Poland election turns Germany into punchbag, straining Western alliance

FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda attend a joint news conference, ahead of a Weimar Triangle meeting to discuss the ongoing Ukraine crisis, in Berlin, Germany February 8, 2022. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

WARSAW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Fighting to win an unprecedented third term in office, Poland's nationalist government has seized on a target close to home: Germany, its NATO ally and biggest trading partner.

In a tight race ahead of Poland's Oct. 15 election, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have accused Germany of trying to dictate Polish government policy from Berlin on anything from migration to gas.