ł

ń Vášáryová

Bryza Sanford Baldassarri Florek Sepio Meckel Bendyk Staszewski Targo THE PROJECT IS CO-FINANCED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC AND CULTURAL DIPLOMACY OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF A COMPETITION “COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 2014”.

THE PUBLICATION PRESENTS ONLY THE VIEWS OF THE AUTHORS AND IS NOT AN OFFICIAL STANDPOINT OF POLISH MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

PARTNERS: YES, WE COULD!

25 years of democratic change 15 years in NATO 10 years in EU

How Poland Made It

Bryza Sanford Baldassarri Florek Sepioł Meckel Bendyk Staszewski Targoń Vášáryová

Editor Kinga Redłowska Translations and proofreading by Andrew Nathan Publisher: Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies Solec 85 00-382 Warsaw tel. + 48 22 583 11 00 fax. +48 22 583 11 50 e-mail: [email protected] www.forum-ekonomiczne.pl

Layout: IPRESS STUDIO Marcinkowicka 7a, 33-395 Chełmiec tel. +48 18 444 25 70 e-mail: [email protected] www.ipress.pro

Warsaw 2014

2 Foreword Aleksander Kwaśniewski 4 Preface Kinga Redłowska 6

1. Rise of the Phoenix: Poland from Estranged Victim to European Leader – Matthew Bryza 7

2. Heroic or Materialist? Polish Democratisation since Solidarity – George Sanford 13

3. Polish Economic Transformation after ‘89: a Model for the Region – Mario Baldassarri 18

4. Not Just Sausages. Polish Export Hits – How We Conquer Other Markets – Ryszard Florek 28

5. Giving Power back to the People: How to Build Efficient Self-government out of a Centrally-Controlled System – Janusz Sepioł 32

6. Lessons from the Past: the German-Polish Partnership – Markus Meckel 36

7. Recipe for a Miracle – Edwin Bendyk 40

8. The Polish Rush to Sport – Wojciech Staszewski 44

9. Polish Theatre in Europe – Finding Its Own Way to International Success – Joanna Targoń 48

10.‘A Neighbour to the North’: How I See the Neighbour behind Our Northern Border – Magda Vášáryová 53

