Why Trump's peace council became a problem and an opportunity for Poland
On 22 January, Donald Trump held the inaugural meeting of his new foreign policy initiative, the Board of Peace, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The proposal to join the Board of Peace is a serious challenge for most EU leaders, since a refusal could significantly damage relations with the US president. However, the most difficult choice lies before Karol Nawrocki.
The Polish president has always emphasised his friendly relations with Trump, so refusing the invitation could become a major problem for him. No less problematic would be the inevitable "family photo" of the Board of Peace – an image that could see Nawrocki standing alongside Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko.
Read more about Trump’s "friends’ club" and why it will become a political test for the Polish president in the article by international relations expert Stanislav Zhelikhovskyi and European Pravda editor Yurii Panchenko: Poland in Trump’s trap: how an invitation to the Board of Peace became a challenge for Ukraine's neighbours.
The prospect of joining the inner circle of the US president motivated many leaders. The ceremonial event was attended by leaders of nearly two dozen countries. However, from the EU, only two prime ministers stood alongside Trump: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
At the same time, other European politicians who are currently trying to play on Trump’s ambitions were absent from the ceremony. Neither Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico nor the so-called "Czech Trump," Andrej Babiš, attended.
Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who often acts as a mediator between the EU and Trump, officially announced Italy’s refusal to join the Board of Peace shortly before the event.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki also received an invitation and was among the first to do so. However, unlike Meloni, the Polish leader could not afford to directly refuse participation.
"Such an international agreement must go through the full constitutional procedure. We discussed this today with President Donald Trump, and I repeat, it was received with great understanding," Nawrocki said earlier.
He thus found himself in a situation where he could not say either a clear yes or a clear no.
On the one hand, participation in a major international project led by the United States could strengthen Poland’s strategic relations with Washington and enhance Warsaw’s role in addressing regional and global issues.
Moreover, Donald Trump personally supported Karol Nawrocki during last year’s presidential elections, and refusing to join the Board of Peace could also hurt Poland’s right-wing opposition by reducing its chances of winning the next parliamentary elections.
On the other hand, Poland has a nationwide consensus on the need to continue pressure on Putin and Lukashenko – both of whom were also invited to the Board of Peace.
Therefore, for President Nawrocki, the decision regarding the Board of Peace will become one of the first serious tests of his ability to "walk between the raindrops."
Warsaw has chosen a strategy of buying time – conducting a detailed review of whether participation in the Board of Peace complies with constitutional requirements. The calculation is that this process will allow Poland to "hold out" until Donald Trump loses interest in the initiative.
At the same time, the current challenge may ultimately benefit Poland. For perhaps the first time, both Tusk’s government and President Nawrocki are demonstrating a willingness to act together, attempting to lead the country out of this "Trump trap."
Such cooperation may not put an end to the "Polish-Polish war," but it could at least significantly reduce internal tensions between the authorities and the opposition.