POLAND:ALMOST TWO-THIRDS of Poles support the Lisbon Treaty and reject the objections to ratification voiced by opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, writes Derek Scallyin Berlin.
A new poll conducted for the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper shows that 65 per cent of Poles want the treaty approved, with 15 per cent opposed and 20 per cent having no opinion.
Ratification of the treaty in Poland was thrown into doubt two weeks ago when opposition leader Mr Kaczynski, head of the Law and Justice (PiS) party, claimed the treaty might allow Germans to reclaim former lands lost after borders were redrawn in 1945.
His twin brother, president Lech Kazcynski, said last week that if Poland ratified the Charter of Fundamental Rights part of the treaty, it could open the door to gay marriage.
Polish EU experts say neither claim is justified and the Gazeta Wyborcza poll makes clear that a majority of voters do not believe the Kaczynski claims.
Some 69 per cent of Poles do not think that ratifying the Lisbon Treaty would open the door to gay marriage, the poll found, while 64 per cent did not believe it would reopen pre-1945 land claims.
The results may strengthen the hand of prime minister Donald Tusk.
He has already said he will hold a referendum if, as a result of PiS opposition, the ratification Bill falls short of the required two- thirds majority in parliament.
However, a referendum, with its incalculable risks, is still seen in Warsaw only as an emergency option to ratify the treaty, already approved in six of the 27 EU member states.
Hours after the poll appeared, PiS parliamentary chairman Przemyslaw Gosiewski suggested his party would vote with the government if it agreed to some amendments.
These last-minute changes to the ratification Bill refer to the sovereignty of Poland and the precedence of the Polish constitution over EU law.
Observers in Warsaw suggest that Jaroslaw Kaczynski's objection to ratifying the treaty he negotiated last year is motivated by domestic political concerns.
"Jaroslaw Kaczynski started this war on the treaty to win the hearts and minds of PiS members on the far right in danger of defecting to a new extremist party," said Piotr Kaczynski (no relation) of the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies. "But it's a dangerous strategy that risks splitting the party down the middle."