This weekend's big victory for Poland's Civic Platform party is welcome news for the pro-EU crowd. It will not, however, have too much of an effect on the direction of the EU Reform Treaty.
That's because the Treaty is already done (although not quite dusted in the sense that it hasn't been ratified).
The victory for Civic Platform should remove any lingering ambiguity about Polish ratification since it won't go to a referendum.
In truth the Polish issues were solved over the summer months by diplomats, along with some quiet advice that insulting the Germans isn't the best way of getting favours from other states.
As Civic Platform is committed to improving Poland's image among EU partners, and as it is part of the European People's Party (the biggest political group at the European level - making Donald Tusk a party ally of Angela Merkel, Nicholas Sarkozy, Jose Manuel Barosso and Enda Kenny), we can probably take it that Poland won't be much of a problem in terms of the ratification of this Treaty.
I say probably, as the defeat of PiS means that only one of the twins (Lech) is leaving power. His brother Jaroslav continues as President (indeed it was he who went to the Lisbon summit to give political approval to the Treaty).
So the Justice and Law Party's spikey relationship with the EU could have an outlet through the office of President, egged on by the parliamentary opposition and the now extra-parliamentary oppositon parties, the League of Polish Families and Self Defence.
But a win for an avowedly pro-European party will come as a relief to Poland's EU partners after two years of strife, unpredictability, and unprecedentedly bad behaviour - especially towards the Germans.
- Sean Whelan in Brussels
