DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER WELCOMES OBAMA'S ELECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 001280

SIPDIS

EUR FOR GARBER
EUR/CE FOR PIERANGELO, LOCHMAN, MORRIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MARR PTER PL
SUBJECT: DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER WELCOMES OBAMA'S ELECTION

REF: WARSAW 1250

Classified By: Ambassador Victor Ashe. Reason: 1.4 (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Schetyna
told the Ambassador the November 4 elections in the U.S.
recalled the excitement of Poland's own November 2007 general
elections, and said Poles are counting on President-elect
Obama to bring about a more open U.S. foreign policy.
Schetyna assured the Ambassador that private property
restitution legislation would be introduced in parliament
within weeks (in contrast to the Sejm speaker's prediction of
a 2009 introduction) and reviewed a government bill to
transfer powers from the central government to local
authorities. Schetyna asked about the fate of Missile
Defense under the Obama administration, reflecting apparent
GoP uncertainty -- media reports have suggested the USG may
not be able to afford a financial system rescue package and
expensive defense programs at the same time. Schetyna also
gave the Ambassador a proposed text for a bilateral Agreement
on Cooperation Combatting Terrorism and Organized Crime. END
SUMMARY.

Call for a "More Open" U.S. Foreign Policy
--------------


2. (C) Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Schetyna told the
Ambassador November 5 that he had stayed up late the night
before watching U.S. election returns on television, and
offered his assessment that the elections had hinged largely
on internal issues, such as the financial crisis. Schetyna,
who is also Minister of the Interior and Local
Administration, said the elections were similar to the
Novemer 2007 general elections in Poland, where two large
political parties (his Civic Platform, PO and the Law and
Justice Party, PiS) had squared off in a vote that had
generated great excitement. Schetyna said Poles were
counting on President-Elect Obama to base bilateral relations
on "better emotions" and to pursue a "more open foreign
policy" (no elaboration provided). He said he understood
that the incoming administration faced great challenges. The
Ambassador noted that the Embassy has received a request from
Prime Minister Tusk to place a congratulatory phone call to
the President-Elect, and would work to arrange the call as
soon as possible.

What will new President do on Missile Defense?
-------------- -


3. (C) Schetyna asked how the new presidential
administration would deal with two fundamental issues for
Poland: Missile Defense (MD) and the Visa Waiver program.
The Ambassador noted that President-elect Obama expressed his
support for MD in the presidential debates, and that the
administration would almost certainly continue a program
supported by four previous Presidents. PolCouns added that
the Democratic Congress had provided strong budgetary
support, granting $9 billion of the $9.3 billion request for
the Missile Defense Agency in the last fiscal year budget.
The Ambassador said that as a resident of Chicago familiar
with the large Polish-American community there, the
President-elect would doubtless be sympathetic to including
Poland in the Visa Waiver program; moreover, Poland is on the
verge of qualifying under existing rules, since the visa
denial rate has decreased significantly, and is nearing the
10% maximum allowed. Schetyna suggested that President-elect
Obama's sympathetic consideration of Poland's inclusion in
the program would likely coincide with Poland's fulfillment
of the 10% requirement in the near future.

Private Property Restitution Bill -- on its way to the Sejm?
-------------- --------------


4. (C) When asked about draft Polish legislation on private
property restitution, Schetyna acknowledged the high level of
U.S. interest in a bill that would benefit American Jews of
Polish origin. He said the bill would provide for
compensation rather than restitution; and due to limited
funding, payments would be made over the course of a dozen
years and would amount to a dozen or so percent of the value
of lost property. Schetyna predicted that the government's
draft bill would be introduced to the Sejm in early December
or late November. (COMMENT: As reported Reftel, the Speaker
of the House predicted the bill would not be introduced until
next year.) The Ambassador replied that nobody expected
compensation at 100% of actual value, but it was important
for the government to get the legislation passed.

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Decentralizing Government
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5. (C) Schetyna briefed the Ambassador on the GoP's local
government reform package, which he said would transfer
powers from the central to local governments. He said the
central government's representative, the governor (wojewod)
in each province, would transfer powers to the chairman of
the provincial council (marszalek),but would retain
significant supervisory responsibilities and would continue
to serve as liaison to Warsaw. The Minister said it was not
enough to delegate authority; it had to be done in a way that
forces local authorities to cooperate. Schetyna said one
goal would be to promote cooperation between large and small
municipalities, particularly in areas like road construction.
The Ambassador applauded the aim of the decentralization
initiative, noting that the Communist period had amply
demonstrated the ineffeciency of central planning.

Anti-Terrorism Agreement Draft
--------------


6. (C) Schetyna gave the Ambassador a proposed text for a
Polish-U.S. Agreement on Cooperation on Combatting Terrorism
and Organized Crime. He said the GoP is prepared for
bilateral discussions based on this text. (Comment: This
may be an effort by the Interior Ministry to get a leg up in
its rivalry with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, composed largely
of holdovers from the previous Law and Justice Party (PiS)
government, which are not authorized to enter into agreements
promoting cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agents.)


7. (C) Biographical Note: The number two in the government
and the main ruling party, the Civic Platform (PO),Schetyna
is the "gray eminence" known as a quiet, tough leader who
runs the Interior Minister smoothly and has control of PO
party structures throughout Poland. Post believes recent
media speculation about tensions or rivalries with Tusk are
unfounded. The two are long-time friends and soccer-playing
buddies, and they need each others' strengths: Tusk is the
skilled communicator, Schetyna the behind-the-scenes
organizer. Moreover, it is widely believed that Schetyna
will become prime minister when Tusk steps down to run for
the presidency (presidential elections are in 2010).


8. (C) COMMENT: Schetyna's inquiry about the new
administration's commitment to Missile Defense is consistent
with somewhat equivocal recent statements by GoP leaders
suggesting that the President-elect is likely to support MD.
Foreign Minister Sikorski publicly described his telephone
conversation with Senator Obama of a few weeks ago, in which
the Senator reportedly said he would support MD provided it
is not aimed against Russia and is proven to be effective.
Polish media reports have also underlined the difficulty of
the new administration maintaining high levels of expenditure
to bolster the U.S. financial system as well as expensive
defense programs like Missile Defense.

ASHE