3 Foreword by Aleksander Kwaśniewski

This year we bear witness to an extraor di - expec ta tions and the po ten tial be ne fits it na ry an ni ver sa ry: we ce le bra te a de ca de was tho ught the Eu ro -Atlan tic struc tu res of Eu ro pe an Union mem ber ship, fi fte en would bring. We all remem ber the many fe- years in NATO and –above all –twenty -fi - ars that prey ed on Po les back then. Ne ver - ve years of freedom. Aperiod the like of the less, we pro ved our se lves true which our coun try has not seen for along Euro pe ans who seized this histo ric oppor tu - ti me; a pe riod of so ve re ign ty, fre edom and nity with both hands. Today, years after the- ra pid de ve lop ment. And cer ta in ly the se events, we can say that we li ve in asa fe most success ful twenty -fi ve years in the co un try. Par ti cu lar ly when we lo ok at the histo ry of the Repu blic. cur rent si tu ation in the east of Ukra ine, we sho uld ap pre cia te how much mem ber ship Po land’s suc cess is that we ha ve con duc - of NATO has given us. The Euro pe an Union ted this evo lu tio na ry trans for ma tion pe ace - has changed Poland and the Poles. We are ful ly and thro ugh dia lo gue, ena bling us to a Eu ro pe an na tion that do es not shrink back avoid casu al ties along the way. This testi - from challen ges; a coun try more and more fies to the gre at ma tu ri ty of Po lish so cie ty. entre pre neu rial and inno va ti ve. When it came to strate gic objec ti ves (secu - A fur ther gre at suc cess for Po les has be - ri ty, en try in to NA TO and ac ces sion to the en the educa tio nal boom that began in the EU) we suc ce eded in ob ta ining cross -par ty nine ties and conti nu es to this day. At the be- agreement, further proof that when the ginning of the transi tion, there were about most impor tant issu es are at stake, Poles four hundred thousand students in Poland; can unite. This time of anni ver sa ries should to wards the end of my ti me in of fi ce, that fi - fill Po les with pri de at the unpre ce den ted gu re was fi ve ti mes as high! Hi gher edu ca - suc cess we ha ve achie ved whi le at the sa - tion, which ope ned up for all Po les, was me time giving us pause to reflect on what a respon se to the need to educa te Poland’s more we can doso that we can look at our youth and to the high unemploy ment of the achieve ments with our heads held high time. Today, the burning question is: what when the next round of anni ver sa ries comes can be done in Poland to help young and am- around. bi tio us gra du ates find oc cu pa tions wor thy I held the of fi ce of the Pre si dent of the of the ir qu ali fi ca tions? This is one of the ma - Repu blic of Poland during an extraor di na ri - in chal len ges fa cing the cur rent go vern - ly dif fi cult pe riod, but one that was al so ment – to be able to respond to this huge a landmark in the histo ry of our coun try. Du- de mand among the young pe ople who are ring my pre si den cy, I had the ple asu re to ta - our greatest asset. Young Poles have to ke Po land first in to NA TO, and then in to the a great extent solved that problem for Euro pe an Union. That period coin ci ded with them se lves. Pro ving the ir co ura ge, ta king in ten si fied ac ces sion ne go tia tions and ef - advan ta ge of their newfo und Euro pe an mo- forts to align our coun try’s econo mic and bi li ty, they ha ve go ne out and co nqu ered the mi li ta ry stan dards with the re qu ire ments of mar kets of We stern Eu ro pe. Ma ny of them our We stern part ners. Abo ve all, tho ugh, the have beco me young entre pre neurs or scho- pe riod co in ci ded with so cial dia lo gue and lars. They took advan ta ge of their situ ation co nver sa tions with Po les re gar ding the ir to achieve some thing. Many Polish who left

4 the coun try are now coming back home. with Germa ny with growing confi den ce. We And with them they bring Western techno - are beco ming astronger and stronger state logy and a knowled ge of fore ign langu ages. wi thin the Eu ro pe an Union. Our po si tion is Thanks to this, the co un try is de ve loping. strengthe ned by shrewd ini tia ti ves such as In Po land the re is still much to be do ne, the Eastern Part ner ship re ali sed to ge ther but the great leap forward we have achie- with Swe den, and thro ugh asta ble eco no - ved to ge ther over the last ten years is the re my and rapid deve lop ment. We must also for all to see. The Po lish co un try si de is hot remem ber the great Polish poten tial found on the he els of urban de ve lop ment. The bu - in our expe rien ce of con duc ting an Eastern ilding of roads and water mains, the deve - po li cy. The Po lish po int of view, espe cial ly lopment of schools and kinder gar tens, and after re cent events in Ukra ine, is be co ming the construc tion of sports and cultu ral in- more appre cia ted in the West. This is a gre- frastruc tu re, all mean that the gap betwe - at challen ge for Polish diplo ma cy: protec - en the inha bi tants of town and coun try has ting the inte re sts of Eastern Euro pe among been redu ced. Inve st ment in educa tion and our part ners in the West. Our ro le as abrid - equal oppor tu ni ties for young people means ge be twe en the two ed ges of the con ti nent this gap is con stan tly ero ding. Thanks to is mo re pi vo tal than ever. their incre asin gly frequ ent trips to the West, It gives me great satis fac tion that ini tia - Poles are compa ring their standard of living tives are being born in Poland to hold up our to that of Western Euro pe. They see what suc ces ses for our part ners from abro ad to works there and what needs changing here. see. This is very impor tant. We ourse lves Po les are ever mo re de man ding. And go - can see the fruits of our labo urs, but it is so- od for them! This pushes the autho ri ties to me thing we sho uld be pro ud to show others. act. But we must keep in mind that the stan- To day Po land has abet ter and bet ter ima - dard of living of the Germans or the British ge in the West, bu ilt by the hard work and ta - is so me thing to which we aspi re. In the me - lents of Poles. It is worth standing up and anti me, we should be compa ring ourse lves sho wing that we our se lves are pro ud of how with the Czech Repu blic or Hunga ry, with much we have achieved. Becau se what has whom we began the transfor ma tion at asi- hap pe ned on the Vi stu la Ri ver over the last mi lar star ting po int. Du ring my nu me ro us twenty -fi ve years has been an unprece den - recent trips to Ukraine,I have come to ap- ted success, not only in Polish histo ry. Let pre cia te even mo re the sta bi li ty of Po lish others ad mi re us too! poli tics, and how quic kly we are closing the gap on the West, be cau seI know how much work awa its the Ukra inians. In fore ign poli cy, Poland conti nu al ly stri- ves for a happy medium. While coope ra tion at the Euro pe an level is bearing fruit, we are still try ing to find our pla ce in Cen tral Eu ro - pe. In recent years we see closer and closer co ope ra tion with Ger ma ny, our most im por - tant eco no mic and po li ti cal part ner. For ALEKSANDER years wi thin the Po lish eli tes, fe ar and cau - KWAŚNIEWSKI tion charac te ri sed our atti tu de towards our President of Poland we stern ne igh bo ur; to day we co ope ra te 1995-2005

