Exiting U.K. counselor leaves with positive view of Poland
British commercial counselor Stephen Pattison left Poland after three years with positive views about Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek and the escalation in privatization that has occurred under Solidarity Election Action (AWS).
That's against the grain, in terms of public opinion in Poland today. Buzek's AWS coalition has slumped to an all-time low, with the prime minister himself regularly pilloried by AWS and opposition deputies. And it's not even clear whether any AWS politician will challenge President Aleksander Kwasniewski for reelection this fall.
Pattison, who moved back to London to be Britain's liaison with United Nations' agencies, lamented the government's lack of progress on "transparency" issues for public tenders, which he called "absolutely crucial" for foreign-investor confidence.
He was more cautious on critiquing corruption, saying it was nowhere near the problem in countries further east. Nor, he said, had he handled complaints from British companies about unfair "subsidies" from other foreign investors competing against them for Polish contracts.
The following are a few excerpts from an exit interview with Pattison.
Concerning the last decade's AWS and Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) governments: "They have given Poland a fantastic base on which to grow," not just with (Finance Minister) Leszek Balcerowicz's initial reforms but by maintaining "a stable macroeconomic framework; a mix of central bank and macroeconomic policy," Pattison said.
In addition, "they have maintained the momentum of privatization, even if some say it has been slow, and they generally maintained public support for it. And I think they created companies that work in a proper commercial environment it is not a network of old state companies supported by dubious loans.
"I think the current government's record on this is actually pretty good. LOT (Polish Airlines) has actually been privatized. They've made big steps forward on TPSA (Telekomunikacja Polska), on PZU (Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen), and a strategy has finally been agreed on for the power sector. And the pace of these things may not matter as much as making sure you do it properly and with public confidence. And in that area, Poland's record is good."
Pattison yielded one qualifier, though. "There's a risk, in steel, that if this process drags on, the potential value of steel assets fluctuates due to international price drops. But there will be people interested in buying into the steel plants," he said.
On Buzek: "I think his stature has grown during the life of this government. He's shown himself to be a very competent politician and a more than competent leader. It's not easy to keep the coalition together, and many times it looked like it was going to fall apart but he has kept it together. I am most supportive of him, personally, and the role he has been playing in the process," Pattison said.
On the probable reelection of Kwasniewski and the possible SLD takeover of Parliament in the 2001 elections: "If he wins, we have someone who is tried and tested and, as much as anyone, he has a commitment to the free market. I see nothing to fear. The SLD also has shown itself committed to a free market. I don't think anyone disagrees that Poland must move to more free markets, more toward the EU," he said.
On corruption: "I don't think it is here on the scale that it is in Russia and I don't think the corruption is of the kind that distorts the market. It is hard to say that a contract has gone to a company that you'd say should not have gotten it. There are problems I think are caused sometimes by the bureaucracy; and there are some procedures that do seem strange," Pattison said.
