VZCZCXRO4179
RR RUEHKW
DE RUEHKW #0266 3471551
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131551Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL KRAKOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0574
INFO RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW 0518
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 0641

UNCLAS KRAKOW 000266 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE FOR PUTNEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PL
SUBJECT: BIO OF CANDIDATE FOR MINISTER IN POLISH MFA 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  CG met with Krzysztof Szczerski, Vice 
Director of the Institute for Political Sciences and 
International Relations at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 
Szczerski confirmed what we had heard--that he is being 
considered for a high position in the Polish MFA and that he 
will know definitively soon after Christmas.  Szczerski's 
academic specialty is the EU.  He worked for three years in the 
government of Jerzy Buzek and then one year in Brussels with the 
EU Commission.  Szczerski described his own views as critical of 
but in favor of the EU, and he thought that his "balanced" 
position explained why he was being considered by PiS for the 
MFA.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Krzysztof Szczerski is 32 years old, married, with 
children.  He was born and raised in Krakow and attended 
Jagiellonian University as a student.  Szczerski has a PhD in 
political science and is Vice Director of the Institute for 
Political Sciences and International Relations at Jagiellonian, 
but he is not yet a tenured professor.  He speaks very good 
English, but he has never traveled to the United States. 
Because he is untenured, Szczerski is negotiating with his 
university to be able to return to his teaching position after 
he finishes with the MFA.  From his point of view, this 
negotiation is the main stumbling block to taking the MFA job. 
He thinks that from the point of view of the government, his 
young age is the primary obstacle.  (Note:  It may not be much 
of an impediment.  The current Deputy Minister is 31.  End Note) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to Szczerski, he is being considered for an 
unspecified "high" position in the MFA (possibly minister) 
largely because of his views of the EU.  He is neither 
Euro-phobic nor an unalloyed apologist.  In his consideration, 
the EU is a vital club, and it is important for Poland to be a 
part of it because it was cut off from Europe when it was behind 
the iron curtain.  But in his words, "the club has different 
colors inside."  Szczerski described the EU as a tool "like a 
knife.  (It) can cut (one's) finger, or (it) can be used for 
good reasons."  Szczerski said there were very few people 
working on EU issues who held a "balanced" view, and accordingly 
he had come to the attention of the GOP, which he described as 
"open to this idea." 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Szczerski said he thought Poland's most important 
issue with respect to the EU was preparing for the EU presidency 
in 2011.  He attributed much of Poland's current difficulty in 
Brussels to "poor PR," and this, he thought, was often a result 
of poor wording.  For example, in a meeting in France the GOP 
had said that to achieve energy security, what was needed was, 
"a NATO" of energy - not the best way to put things to a French 
audience in Szczerski's opinion.  Szczerski thought that in 
reality Poland was quite pro-integration, and he cited 
initiatives to open the services market and work on energy 
security as evidence. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Szczerski said that the biggest challenge facing the 
EU was to "absorb" more fully the last round of enlargement.  He 
felt that the EU needed to "consume the enthusiasm of its new 
members," and take from them their energy.  He described a 
"malaise of enlargement," and thought instead that Europe should 
see the issue as an opportunity rather than a problem. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment:  One Embassy contact said that Szczerski was 
under consideration as a possible new Minister of Foreign 
Affairs.  The current Minister is widely described in the press 
as ineffective, but the President values her loyalty.  Szczerski 
did not say which position he was being considered for.  If he 
is viewed as loyal, his youth and lack of experience may not be 
an impediment to a high ranking position.  End Comment. 
 
HALL