Privatisation

Treasury Minister Wiesław Kaczmarek, usually associated with not privatising companies, ironically found himself at the centre of a political storm when he finally did cut a deal. This was Warsaw's energy distributor Stoen in which German company RWE Plus picked up an 85% stake for €37 million (zł. 1.5 billion). The deal allows RWE to gain control of the lucrative Warsaw market, a fact that led to a talk-in by a populist Catholic League MP which paralysed the proceedings in the Sejm for a day. After being evicted from the chamber, Gabriel Janowski protested he was beaten by security men. The deal sparked off muttering in the ranks of the coalition's minority partner, the PSL, which claimed it breached a deal it had made with the SLD.