5 Preface

Dear Readers, Sąsiad o półno cy (A Neigh bo ur of the North) to Polish -Slo vak rela tions. Matthew, befo re The se Po lish an ni ver sa ries – 25 years of mo ving to Po land in the ear ly ni ne ties as an demo gra phic transfor ma tion, 15 years in employ ee of the Ameri can Embas sy, spent NA TO and ten wi thin the Eu ro pe an Union an unforget ta ble vaca tion here in 1979 tra- – in c li ne us to re flect on the chan ges that veling around the coun try with his parents. have taken place in Poland in the last qu- Today, visi ting Warsaw, they see huge diffe - ar ter cen tu ry. No one can see the se chan - rences, about which they write in their ar- ges better than those from abroad who ticles conta ined in these pages. saw Poland in the nine ties and see the co- But there are areas about which Poles un try now – a re spon si ble mem ber of the ne ed to sho ut abo ut so that the world will Euro pe an commu ni ty, a regio nal leader asso cia te them inti ma te ly with this coun try with a sta ble eco no my, and a re lia ble po li - on the Vistu la. Which is why we have invi ted ti cal part ner. a gro up of pro mi nent Po lish co lum ni sts to A lo ok from wi tho ut gi ves a go od per - tell you, our readers, about the success of specti ve. There seems no better place to le- Polish program ming or the global pheno - arn about the dyna mics of change in Poland menon of Polish theatre. Nor may we forget and the re gion than the year ly me eting in to show off the chan ges that ha ve ta ken pla - Kryni ca. For24 years, during the Econo mic ce in so cie ty it self – to this end, Woj ciech Fo rum, re pre sen ta ti ves of the world of po - Staszew ski shows you what lies behind the li tics, me dia, bu si ness, lo cal go vern ment, mass rush of Poles to take part in sport and people of cultu re and science have been co- Sena tor Janusz Sepioł tells the story of the ming toge ther to meet in one place. Among begin nings of Polish local govern ments. them, clo sest ne igh bo urs from the Vi se grad I ho pe that, in re ading this pu bli ca tion, Gro up and the Bal tic Sta tes, part ners from tho se of you who se as so cia tions with Po land the Eu ro pe an Union, the Uni ted Sta tes and are on ly va gue will see for your se lves what from bey ond the eastern bor der. They all ta - an in cre di ble jo ur ney it has be en and what an ke part in nume ro us deba tes, meetings and inte re sting and dyna mic coun try it is today. co nver sa tions. The ir ob se rva tions and dia - I wish you an in spi ring re ad! gno ses can be in spi ring, in te re sting and fresh. For this reason, we deci ded to invi te some of them to contri bu te to this publi ca - tion, which we now pre sent to you. Most of the se pe ople ha ve known Po land Dr KINGA REDŁOWSKA for ma ny years – li ke Mag da Vášáry ová and Regional Programme Manager Matthew Bryza. Magda dedi ca ted her book Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies

