Editor's note: A private matter of public significance

It was mainly foreign investors that complained because, frankly speaking, there was no one to talk to about potential investments, as the posts of Treasury Minister and head of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIZ) remained vacant.

Now we know more or less everything. However, not much has changed for foreign investors - their investment opportunities are very limited and the privatization climate has worsened considerably.

It can't go unnoticed - for the last few weeks foreign investors were treated by the Polish government almost as enemies, the most spectacular examples being the blocked merger of Pekao SA and BPH, and attempts at canceling PZU's privatization agreement with Eureko.

They were so spectacular that the European Commission has threatened to take Poland before the EU court. That hardly inspires confidence, especially with the new Treasury Minister openly admitting he opposes the privatization of a number of state-owned companies.

That makes me wonder how the government plans to earn the promised zł.5.5 billion from privatizations in 2006.

By what miraculous (excuse the inadequate wording) means is this target going to be met, given that the government has put the brakes on a number of key deals? The privatization of the Warsaw Stock Exchange has been postponed to an undetermined future date, and it now seems that the energy sector giants that were supposed to contribute the most to this year's revenues, won't be handed over to investors.

The government seems to believe that faith creates miracles, and it has faith in spades. We'll observe Marcinkiewicz's government attentively when, at the end of the year, it tries to balance its budget.

Eliza Durka

Editor-in-chief