From the absurd to the ridiculous
Writers in western papers report facts and quotes about events here knowing that their readers will seldom have more than a casual, probably business-oriented interest. Thus, hardly ever is the surface of most stories scratched, or the effects on the 40 million-odd people who live in Poland really considered.
This week, the UK's Financial Times carried a worrying story on the Hausner plan, a package of stringent budget cuts desperately needed to keep the Polish economy (just) on its currently uneven keel. The article dealt with the ongoing negotiations between the major political parties to stave off economic collapse.
The ruling socialist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is not only in a minority in Parliament, but is also going to lose what little power it has at the next election. The main party slated to take its place is the right wing Civic Platform (PO). Of course, with Poland's proportional representation system, the PO can't rely on gaining a clear majority, so it has already tried to enlist the help of another right wing party, the ironically named Law and Justice party (PiS - please don't try reading that acronym out loud).
The leader of the PO, and the man many tip to be Poland's next Prime Minister, is Jan Rokita, and his quote in the FT article set the scene perfectly. When queried about why the state of the negotiations with the SLD was so bad he said, "It's always like this with communists, no one ever held honest talks with communists." Whether factually accurate or not, statements like these reported in the world's press do little to inspire investors or the markets, and the złoty duly became a little more worthless (if you'll excuse the oxymoron).
On top of this, the head of the SLD's parliamentary caucus said that if the Hausner plan did not begin to move forward by the beginning of March, Poland would be looking at an "Argentine-style collapse", his ill-considered comment doing nothing, of course, to make such a collapse a little more likely. And to be sure they were not left out, the PiS leader chipped in by saying that not only did his party not understand why the PO were having anything to do with the SLD, but that they didn't support the Hausner plan anyway. Well, at least we know not to expect any improvement in Polish politics after the next election.
The FT article explained that the PO will not support the SLD unless changes are made to the plan, changes which the SLD regards as unacceptable. In effect, this means that the SLD people don't have to worry because, as they will all be out of a job by this time next year, the PO will be left to clear up the mess, and for the PO it doesn't really matter, because when they get into power they can blame everything on the SLD anyway. Unexpectedly, the article did contain the words 'in the national interest' regarding the Hausner plan, but they were obscured by all the peacock feathers on display. Once the spotlight shines, it seems the first order of business is to show the world that their country's needs come a poor second to posturing and their own aggrandizement, and to demonstrate that they can, each and every one of them, intentionally prevaricate and procrastinate without an ounce of shame.
Meanwhile, as the world's markets and investors look on with, we can suppose, some curiosity, the Polish economy drifts inexorably, pathetically, towards the abyss.
Chris Wells takes a salacious sift through what the world's English-language press is saying about Poland
This week, the UK's Financial Times carried a worrying story on the Hausner plan, a package of stringent budget cuts desperately needed to keep the Polish economy (just) on its currently uneven keel. The article dealt with the ongoing negotiations between the major political parties to stave off economic collapse.
The ruling socialist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) is not only in a minority in Parliament, but is also going to lose what little power it has at the next election. The main party slated to take its place is the right wing Civic Platform (PO). Of course, with Poland's proportional representation system, the PO can't rely on gaining a clear majority, so it has already tried to enlist the help of another right wing party, the ironically named Law and Justice party (PiS - please don't try reading that acronym out loud).
The leader of the PO, and the man many tip to be Poland's next Prime Minister, is Jan Rokita, and his quote in the FT article set the scene perfectly. When queried about why the state of the negotiations with the SLD was so bad he said, "It's always like this with communists, no one ever held honest talks with communists." Whether factually accurate or not, statements like these reported in the world's press do little to inspire investors or the markets, and the złoty duly became a little more worthless (if you'll excuse the oxymoron).
On top of this, the head of the SLD's parliamentary caucus said that if the Hausner plan did not begin to move forward by the beginning of March, Poland would be looking at an "Argentine-style collapse", his ill-considered comment doing nothing, of course, to make such a collapse a little more likely. And to be sure they were not left out, the PiS leader chipped in by saying that not only did his party not understand why the PO were having anything to do with the SLD, but that they didn't support the Hausner plan anyway. Well, at least we know not to expect any improvement in Polish politics after the next election.
The FT article explained that the PO will not support the SLD unless changes are made to the plan, changes which the SLD regards as unacceptable. In effect, this means that the SLD people don't have to worry because, as they will all be out of a job by this time next year, the PO will be left to clear up the mess, and for the PO it doesn't really matter, because when they get into power they can blame everything on the SLD anyway. Unexpectedly, the article did contain the words 'in the national interest' regarding the Hausner plan, but they were obscured by all the peacock feathers on display. Once the spotlight shines, it seems the first order of business is to show the world that their country's needs come a poor second to posturing and their own aggrandizement, and to demonstrate that they can, each and every one of them, intentionally prevaricate and procrastinate without an ounce of shame.
Meanwhile, as the world's markets and investors look on with, we can suppose, some curiosity, the Polish economy drifts inexorably, pathetically, towards the abyss.
Chris Wells takes a salacious sift through what the world's English-language press is saying about Poland
