working relationship with him.

I still believe that Barack Obama’s chances at a second term are greater than those of Mitt Romney becoming president. However, it lies in our interest that Mitt Romney leave Poland happy with the feeling that he was taken seriously by our political class. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.