SLD member draws fire from MPC after calling for gov't to set inflation targets

Deputy speaker of the Sejm Marek Borowski, a member of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the party expected to win upcoming parliamentary elections, was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the government, not the central bank, should set the year-end inflation targets. Borowski, emphasizing this as his personal view, said that "in some countries the government sets inflation targets and then the central bank is not wholly independent but rather operationally independent." His comments drew outrage from members of the central bank's Monetary Policy Council (MPC), who said that such a change would infringe on the central bank's independence. According to Polish law, the 10-member MPC, picked by politicians for six-year terms, solely sets monetary policy and co-decides on exchange rate policy with the government. In past weeks, however, several members of the leftist SLD have signaled that they may seek to change the Polish central bank's charter after elections. (Reuters)