SLD's Marek Belka claims his plan will bring back Polish growth success
Marek Belka, the leading candidate for the post of Finance Minister in a
new, Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) government, said that he has drafted an
economic reform plan which will restore fast GDP growth within two years.
Belka's plan is meant to lead Poland to 5% economic growth, but he said he
would not disclose details until after the September 23 elections. "Today we
have a unique chance to introduce fundamental changes in the structure of
public finance. If we do not do this now, we will probably never do it,"
Belka told the Financial Times. He warned that the plan will be tough and
could lead to massive protests. So far, SLD has given little indication as
to how it plans to limit the huge budget gap forecast for next year. The
party vowed to streamline public administration as well as restore
government control over various agencies and special-purpose funds, but
these steps are unlikely to yield the required savings of billions of
zlotys. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.25 P.G.
