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“Germany has a new government,” announces the Gazeta Wyborcza headline. The news is especially welcome in Warsaw because the agreement signed by the new coalition pledges ”to ensure that Polish-German cooperation will contribute to a renewed drive to develop Europe." As the report in the liberal daily explains: "Never before have German politicians mentioned relations with Poland in a document of such a high status." According to the coalition agreement, the new cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel will strive to reactivate the Weimar Triangle, a forum of Polish-German-French cooperation.
For one Polish diplomat who wished to remain unnamed "this is an unprecedented initiative, which shows how much Berlin values greater cooperation with Warsaw." Bartosz T. Wieliński, the daily's Berlin correspondent, insists that progress can now be made: "Once the new German government has been formed, Berlin and Warsaw should set aside historical disputes and focus on Europe together." Even if they have different views on relations with Russia or the US, these issues should not affect their cooperation within the European Union. "Given that Germany is the largest state of the old Europe and Poland the largest state of the new Europe," the Polish-German axis should play a key role in the drive to motivate the wider European community, believes Wieliński.
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