Polish-German Commonwealth?

Some folks might think that Lech Wąłesa might be off his rocker.  The Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish president, whose Solidarity trade union played the most important role in bringing an end to the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, said the world had changed and needed new ways of organizing itself.

So, despite the bloody history between the two countries he has called for Poland to unite with Germany to form one European state.

Speaking to Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, Wąłesa said national boundaries were not as relevant as they once were and,  “we need to expand economic and defense cooperation and other structures to create one state from Poland and Germany in Europe.” 

“We have traveled so far in our technical advancements that we are no longer located in our own countries,” he said, adding that this required changes to geographical structures, the economy and democracy.

He went on to say, "Although few Poles have forgotten Germany’s invasion and brutal occupation of Poland in 1939, history should not be an obstacle to unity. After the war, Germany fully confessed to all its dirty tricks. It's necessary to is draw a line under the past, even if people did something evil. Until we do, wounds won't heal.”

Mr. Wąłesa’s calls for Polish-German unity exceed his previous support for closer European solidarity. At the forefront of his country's campaign to remove itself from the Soviet communist bloc, the former dockyard electrician later supported Poland's membership of the EU in 2004. He has since advocated ever-closer ties between European states, even saying that he would one day, perhaps, be “president of a United States of Europe”.

“At the moment, different ways of doing things and different systems hold us back but gradually everything will align and states will become like Lego blocks,” he said in the Itar-Tass interview.

Well, many people doubted the reunification of Germany and stranger things have happened. The two countries have weathered the economic crisis better than the other EU countries with Poland being the only EU member not to have a year with negative GDP.