Ex-defence minister effective in lobbying for Poland in US: report

Lobbying efforts coordinated by Macierewicz when he was defence minister have proved to be both productive for his country and cost-effective, the wprost.pl website has reported, citing an analysis by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and filings for the US Department of Justice.

Within months of taking power, Poland’s conservative government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party “hired lobbying firm Park Strategies to lobby for increased military cooperation between the United States and Poland in order to maintain NATO’s defense of eastern Europe,” the Center for Responsive Politics said in a piece posted on its opensecrets.org website.

“The firm organized meetings between then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as the late-senator John McCain and other members of Congress.”

The Center for Responsive Politics describes itself as a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research group that tracks money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Meanwhile, in Poland, a defamation campaign has been under way against Macierewicz for many years, targeting him over his statements about national security and cooperation with the United States, the wprost.pl website said.

It quoted US admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, as saying a few weeks ago that the Polish section of a US missile defence shield over Europe that is being built by the Americans at Redzikowo in the north of the country, could in the future be used for defence against a possible attack by Russia.

The wprost.pl website reported that the statement marked a breakthrough because until now Washington's position was that the Redzikowo base was only intended to provide a response to a threat from Iran and North Korea.

The new approach appears to be a result of US President Donald Trump’s appreciation of the European policy of Poland’s ruling conservatives as well as efforts by Polish diplomats and, above all, the defence ministry when it was led by Macierewicz, the website claimed.

(gs/pk)

Source: wprost.pl, opensecrets.org