VZCZCXRO5459
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHWR #2230 3180652
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140652Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5486
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 2025
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
INFO RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 1907
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES

UNCLAS WARSAW 002230 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USDA FAS FOR OCRA/CURTIS, SEIDBAND; OSTA/MACKE, HAMILTON, 
OGA/CHAUDHRY 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/RUS, INR 
BRUSSELS PASS AG MINISTER COUNSELOR; 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD PGOV PL
SUBJECT:   POLISH PEOPLEQS PARTY (PSL) IN GOVERNING COALITION RAISES 
PROFILE OF AGRICULTURAL ISSUES 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (U) Civic Platform (PO) led by Prime Minister-designate Donald 
Tusk will establish a coalition with the Polish PeopleQs Party (PSL) 
in order to form a new government.  PO won PolandQs October 
Parliamentary election with 41.5 percent of the vote, with PSL 
garnering 9 percent.  In November PSL will be given the leadership 
of the Ministry of Agriculture with Marek Sawicki named as Minister. 
 
 
¶2.  (U) Biographical Note: Marek Sawicki is from Sawice where he 
still owns a 62 acre rapeseed and wheat farm. He was educated in 
agronomy and has a post-graduate degree in EU agricultural law from 
the Polish Academy of Science.  Sawicki joined PSL in 1990 and has 
served in the Polish Parliament since 1993.  His position as 
Minister would be his first government post outside of the 
Parliament. In recent public comments he has indicated that his 
priorities include increasing small and medium-sized Polish farms 
access to EU funds and new technologies. 
 
¶3. (U) The PSL platform on agriculture includes: strong support for 
direct EU payments to farmers through the CAP; more help for family 
farms by limiting support to large farms; support for increasing 
exports; and assistance to farmers adopting new technologies. Poland 
will likely remain steadfastly opposed to CAP reform as the 
cornerstone of PSLQs platform is to continue to direct EU payments 
to farmers. 
 
¶4. (SBU) PSL has not taken a public stance on biotechnology and 
their leadership presents an opportunity to change PolandQs current 
strong political opposition.  Although many politicians speak of 
Poland remaining a GM free country, the reality is that 300 hectares 
of MON810 were planted in southern Poland this year and demand for 
such products is growing as outbreaks of corn borer and root worm 
spread.  Politically it is a sensitive issue with 70 percent of the 
public against the technology, but PSL draws its support from 
commercially productive farms and may be more willing to take a 
pragmatic stance on the current anti-biotech feed and seed laws. 
 
¶5. (SBU) PSLQs leadership in the new government is expected to 
extend beyond SawickiQs appointment to Agriculture, and may bring a 
few agricultural issues greater attention such as biofuels, 
biotechnology, and EU integration. PSLQs chairman, Waldemar Pawlak, 
will be tapped to be Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of 
Economy.  Still to be decided, PSL may be given leadership of the 
Ministry of Environment, with Stanislaw Zelichowski a strong 
candidate for Minister. Dr. Henryk Jasiorowski, a well-connected and 
influential figure in Polish agriculture, commented that PSLQs 
influence on national agricultural policies will be greater than 
previous minority coalition partners (such as Samoobrona which 
headed Agriculture during the previous government).  Its influence 
may not be felt immediately.  Jasiorowski and other trade sources 
agree that due to the procedures for forming the new government and 
the upcoming holidays, it will not be fully-constituted and working 
until January 2008. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Undersectary of Agriculture Jan Ardanowski agreed that PSL 
will have more influence than its immediate predecessor, Samoobrona. 
 Ardanowski told emboffs that the current government will not do 
much for the new Minister, but confirmed that the Minister-designate 
has a strong commitment to biofuels, increasing EU payments to 
farmers, and might consider some moderation of the nationQs stance 
against biotechnology. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Ambassador Ashe will extend an invitation to 
Minister Sawicki to attend the Ministerial-level Washington 
International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) to be held in 
Washington D.C. March 4-6, 2008, an invitation that was declined 
previously by Minister Wojciech Mojzesowicz, and not extended to 
SamoobronaQs controversial leader, Andrzej Lepper.  Embassy 
recommends that USDAQs new Secretary, once confirmed, meet with 
Minister Sawicki either on the margins of the WIREC conference or in 
Poland, based on our nationQs long history of cooperation in 
agriculture and PolandQs commitment to the global war on terror. End 
Comment. 
 
ASHE