Editorial: The counter revolution

Unhappy marriage

Now PiS finds its coalition is being dragged through the mud, with a host of sexual abuse allegations being flung against coalition partner Selfdefense (SO).

The coalition was always an unhappy marriage of three parties, two of which, in theory at least, seemed destined for opposition.

However, differences that should have prevented the coalition from ever being formed have been brushed aside to ensure, according to one PiS representative, that "the country's best interests" are upheld.

PiS cannot claim any integrity in government or any legitimacy to its moral revolution when it holds on to power thanks to the support of a party whose top brass have been accused of sexual misconduct. PiS is waiting for this latest storm to blow over, and any allegations against Andrzej Lepper, Stanisław Łyżwiński and other SO members have yet to be proven.

The wise thing would be for the accused SO deputies to take a step back from government until this matter has been cleared up by the state prosecutor. Łyżwiński has been removed from the party, but Lepper remains in a top government post, while the credibility of his party and the office he holds is sullied.

Broken wing

It is not just SO that has failed Law and Justice. The League of Polish Families (LPR) has long battled its reputation as a refuge for anti-Semites, ultra nationalists and neo-fascists - recent events prove that reputation is deserved.

Roman Giertych may have finally acted against the youth wing he helped to re-establish, the All-Poland Youth (MW), when he formally severed any official links between his party and the radical organization. But this is too little, too late, and for all the outrage Giertych is now mustering, it was he who revived the beast of MW and he must share the blame for its transgressions. The mere thought that an organization that harbors neo- Nazi tendencies can exist in the country that arguably suffered the most at the hands of the Third Reich is chilling - the fact that it has been lent support at any time by a Deputy Prime Minister is unconscionable. Law and Justice has been working hard to deal with the sins of the past - it would serve the country better in dealing so clinically and relentlessly with the sins of the present.

The calm amid the storm

The political scene might be a shambles, but thankfully the economy is not so fickle a creature.

GDP growth in Poland is expected to clock in at around 5.5 percent for the year. Foreign direct investment should hit its target of $10 (zł.28.8) billion, and employment has dipped below 15 percent for the first time since the heady years at the turn of the century. All this goes to show that Poland is an attractive market, and even poor management cannot yet sully it.

However, the government's reluctance to rein in the budget deficit and its procrastination on the subject of euro adoption are major causes for concern, as is its sluggishness when it comes to reforms.

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in a review that measures countries' progress on reform, put Poland in 25th place, rock-bottom of the EU pile. Poland is outperformed by even Croatia and Turkey, who are still waiting in line to become members of the prestigious bloc.

The WEF says "the political instability now being seen in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland is particularly worrisome, as continued economic development will be extremely difficult without stable democratic political environments."

The economy weathered the storm this year, but it will be difficult to repeat the same feat in 2007.