Post by Bonobo on May 15, 2011 14:22:14 GMT 1
New elections are due in October. After 4 years, is the government in the black or red?
Part One
10 successes
1. The steady economic growth throughout the crisis - the (in)famous so called green island:
2009
It wasn`t an accident, government`s good economic policy had contributed to it. How much, is immeasureable.
2. In result, Poland has good ratings and enjoys the trust of foreign investors.
Moody`s opinion in December 2010:
..Poland's government bond rating is A2, reflecting high economic, institutional and government financial strength and low event risk. The outlook is stable. The underlying resilience of the Polish economy has been amply demonstrated by steady growth and the lack of imbalances in the run-up to the global crisis and the country's position as the only EU member not to go into recession last year. The country's growth model does not appear to have been impaired by the crisis and economic activity is already recovering at a healthy pace. As a result, although GDP per head is lower than in many of Poland's rating peers, Moody's expects it to continue to converge towards the levels in wealthier EU members over the medium to long term. The growing maturity of Poland's institutions has also been evident during what has proven to be a very testing year for the country. The credibility of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) was enhanced by the implementation of a number of effective monetary initiatives...
To compare, Hungary rating is Baa3, four steps below Poland.
3. In result, despite the crisis, Tusk`s government managed to keep its popularity with Poles on decent levels, like no other government before.
Polls, though differ every week, show certain steady tendency: Tusk and his party can count on more than 30% voters. There is hope it will also stay in power for the next 4 years by going into a coalition with anybody except for PiS.
Curious observation: PO poll results are better today than 4 years, before 2007 elections.
www.nto.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110419/WYBORY2011/507718458
It is a fantastic result having in view all that happened during their term:
A/ the crisis
B/ the flood of 2010
C/ Smoleñsk air crash
D/ price rises etc
4. In result of the all above, PiS can count only on its most hardened voters. Their support is steadily under 30% and hopefully will remain such.
PiS supporters:
I can only express deep gratitude to Jaros³aw Kaczyñski and thank him for provoking these brawls. Keep up good work!!
5. PO and Tusk managed to promote their party mate, Komorowski, to the post of President of Poland. Though as the Head of State he commits funny harmless blunders from time to time and is immensely ridiculed for that, it is still a piece of cake compared to Kaczyñski`s presidency if he had won. Fortunately, he didn`t.
Komorowski steals the queen`s glass.
6. The Swedish queen didn`t take offence at Komorowski`s blunder because it wasn`t intentional malice. Thanks to reasonable foreign policies, Poland has improved its relations with our main neighbours: Germany and Russia. No more diplomatic wars or infantile offences which were frequent during PiS term and which gave Poland the label of a European trouble-maker. And who wants to have serious business with a troublemaker?
Article from 2007:
After outgoing prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski stepped down on Tuesday (6 November), Mr Tusk said he was set to place Poland back in the European mainstream. In addition, special attention will be paid to Polish-German relations. "We will try to base our relations on a greater level of trust", Mr Tusk, the leader of the pro-business and pro-European Civic Platform (PO), said, according to Thomson Financial, adding he aims at "as good a level as they were in the 1990s". The outgoing government, led by Mr Kaczynski' conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), had earned itself the reputation of a trouble-maker, often choosing isolation on European issues. It blocked talks on a new EU partnership agreement with Moscow in 2005 and revived WWII rhetoric during the negotiations on the new EU treaty.
7. Under Tusk rule, Poland is making a good use of European funds:
Poland is leading the rest of the EU when it comes to profiting from structural funds, says the country’s regional development ministry. That is good news for Warsaw and good news for the companies – Polish and foreign – working on EU-funded projects. Poland has been awarded Eur67bn in structural funds during the 2007-2013 budget cycle, the most of any EU country, and by the end of last year had allocated 58 per cent of the money, a record among EU members, some of whom have been criticised for failing to use their allocations. Elzbieta Bienkowska, the regional development minister, says that last year alone Warsaw had planned to spend 26.9bn zlotys (eur6.7bn) but actually spent 35.7bn zlotys. The minimum goal for 2011 is 40bn zlotys, but the end result is again expected to be higher.
More here:
blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/01/04/poland-eu-funds-lure-foreign-companies/
8. In result, Poland abounds with new developments. The plans for building highways and expressways were very bold, and are still imposing, compared to previous govenrments, even though they have been cut recently.
The building site is one of hundreds scattered around the country as Poland becomes the European Union’s largest construction site, thanks to the €10bn in infrastructure spending pouring into the country as part of the EU’s structural funds programme. The current government of Donald Tusk, prime minister, came to power in 2007 in part thanks to its promise to speed up the road-building programme, something it has in large measure delivered. Poland, one of the largest countries in the EU, has only 893km of highways, but there are 753km under construction, with the infrastructure ministry steadily pushing through more tenders. The final goal is a system of about 2,000km consisting of two east-west highways – from the German border to the frontiers with Ukraine and Belarus – and one north-south one running from the Baltic sea to the Czech border.
www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ba014eaa-f19b-11df-bb5a-00144feab49a.html#axzz1MPG6cyl3
9 In result of the above, the preparations to EURO 2010 Championships are in full swing and won`t be delayed. UEFA football organization has no doubts everything will be ready.