6 Rise of the Phoenix: Poland from Estranged Victim to European Leader

MATTHEW BRYZA

In the quar ter centu ry since its first semi - whim si cal co lors and me lo dies of Po lish -free elec tions on Ju ne4, 1989, Po land folk cultu re. And, my parents taught me we has emer ged from stra te gic cap ti vi ty in we re so me how con nec ted to giants li ke Co - the East and es tran ge ment from the West perni cus, Chopin, and Curie. to be co me akey mem ber of the Trans - This optimi stic pictu re, howe ver, was co- atlan tic com mu ni ty. Po land’s pre sent unte red by a haunting pessi mism embed ded suc cess as a Eu ro pe an le ader may se em in the Polish psyche and reflec ted in the first natu ral. After all, Poland is one of Euro - line of the Polish natio nal anthem, „Poland pe’s largest coun tries, with a popu la tion has not yet pe ri shed. „Du ring the1970’s, this of near ly 40 million, a strate gic loca tion pessi mism was echoed in the fad of „Polak jo- betwe en Germa ny and Russia, and access kes” in the United States, which ine xpli ca bly to ma jor sea and land trans por ta tion ro - portray ed Poles as inhe ren tly stupid, and led utes. When vie wed up clo se, ho we ver, Po - ma ny Po lish Ame ri cans to fe el mo re vic ti mi - land’s rise seems mira cu lo us. zed than proud of their ethnic heri ta ge. This sense of victi mi za tion deepe ned as I explored The gray re ali ties of Po land du ring Polish histo ry, reading portray als of Poland the 1980’s con tra sted with the ro man ti ci zed as a „phoenix of nations,” which had been wi- vi sionsI had be en fed whi le gro wing up in ped from Euro pe’s by the diplo ma tic treache - a Polish Ameri can fami ly near Chica go. My ry of Russia, Prussia, and Austria -Hun ga ry, ma ter nal grand mo ther daz zled us each but which wo uld one day ri se from the ashes Christ mas Eve with tradi tio nal dishes from of hi sto ry – after fre eing it self from the So - her vil la ge in eastern Po land (pre sent day viet yoke that resul ted from abandon ment by Ukraine), such as piero gi dumplings, stuffed Ro ose velt and Chur chill to Sta lin at the Yal - cab ba ges, and go ose blo od so up. The te - ta Con fe ren ce as World War II was en ding. achers at my Po lish lan gu age scho ol on Sa - My sense that Poland was a victim of cru- tur day mor nings in tro du ced me to the el histo ri cal circum stan ces was vali da ted by

