Poland is preparing to shake up Europe: Introducing the “Piast Doctrine” and these are its three main goals
Poland has unveiled a new national plan to ensure it has a stronger army than any of its neighbors.
“Our army must be capable of repelling any threat,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday, announcing the “Piast Doctrine”, named after the ruling dynasty that founded the Polish state, reports the British The Telegraph.
Tusk also said the plan has three main objectives: for Poland to have “the strongest army in the region, the strongest economy in the region, and a strong position in the European Union.”
“We are ready to build the strongest army in this part of the world. We are doing this together, regardless of our beliefs,” Tusk added.
The Prime Minister did not specify what he meant by “the strongest army” or “the strongest economy,” nor was it clear whether he believes Warsaw should be militarily stronger even than Russia, with which it shares a 210-kilometer border.
“There is a certain degree of strategic ambiguity about what Poland wants — they will let the Russians guess,” said Natalie Vogel, a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of the Intermarium (IWP Center for Intermarium Studies).
Polish army is the third largest in NATO
Poland, which allocates 4.7% of its GDP to defense, already has the third-largest army within NATO, thanks to a rapid rearmament program that has doubled the number of troops in just ten years.
Tusk stated that the new doctrine would further solidify the country’s pro-Western orientation.
Historical legacy and political message
“By placing a crown on his head, Bolesław the Brave proclaimed that the Kingdom of Poland becomes part of the West – the West as a political community, a community of values, a community of faith,” Tusk said to those gathered at a ceremony in Gniezno, marking the 1000th anniversary of the coronation of Poland’s first king.
“This choice, constantly renewed, sometimes contested by our enemies, sometimes even questioned by some within Poland, requires constant effort – and it still is, and always will be, relevant,” the Prime Minister added.
Psychological warfare and political confrontation
Vogel believes the Polish Prime Minister’s words are a “high level of psychological warfare,” aimed at showing that Poles are capable of defending NATO’s eastern flank, including the Baltic states, from a Russian invasion.
She added that this more “aggressive” rhetoric is also aimed at countering the threat from the right-wing opposition party Law and Justice ahead of this year’s presidential elections.
Poland’s economic rise
Tusk’s call for Poland to become an economic power came on the same day the Warsaw Stock Exchange index (WIG) surpassed 100,000 points for the first time – a symbolic milestone reflecting the country’s continued economic growth.
Since 2023, Polish households have had higher incomes than Spanish ones, and some forecasts suggest that by 2030, they may surpass British households as well.
