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Warsaw’s new dispensation

Poland’s likely new coalition of the centre-right Civic Platform — the largest single party to emerge from the recent general elections — promises to build upon the country’s robust economic growth, push for early adoption of the euro single currency, and restore friendly ties with the European Union (EU) and Russia. The alliance’s agenda, under its leader and front runner for premiership Donald Tusk, is consistent with the popular rejection o f the short-lived rule of the conservative Law and Justice party that was hostage to the machinations of its populist and ultranationalist allies, neither of whom has qualified to enter parliament. Poland under the Kaczynski twins, Jaroslaw, outgoing Prime Minister, and Lech, President until 2010, has regarded the EU merely as an inter-governmental body rather than as a confederation, raked up wounds of the Nazi era in its relations with Russia and Germany, and agreed enthusiastically to host the proposed United States missile shield in Europe. In contrast, since the country’s accession to the EU in 2004, foreign direct investment has surged, skilled manpower has gained mobility across much of the 27-member bloc, and EU aid is easing rural infrastructure bottlenecks.

The previous government’s witch-hunt of supporters of the erstwhile socialist era in the name of rooting out corruption was among the factors that led to parliament’s dissolution halfway through its four-year term. With a view to enhancing its credibility, Poland’s supreme court has recently ruled that only people in high office should be brought within the ambit of the elite agency dealing with graft. The ruling should lend a greater sense of purpose to the new administration’s alternative strategy of curbing corruption by eliminating bureaucratic red-tape and through deregulation of the economy. The International Monetary Fund has held that progress on the reform front, especially the privatisation of large state-owned companies, is crucial to sustain the momentum of growth in the central European state. The process is necessary to mitigate the country’s rate of unemployment which is the highest in the EU. The proportion of people in the working-age group who hold jobs is also below the EU average. The Polish People’s Party, which is currently negotiating an alliance, shares the Civic Platform’s larger vision for Poland. The immediate task before them is to win over the Left and the Democrats who command considerable strength in the new parliament. That is the surest guarantee of political stability and against a relapse into religious fundamentalism that has dogged Poland ever so often in recent times.

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