These days construction cranes are almost as ubiquitous as storks' nests in the Polish countryside. New football stadiums have sprung up across the country, airports are being expanded and hundreds of miles of roads and high-speed railway routes are being built as the country gears up for the Euro 2012 football tournament, which Poland is hosting with neighbouring Ukraine. In Warsaw Europe's biggest open-air market has given way to a 55,000 seat stadium where the opening match of Euro 2012 will be played. Stadiums accommodating about 45,000 fans each are close to completion in the other Polish host cities, Gdansk and Wroclaw, while one in Poznan was opened by singer Sting last year.
Investments in Poland tally 80bn zloty (20.6bn euros, $27.6bn), largely in the transport sector.
Problems with stadiums? Not in Poland. Poland is building the largest number of stadiums in history. At least 65 stadiums were built or upgraded in Poland over the past five years – says a daily nawspaper "Rzeczpospolita". That number puts Poland on the first place in Europe when it comes to building new stadiums. We have never had such a boom before. In the total number of built or upgraded facilities, football stadiums are at the forefront, but there are also some speedway arenas, and even one rugby oval. The biggest investments are, of course, the stadiums constructed for Euro 2012 - the National Stadium in Warsaw, PGE Arena in Gdansk, and stadiums in Poznan and Wroclaw. A lot of small sports fields, with stands for 2 - 3 thousand spectators, is currently developing in Poland – says “Rzeczpospolita”
Gdañsk
10. No more compulsory military service The army is professional now.
2008 is the last year of compulsory military service in the Polish armed forces, said the Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich. During a press conference in Lublin, Klich stated that the December conscription would be the last compulsory enlistment. “We are keeping our options open regarding voluntary military service in the event of, touch wood, an armed conflict. If national security was gravely threatened, so-called ‘w time’ ‘war time) enlistment would be restored,” he stated. The amendment to the National Service Act intends to provide among others enlistment for commission service enabling transfer to the regular army. “We hope that more people will join the army, so we are also raising the upper age limit, from 25 to 30, for soldiers who are to serve a commission,” added Klich. He stressed that reserve soldiers will be allowed to enrol for commission service. They constitute about half of those who volunteer, with the Lublin region able to boast the highest number of enrolments.
Part One
10 successes
1. The steady economic growth throughout the crisis - the (in)famous so called green island:
2009
It wasn`t an accident, government`s good economic policy had contributed to it. How much, is immeasureable.
2. In result, Poland has good ratings and enjoys the trust of foreign investors.
Moody`s opinion in December 2010:
..Poland's government bond rating is A2, reflecting high economic, institutional and government financial strength and low event risk. The outlook is stable. The underlying resilience of the Polish economy has been amply demonstrated by steady growth and the lack of imbalances in the run-up to the global crisis and the country's position as the only EU member not to go into recession last year. The country's growth model does not appear to have been impaired by the crisis and economic activity is already recovering at a healthy pace. As a result, although GDP per head is lower than in many of Poland's rating peers, Moody's expects it to continue to converge towards the levels in wealthier EU members over the medium to long term. The growing maturity of Poland's institutions has also been evident during what has proven to be a very testing year for the country. The credibility of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) was enhanced by the implementation of a number of effective monetary initiatives...
To compare, Hungary rating is Baa3, four steps below Poland.
3. In result, despite the crisis, Tusk`s government managed to keep its popularity with Poles on decent levels, like no other government before.
Polls, though differ every week, show certain steady tendency: Tusk and his party can count on more than 30% voters. There is hope it will also stay in power for the next 4 years by going into a coalition with anybody except for PiS.
Curious observation: PO poll results are better today than 4 years, before 2007 elections.
www.nto.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110419/WYBORY2011/507718458
It is a fantastic result having in view all that happened during their term:
A/ the crisis
B/ the flood of 2010
C/ Smoleñsk air crash
D/ price rises etc
4. In result of the all above, PiS can count only on its most hardened voters. Their support is steadily under 30% and hopefully will remain such.
PiS supporters:
I can only express deep gratitude to Jaros³aw Kaczyñski and thank him for provoking these brawls. Keep up good work!!
5. PO and Tusk managed to promote their party mate, Komorowski, to the post of President of Poland. Though as the Head of State he commits funny harmless blunders from time to time and is immensely ridiculed for that, it is still a piece of cake compared to Kaczyñski`s presidency if he had won. Fortunately, he didn`t.
Komorowski steals the queen`s glass.
6. The Swedish queen didn`t take offence at Komorowski`s blunder because it wasn`t intentional malice. Thanks to reasonable foreign policies, Poland has improved its relations with our main neighbours: Germany and Russia. No more diplomatic wars or infantile offences which were frequent during PiS term and which gave Poland the label of a European trouble-maker. And who wants to have serious business with a troublemaker?
