Balcerowicz bows out

Reflecting upon his work as the president of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), Leszek Balcerowicz said he was satisfied with the bank's accomplishments during his six years of leadership. Among the greatest achievements of the NBP over that period, Balcerowicz pointed to the reduction in inflation from 8.5 percent per year in 2001 to around one percent in 2006, as well as keeping the currency stable. This led to a decrease in the country's base interest rate from 19 to four percent per year, stimulating economic growth.

Balcerowicz also highlighted the development of a program of economic education,  starting a system of electronic banking, and a growth in reserves from $27.5 (zł.81.9) billion to $48.5 (zł.144.4) billion. He also stressed the improvement in the institution's management and the low cost of the bank's restructuring.

Balcerowicz's plans for the near future include academic work at the Warsaw School of Economics, though he did not rule out taking a post abroad.

Balcerowicz refused to comment on his potential successor, Sławomir Skrzypek. "The candidate  has an enormous constitutional and moral responsibility," he stressed. "The modern and independent NBP is our great social and national achievement, and it is our moral duty to preserve and develop it even further."

Balcerowicz's radical economic reforms after 1989 made him unpopular especially among the poorer sections of society, who coined the slogan: "Balcerowicz must go." However, he remains one of the most renowned Polish economists.

"We owe the present economic situation to his knowledge, competence and strength of character," commented the president of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan, Henryka Bochniarz.