Poland’s inflation surge takes shine off economy

The annual inflation rate in Poland was 7.8 percent last month, the highest level in two decades and the fourth highest in the European Union. With energy tariffs rising more than 20 percent and gas prices more than 50 percent next year, consumers are expecting more pain and the topic has accelerated the political agenda. Much of the developed world is grappling with a similar pattern. But for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, rampant inflation is a particularly difficult problem. The conservative nationalist government has come under heavy criticism at home and abroad for its democratic backsliding. But despite these battles, it remained the most popular party thanks largely to its success in bettering many less wealthy Poles.

“PiS won voters with a very simple promise: You will be better off; your wealth will rise. High inflation makes it difficult to fulfill that promise, which is why it is so dangerous for this government,” Marcin Dumas, head of the IBRiS polling agency in Warsaw, said.

“Inflation is especially painful for those people who have seen their fortunes grow over the past five or six years. They have been able to go on vacations to buy things they couldn’t have before. And now all of a sudden, their bills are going up and they can’t spend on the things they used to,” he added.

(Financial Times)