The learning curve
It's almost as though the Sejm has become like an old music-hall stage, where the deputies rush on to tell their jokes, which are either not very funny or breathtakingly hilarious, before the Shepard's crook emerges from the wings to yank them off by the neck. (Images of a choking Andrzej Lepper spring to mind.)
But what happens after the crook has done its throttling worst and the audience's attention is on the next comedian?
The answer is that some of them, at least, continue in the wings, and they can turn up in the most unexpected of places.
So this week we go to the Voice of Vietnam to catch up with former Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Kołodko, who was attending an International Policy Conference on Transitional Economies, in Hanoi. The interview with Mr. Kołodko was part of a long article on the Vietnamese economy and, although perfectly comprehensible, the Q and A session was peppered with grammatical errors that made it unclear whether the interview was taking place before or after the conference. Nevertheless, Mr. Kołodko could be found extolling the virtues of economic indices in Vietnam, some of which, when compared to Poland's, were in the stratosphere. In the last 20 years, Vietnam has enjoyed substantial success, with tens of thousands of jobs created, living standards rising across the board, and foreign investment running into the billions. The article featured a minor Hanoi official proudly saying that a major foreign investor, with several tens of millions sloshing around looking for a home, had to wait only three days to clear all legal hurdles to commencing its investment project. He went on to point out how so many investors are already benefiting from the new highways that crisscross the country.
The interview itself was for the most part uninspiring; Kołodko complemented the Vietnamese greatly on their ability to turn their economy around so effectively and with such astonishing results, and said he strongly supported the country's application to join the World Trade Organization. He went on to tell the reporter that it was important for any country to invest in human resources and, just so the point was made, he managed to take his fair share of the credit for guiding Poland to OECD and EU membership.
It may be that, sometime in the future, Mr. Kołodko will once again take to the stage of Polish politics; he has, after all, been Deputy Prime Minister twice (from 1994 to 1997 and 2002-2003). But the question that remains is whether he and his ilk, in jetting around the world and learning how other countries have got it right, can apply the same lessons here in Poland with the same degree of success.
Investors able to start doing business in just three days and highways crisscrossing the country? Very funny!
But what happens after the crook has done its throttling worst and the audience's attention is on the next comedian?
The answer is that some of them, at least, continue in the wings, and they can turn up in the most unexpected of places.
So this week we go to the Voice of Vietnam to catch up with former Deputy Prime Minister Grzegorz Kołodko, who was attending an International Policy Conference on Transitional Economies, in Hanoi. The interview with Mr. Kołodko was part of a long article on the Vietnamese economy and, although perfectly comprehensible, the Q and A session was peppered with grammatical errors that made it unclear whether the interview was taking place before or after the conference. Nevertheless, Mr. Kołodko could be found extolling the virtues of economic indices in Vietnam, some of which, when compared to Poland's, were in the stratosphere. In the last 20 years, Vietnam has enjoyed substantial success, with tens of thousands of jobs created, living standards rising across the board, and foreign investment running into the billions. The article featured a minor Hanoi official proudly saying that a major foreign investor, with several tens of millions sloshing around looking for a home, had to wait only three days to clear all legal hurdles to commencing its investment project. He went on to point out how so many investors are already benefiting from the new highways that crisscross the country.
The interview itself was for the most part uninspiring; Kołodko complemented the Vietnamese greatly on their ability to turn their economy around so effectively and with such astonishing results, and said he strongly supported the country's application to join the World Trade Organization. He went on to tell the reporter that it was important for any country to invest in human resources and, just so the point was made, he managed to take his fair share of the credit for guiding Poland to OECD and EU membership.
It may be that, sometime in the future, Mr. Kołodko will once again take to the stage of Polish politics; he has, after all, been Deputy Prime Minister twice (from 1994 to 1997 and 2002-2003). But the question that remains is whether he and his ilk, in jetting around the world and learning how other countries have got it right, can apply the same lessons here in Poland with the same degree of success.
Investors able to start doing business in just three days and highways crisscrossing the country? Very funny!
