Editor'd Note: Old guard rings in the New Year
After all, we will not consider the 'new' Orlengate-style investigation commission as a novelty, as well as some other new scandals, whose degenerate faces greeted Poland's New Year from the newspapers' covers.
It is worrying to think what will come next. After all, 2005 is an elections year. And, in Poland, the parliamentary election means not only a plethora of trading places in the Sejm and government, but also a grand nationwide reshuffle of managerial positions in companies owned by the Treasury. We already know the scenario: a new minister, a new undersecretary of the state, a new president of the state's consortium, new partners, new contracts, and finally a new investigative commission. What is worse is that all the actors have already performed in this lousy movie, those from the right and those from the left. And although this dull action film of elections will be launched some time after the polls close, we can already watch the trailers. One of the dailies tells us that the managers of the Energa consortium (previously known as the G8 Group, the biggest energy consortium in Poland), who are related to the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), have been guaranteed employment for another 10 years. In the recently signed contracts, jobs are secured for the entire management until 2015. If an employee is fired before the protection period ends, the company (or rather its owner, i.e. the state) will have to pay them the equivalent of their salary for the whole period. For example, firing just one of the Energa managers will cost the state more than zl.1 million.
How can Poland break out of this vicious circle of party good ol' boys and, instead of wasting time on investigating scandals, use its energy and resources on development and innovation? Some will say privatization and separating the state from business. But one cannot privatize the whole country. It is not possible to privatize fraud, indolence, and theft. What Poland needs is simply a generational change of cast. It is high time that the old, well-known actors from the bad action movie be replaced by new ones. They may not win an Oscar. But at least they will not steal it.
Eliza Durka
Editor-in-Chief
It is worrying to think what will come next. After all, 2005 is an elections year. And, in Poland, the parliamentary election means not only a plethora of trading places in the Sejm and government, but also a grand nationwide reshuffle of managerial positions in companies owned by the Treasury. We already know the scenario: a new minister, a new undersecretary of the state, a new president of the state's consortium, new partners, new contracts, and finally a new investigative commission. What is worse is that all the actors have already performed in this lousy movie, those from the right and those from the left. And although this dull action film of elections will be launched some time after the polls close, we can already watch the trailers. One of the dailies tells us that the managers of the Energa consortium (previously known as the G8 Group, the biggest energy consortium in Poland), who are related to the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), have been guaranteed employment for another 10 years. In the recently signed contracts, jobs are secured for the entire management until 2015. If an employee is fired before the protection period ends, the company (or rather its owner, i.e. the state) will have to pay them the equivalent of their salary for the whole period. For example, firing just one of the Energa managers will cost the state more than zl.1 million.
How can Poland break out of this vicious circle of party good ol' boys and, instead of wasting time on investigating scandals, use its energy and resources on development and innovation? Some will say privatization and separating the state from business. But one cannot privatize the whole country. It is not possible to privatize fraud, indolence, and theft. What Poland needs is simply a generational change of cast. It is high time that the old, well-known actors from the bad action movie be replaced by new ones. They may not win an Oscar. But at least they will not steal it.
Eliza Durka
Editor-in-Chief
