Editorial: An exodus of competence

In his place was appointed a longtime Kaczyński loyalist - Aleksander Szczydło - who has little experience in defense matters, but who the brothers believe can be relied on to toe their unwavering line.

On Wednesday, the nation was surprised by the resignation of Interior Minister Ludwik Dorn - a man considered so close to the Kaczyński brothers that he is referred to as the "third twin." Dorn cited a "difference of opinion" with Prime Minister Kaczyński, but refused to be more specific. He has been replaced by Janusz Kaczmarek, once a student of Lech Kaczyński's at Gdańsk University.

When a government loses two top Ministers in a single week, one might expect the country's markets to at least come down with a slight case of the jitters. Instead, the Warsaw bourse's reaction was muted. Though the markets did lose three percent on Thursday, that was long after news of both resignations broke. Most saw it as a correction after the previous week's strong gains.

This cronyism isn't a new trend. Last May saw the replacement of Foreign Minister Stefan Meller, career diplomat, with  Kaczyński-underling Anna Fotyga. More recently, the succession of eminent economist Leszek Balcerowicz as head of the National Bank of Poland by Sławomir Skrzypek - Lech Kaczyński's deputy mayor when he was Mayor of Warsaw - reaffirmed that the installation of loyalists in place of experienced, independent-minded experts has become the government's modus operandi.

For the moment, the economy has shown that it will continue to grow regardless of this. Whether it will continue to do so in the long term is much less clear. But what is most disturbing is that the exodus of competence from top posts, and the further consolidation of power into two sets of hands is no longer met with alarm, but with shrugs of boredom.