At the German government's press conference on August 21, when asked about Manuela Schwesig's arrival in her role as Bundesrat President and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's attendance at the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Poland, the German side was uncertain of the answer and indicated it would clarify and respond. By Tuesday, August 27, the composition of the German delegation remained uncertain.
Public broadcaster reporting pointed to problems, as Manuela Schwesig's official visit — she was responsible for completing Nord Stream 2 in defiance of American sanctions — in February had reportedly been canceled because, according to the broadcaster's author, the nationalist PiS opposition in Poland had mobilized against her over the Nord Stream pipeline. In reality, it was Aleksandra Fedorska who posted a tweet on the subject, which was read by hundreds of thousands of Poles who opposed the visit, and the Polish Senate, responding to this public outcry, withdrew its decision to receive Schwesig in Warsaw.
Schwesig has had no luck with the Poles, as Polish resistance once again stands in the way of her rehabilitation on the international stage.
However, now it is Prime Minister Tusk who appears to be indirectly questioning the trip. Once again, the issue is the German-Russian pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Schwesig was one of many German proponents of Nord Stream before the war in Ukraine, Poland was always opposed to the project, and Tusk reminded everyone of this over the weekend on Platform X: To all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2 — the only thing they should be doing these days is apologizing and remaining silent.
Clear decisions, however, were only made today after 2:00 PM. First, the Bundesrat press office could not determine who would answer the question of whether Manuela Schwesig would come to Poland. About 45 minutes later, it turned out that there was no one available who could answer the question, and the press office asked for the inquiry to be sent by email.
The response provided by email points to very serious friction between the German and Polish governments on this matter, as neither Bundesrat President Manuela Schwesig nor Olaf Scholz will attend the anniversary commemorations of the outbreak of World War II in Poland. According to information provided by email from the Bundesrat press office, the Federal Republic of Germany will be represented at the ceremonies by the Coordinator for German-Polish Relations, Dietmar Nietan.
