Poland Today
By Voytek Wieckowski
Aleksander Kwasniewski, a Polish President, recently said to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg that "it is a fantasy that Poles would abandon their own booming economy to flood the labor markets of the west. Do not believe that Poland's farming and industries were stuck in the Stone Age." After the address, Kwasniewski recevied a standing ovation, showing Europe's approval of Poland's economic and political reforms. During the last decade Poland indeed has earned for itself the status of the Central European tiger--that is, a fast growing tiger with a huge appetite.
In 1989, Poland was on the eve of political and economic reforms, brought about by years of struggle and strong revolutionary movements. The people, however, were unaware of the troubles that faced PolandŐs economy. Poland's inflation rate was at a stunning three-hundred percent, the country suffered from a high unemployment rate and had difficulties in attracting foreign investment. Poland's current minister of finance Leszek Balcerowicz compared Poland's economy situation to a man standing on the fourth floor balcony of a rapidly burning building, faced with the option of jumping to his death or getting burned alive. Balcerowicz said Poland chose to jump, and Poland became the first Eastern European country to adopt democracy.
Well, the landing was rough, painful, and scary...but certainly successful. Today inflation is down to 8.5% and unemployment lower than in many Western European countries (in fact, these days even people from Germany come to Poland in search for a job). Foreign investment is pouring in: huge trade centers open every month, Western investment and commercial banks try to win their share of the financial market, and foreign companies build their factories and fight for domestic partners. Beautiful, isn't it?
Well, skeptics will say that "this growth is not sustainable; just wait and see it collapse." But we waited and nothing bad happened. In fact, Poland's economic progress has escaped the chaos facing many coutries today. While Asian and South American economies collapsed, and a few Central European ones suffered a financial crisis, the Polish currency has remained unshaken. Poland's economy has even stood firm during the recent political and financial problems in Russia.
Poland's success is hardly just luck. Poland stayed out of financial trouble because it pursued very disciplined monetary policies. The leadership and savvy of one of the best presidents of a central bank in the world, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, has carefully shaped this policy.
Of course Poland is not a flawless paradise in Eastern Europe, but it is certainly doing surprisingly well for a small country that had to learn both democracy and capitalism within a couple years. But economists have underestimated Poland's results and potential for future growth. The motivation and energy of the Polish will prove the experts wrong. Poles are hungry for the Western standard of life and are sick of poverty that they had to live in for too many years. They want independence, dignity, and position in the twenty-first century world. They know what they are after, they are fighting for it, and they will be the very last ones to ever give this up.
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