Article from 2007:
After outgoing prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski stepped down on Tuesday (6 November), Mr Tusk said he was set to place Poland back in the European mainstream. In addition, special attention will be paid to Polish-German relations. "We will try to base our relations on a greater level of trust", Mr Tusk, the leader of the pro-business and pro-European Civic Platform (PO), said, according to Thomson Financial, adding he aims at "as good a level as they were in the 1990s". The outgoing government, led by Mr Kaczynski' conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), had earned itself the reputation of a trouble-maker, often choosing isolation on European issues. It blocked talks on a new EU partnership agreement with Moscow in 2005 and revived WWII rhetoric during the negotiations on the new EU treaty.
7. Under Tusk rule, Poland is making a good use of European funds:
Poland is leading the rest of the EU when it comes to profiting from structural funds, says the country’s regional development ministry. That is good news for Warsaw and good news for the companies – Polish and foreign – working on EU-funded projects. Poland has been awarded Eur67bn in structural funds during the 2007-2013 budget cycle, the most of any EU country, and by the end of last year had allocated 58 per cent of the money, a record among EU members, some of whom have been criticised for failing to use their allocations. Elzbieta Bienkowska, the regional development minister, says that last year alone Warsaw had planned to spend 26.9bn zlotys (eur6.7bn) but actually spent 35.7bn zlotys. The minimum goal for 2011 is 40bn zlotys, but the end result is again expected to be higher.
More here:
blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/01/04/poland-eu-funds-lure-foreign-companies/
8. In result, Poland abounds with new developments. The plans for building highways and expressways were very bold, and are still imposing, compared to previous govenrments, even though they have been cut recently.
The building site is one of hundreds scattered around the country as Poland becomes the European Union’s largest construction site, thanks to the €10bn in infrastructure spending pouring into the country as part of the EU’s structural funds programme. The current government of Donald Tusk, prime minister, came to power in 2007 in part thanks to its promise to speed up the road-building programme, something it has in large measure delivered. Poland, one of the largest countries in the EU, has only 893km of highways, but there are 753km under construction, with the infrastructure ministry steadily pushing through more tenders. The final goal is a system of about 2,000km consisting of two east-west highways – from the German border to the frontiers with Ukraine and Belarus – and one north-south one running from the Baltic sea to the Czech border.
www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ba014eaa-f19b-11df-bb5a-00144feab49a.html#axzz1MPG6cyl3
9 In result of the above, the preparations to EURO 2010 Championships are in full swing and won`t be delayed. UEFA football organization has no doubts everything will be ready.
These days construction cranes are almost as ubiquitous as storks' nests in the Polish countryside. New football stadiums have sprung up across the country, airports are being expanded and hundreds of miles of roads and high-speed railway routes are being built as the country gears up for the Euro 2012 football tournament, which Poland is hosting with neighbouring Ukraine. In Warsaw Europe's biggest open-air market has given way to a 55,000 seat stadium where the opening match of Euro 2012 will be played. Stadiums accommodating about 45,000 fans each are close to completion in the other Polish host cities, Gdansk and Wroclaw, while one in Poznan was opened by singer Sting last year.
Investments in Poland tally 80bn zloty (20.6bn euros, $27.6bn), largely in the transport sector.
Problems with stadiums? Not in Poland. Poland is building the largest number of stadiums in history. At least 65 stadiums were built or upgraded in Poland over the past five years – says a daily nawspaper "Rzeczpospolita". That number puts Poland on the first place in Europe when it comes to building new stadiums. We have never had such a boom before. In the total number of built or upgraded facilities, football stadiums are at the forefront, but there are also some speedway arenas, and even one rugby oval. The biggest investments are, of course, the stadiums constructed for Euro 2012 - the National Stadium in Warsaw, PGE Arena in Gdansk, and stadiums in Poznan and Wroclaw. A lot of small sports fields, with stands for 2 - 3 thousand spectators, is currently developing in Poland – says “Rzeczpospolita”
Gdañsk
10. No more compulsory military service The army is professional now.
2008 is the last year of compulsory military service in the Polish armed forces, said the Minister of Defence Bogdan Klich. During a press conference in Lublin, Klich stated that the December conscription would be the last compulsory enlistment. “We are keeping our options open regarding voluntary military service in the event of, touch wood, an armed conflict. If national security was gravely threatened, so-called ‘w time’ ‘war time) enlistment would be restored,” he stated. The amendment to the National Service Act intends to provide among others enlistment for commission service enabling transfer to the regular army. “We hope that more people will join the army, so we are also raising the upper age limit, from 25 to 30, for soldiers who are to serve a commission,” added Klich. He stressed that reserve soldiers will be allowed to enrol for commission service. They constitute about half of those who volunteer, with the Lublin region able to boast the highest number of enrolments.