“Give Hamas a Chance” Gazeta wyborcza (28-29th Jan) magnanimously states on page six in the headline of a piece by Mariusz Zawadzki, datelined Gaza and marked “analysis”. The subhead (actually it appears above the grand headline) reads:

Democracy in the Middle East is bearing unexpected fruit. Elections are being won by the ultra radical Mahmud Ahmadinejad in Iran; by Shiite religious parties in Iraq, meant to be a model of modern democracy; and Hamas terrorists in the Palestine Autonomy.

“Unexpected�” Is this the standard of analysis we can expect in Poland’s paper of record? Zawadzki continues: “The problem is not Hamas but the spiritual state of Palestinians, who support radicals en masse“. The condescension continues: “They [Palestinians] have chosen a change but doubtless they do not know what it might mean.” Zawadzki, you understand, does know, what with being such an acute foreteller of the future that he failed to predict the radicalisation of Middle Eastern politics and the hardening of attitudes in the wake of the invasion of Iraq. While pontificating about the state of democracy in Palestine, Zawadzki mentions that some people fear that the new government might change school curricula to inculcate radical Islam ideals. Mr Zawadzki may not know this on account of being in Gaza (or on another planet) but something remarkably similar is happening in Poland – bringer of democracy to Iraq, that model for other democracies – right now. The new government plans to introduce patriotism lessons in school.