Poland's new breed of optimists  A decade of prosperity has left
many Poles abandoning national psyche of victimhood and turning
liabilities into assets Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller
Poland's former prime minister Leszek Miller said Russia and
Germany were now seen as a blessing, not a curse, by Poles.
Photograph: Benoit Doppagne/AFP/Getty Benoit Doppagne/AFP/Getty
Images  There's an old joke about a Polish optimist meeting a
Polish pessimist: "Things are so bad, so terribly bad, that they
couldn't possibly get any worse", says the pessimist, to which
the optimist replies: "Don't worry my friend, they could, they
really could."  The Polish national character might be famous
for its glum outlook on life, but as the country celebrates its
Independence Day this 11 November, there is little cause for
pessimism. The country has never been richer, safer or better
organised than it is today. As the Polish-born former US
national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, put it recently:
"Poland is enjoying the be