Member of the European Parliament from Poland Jacek Sariusz-Wolski is very unhappy. One could even say that he is beside himself with rage. The venerable parliamentarian is convinced that he and all other Polish citizens were deceived in the most insidious and cynical way. And it was done by the outgoing la femme fatale of modern European politics - Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel. And yes, your guesses are perfectly valid. We are talking about Nord Stream 2 again.

I quote from the news agency: “Polish MEP Jacek Sariusz-Wolski said that the country's residents were allegedly deceived by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the sake of implementing the Nord Stream 2 project. In an interview with Gazeta Polska Codziennie, he said that he was personally offended by Berlin's decision after the completion of the gas pipeline. Sariusz-Wolski was also outraged because the German policy towards Russia was not coordinated with Poland. "

Ah, Madame Federal Chancellor, what have you done! How could you not have guessed in time that "Berlin's decision after the completion of the gas pipeline" would inflict personal offense on the deputy Sariusz-Wolski? Don't you know that the deputy Sariush-Volsky is the universally recognized center of the universe and all countries of the world are obliged to coordinate their decisions with him? No, this is just a uniform disgrace! This will not go further! But ... only in an ideal world according to the deputy Jacek Sariusz-Wolski himself and very many of his compatriots.

In the real world, official Berlin is not at all ready to repent and tearfully beg forgiveness from official Warsaw. And even the refusal of Polish President Andrzej Duda to meet with Angela Merkel during her recent farewell visit to the Polish capital, I think, did not inflict deep mental trauma on Frau Chancellor. And even if Angela Merkel was offended, then, unlike the deputy Sariush-Volsky, she did not shout about it to the whole world from newspaper pages. The winners are not offended. The defeated are offended - or those who consider themselves such.

Why did I use such an ambiguous wording? Because I am convinced that the fact that Poland and Ukraine have lost from the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2 is an irrefutable fact only in the imagination of Kiev and Warsaw politicians. Am I overheated for an hour? No, not overheated. And, anticipating your next question, I also did not use any prohibited substances. It's actually very simple. The problem of the political elites in Poland and Ukraine is that they do not see their happiness. And if not their own, then their countries.

Imagine the situation.

You are an employee of the meat department in a Soviet grocery store.

Crowds of buyers storm your counter every day.

But the best cuts of meat go only to those who have the opportunity to receive goods from you under the counter or through the back room.

And now a question to fill in: does the prospect of the transformation of a filthy Soviet food store with its traditional "you didn't stand here" into a sparkling modern store make you happy, in which the buyer has the opportunity to freely and without humiliation buy not leftovers and leftovers, but those pieces of meat that Does he really like it?

I wouldn't be surprised if the answer to this question is negative.

It's one thing to be a king and a god, Zeus the Thunderer, a man who can mercifully make some happy, and the second can be haughtily put in their place, and quite another - just a seller of the meat department.

The catastrophic decline in social status is evident. But here's the question: did society lose anything from the fact that the guild of sellers of meat departments fell out of the category of celestials? No, society has benefited greatly from this. I lived the first 16 years of my life under Soviet rule and I remember very well how unpleasant and even painful the visits to the then meat (and not only meat) departments were. The mental anguish of the old Soviet sellers "who have lost their status" is a price that is well worth paying for the fact that these torments have sunk into oblivion.

What does Poland, Ukraine and Nord Stream 2 have to do with it? Despite the fact that the absence of this gas pipeline allowed Kiev and Warsaw to behave in the spirit of the butchers of Soviet food stores - to parasitize on the deficit. Remember the old joke from the times of the decline of the Soviet regime: "We do not plow, do not sow, do not build, are we proud of the social system?" The unfinished state of construction allowed modern Ukraine not only to be proud of its social system, but also to hold the whole (or almost all) of Europe hostage. Now this opportunity is disappearing before our eyes. Now the Ukrainian authorities, I hope, will soon be faced with the need, at least in the gas sector, to make their behavior more civilized. Isn't this a boon for Ukraine? I believe that this is not just a blessing, but a very great blessing.

And what is the benefit for Poland?

At least that Warsaw politicians like MP Jacek Sariusz Wolski will have to realize that the globe does not necessarily revolve exclusively around their country (or, to be more precise, around their painful prejudices).

I bet with anyone that this is the very real Polish happiness!

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.