President Kwasniewski speaks out in defense of central bank's independence

President Aleksander Kwasniewski yesterday stepped into the heated debate over the autonomy of the National Bank of Poland (NBP), offering to help the incoming Finance Minister defend the bank from populist Cabinet members. The President, speaking at a ceremony at which he nominated three new members of the NBP board, said, "The central bank's position is precisely defined in the Constitution, and I don't see any reason for it to be changed." He went on to say, "My responsibility is to protect the central bank's independence as it is defined by the Constitution and international standards." The President's comments come just as several Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and Polish Peasants Party (PSL) politicians are trying to bring into question the bank's independence while demanding the lowering of punishing borrowing costs. However, the NBP's governors insist that the lowering of interest rates will come only after deep and sustainable public spending reform. NBP governor Leszek Balcerowicz yesterday welcomed the incoming government's pledge to cap 2002 spending in real terms, calling it the most important positive detail of the SLD-PSL coalition agreement. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 8; Reuters) J.K.