海角大神

To mother or not to mother? Poland's new PM hits bump by citing her gender.

Ewa Kopacz hopes to emulate Germany's popular chancellor, Angela Merkel, but was criticized for comments about 'protecting my children' when answering questions about foreign policy.

Poland鈥檚 new prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, might not be well-known outside her home country, but in her first policy speech yesterday she tried to adopt the style of the world's most powerful female leader:聽Germany鈥檚 Angela Merkel.

Yet Ms. Kopacz earlier stumbled over her suggestion of taking a聽"maternal" approach to foreign policy, showing the pitfalls of bluntly trying to emulate Ms. Merkel.聽

A physician and former health minister, Kopacz rose to the top of Eastern Europe鈥檚 largest economy after her predecessor, Donald Tusk, was tapped for the position of president of the European Council. Mr. Tusk and his former foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, pushed Poland to the center of foreign policy in Europe, aligning closely with Germany especially on economic matters. But Tusk and Mr. Sikorski also led some Western allies 鈥� Germany among them 鈥� to worry about Poland's hard-line stance against Russia.

Kopacz said in her inaugural speech that Poland would take a 鈥減ragmatic鈥� approach in the crisis. She would push against "land grabs" in Ukraine while preventing the 鈥渋solation of Poland鈥� within Europe.聽

In setting out her broader plans for Poland鈥檚 future, Kopacz tried to paint her government as nurturing and thoughtful, one that wouldn鈥檛 make rash decisions and that would take care of Polish families first 鈥� not unlike Ms. Merkel in Germany, who is known by her supporters there as 鈥淢ummy.鈥�

Rafal Chwedoruk, a political analyst at the University of Warsaw, says Kopacz has already taken a page from Merkel鈥檚 book: In trying to assuage disgruntled coal miners, she invited their wives for a tea in Warsaw. 鈥淪he wants to reconcile interests and introduce herself as a person who is balanced, calm, and has a human face,鈥� he says.

Gender politics?

Ms. Kopacz is the second Polish woman to serve as prime minister; Hanna Suchocka served from 1992 to 1993. Twenty percent of the current parliament are female.聽

But she raised eyebrows last month when she invoked her gender in response to reporters' questions about whether Poland would sell arms to Ukraine: "Poland should act like a reasonable Polish woman." She went on to explain: "You know, I'm a woman," she said. "I can imagine what I would do if I saw a person waving a sharp tool or holding a gun. My first thought would be: Right behind me, there is my house and my children. So I'd rush back to protect my children."

She was ridiculed in the press for emphasizing gender over policy 鈥� a reaction that underscores just how much Poles have accepted women within the highest ranks of power. 鈥淚 don't think that men in Poland have a problem with the fact that a woman is a prime minister,鈥� says Iwona Piatek, leader of the Women's Party. 鈥淭hey have gotten used to the fact that women are present in politics and business."聽

Kopacz avoided mentioning gender in her speech yesterday. But whether she鈥檒l be successful forging a nurturing leadership style, as Merkel has done, is more uncertain.聽Wojciech Jablonski, an expert in political marketing at the University of Warsaw, is doubtful. 鈥淪he can't be 鈥榓 mother of all Poles,' because she is not a person who is non-confrontational. She can be very stubborn and she follows blindly her leader [Tusk].鈥�

'Notably pragmatic'

Still, she was backed last night by 269 of 460 members of parliament in a vote of confidence, which she says gives her a 鈥渟trong mandate鈥� to carry out her vision.

"All of my and my government's decisions will be taken not based on political calculation, but will have one aim 鈥� the security, in the broad sense, of Polish families," Kopacz said.

As the center-left Gazeta Wyborcza summed up: 鈥淢s. Kopacz's speech wasn't rhetorically notable. Instead, it was notably pragmatic.鈥