7 fa mi ly va ca tions in 1979 and 1980. Tho ugh dri ver cryp ti cal ly di vul ged, „So me thing is our bus to urs we re ca re ful ly cho re ogra phed abo ut to hap pen at the shi py ard. The re will by the sta te to urist agen cy, Or bis, it was im - be a stri ke.” Then, two days la ter, as my fa - pos si ble to hi de ubi qu ito us eco no mic dys - ther and I were riding acity bus in Warsaw, funtio na li ty and depri va tion. Outsi de a few the dri ver sped past our stop and re tur ned blocks of the magni fi cen tly recon struc ted to the muni ci pal gara ge, procla iming, „The Old Towns of Warsaw, Gdansk, and Poznan, stri ke has be gun!” That eve ning, the re was all other buil dings were color less and crum- no cove ra ge on Polish TV of the strike at bling. Middle -aged people had despe ra tion Gdansk’s Lenin Shipy ard, which had spread in their eyes as they whispe red offers of thro ugho ut the co un try. When we ar ri ved black mar ket exchan ges for our pre cio us back in Chi ca go the fol lo wing eve ning, ho - dol lars, sug ge sting Po land’s com mand eco - wever, we lear ned we had experien ced ami- nomy was rotting at its core. Our tour gu- cro co smic mo ment in a tec to nic po li ti cal ides” expla na tion that din ners fe atu red on ly shift that wo uld chan ge world hi sto ry. eggs and cau li flo wer be cau se Po land’s me - During the next few years, we Polish at had be en di ver ted to the Mo scow Sum mer Ame ri cans swel led with pri de as hun dreds Olym pics be tray ed the en fe eble ment of Pe - of tho usands of So li da ri ty ac ti vi sts pe ace - ople’s Po land and its over lord to the east. fully confron ted the Soviet Empi re with an Even as a 16-year old ob se rver, I co uld exi sten tial po li ti cal thre at. Mar tial law mar - sense some thing had to change. On asleepy ked a brutal setback in Decem ber1981; but, afterno on in Gdansk in August 1980, a taxi we felt an un der ly ing con fi den ce that as

8 long as there was a Polish Pope in the Vati - Commu nist -era secret poli ce. Tensions co- can – with Arch bi shop of Kra kow Ka rol Woj - oled when the So li da ri ty Mo ve ment to ok tyla beco ming Pope John Paul II in 1977 -- full control of the govern ment in Septem - the Polish Phoenix would conti nue to rise. ber 1989, with reve red Catho lic thinker and In the mid-1980’s Mikha il Gorba chev’s poli - jour na list, Tade usz Mazo wiec ki, beco ming cies of pe re stro ika and glast nost bre athed prime mini ster. But, plenty of poli ti cal fire - fresh air into Polish dreamers on both sides works we re still to co me. of the Atlantic. As I fini shed gradu ate scho- Sta lin fa mo usly re mar ked that es ta bli - ol in the spring of 1988, I my go al was to jo - shing Com mu nism in Po land was li ke try ing in the United States Fore ign Servi ce and be to sad dle acow. In de ed, com pa red with the - posted to Poland to experien ce first-hand ir less fortu na te Soviet coun ter parts, Poles the hi sto ric trans for ma tions on the ho ri zon. had enjoy ed consi de ra ble econo mic liber ty, Ar ri ving at the U. S. Con su la te in Po znan espe cial ly du ring the1970’s, when Po land’s in July 1989 for my ini tial diplo ma tic assi gn - leader, Edward Gierek, tried to buy social pe- ment, I sensed that Poland’s return to Euro - ace with consu mer goods – and a moun ta in pe mi ght still be a ways off. My first day of of debt. The Gierek era’s profli ga cy and the work co in ci ded with the first day of ca pi ta - com mand eco no my’s de ep in ef fi cien cies lism in the new Po land, with fo odpri ces confron ted Mazo wiec ki’s new govern ment (except for bread and milk) sudden ly deter - with a stark cho ice: either mo ve cau tio usly mined by supply and demand rather than on econo mic reform while conso li da ting po- bu re au crats in War saw. Stran ge eco no mic li ti cal strength or di ve he adlong in to eco no - pat terns im me dia te ly emer ged. For mon - mic shock the ra py and risk short -term ths, beer disap pe ared from shops and bars, hard ship and ra ge from mil lions of voters. even from the pub at Po znan’s lo cal Lech Ma zo wiec ki co ura ge ously se ized the hi sto - brewe ry, and was relia bly availa ble only at ric oppor tu ni ty Poland had awaited for three hard cur ren cy sto res known as PE WEX, an centu ries to deve lop a „normal” econo my acronym for an Orwel lian phrase transla ted con nec ted to the West. Mi ni ster of Fi nan ce as „En ter pri se of In ter nal Exports” (Przed - Leszek Balce ro wicz’s ground bre aking re- sie bior stwo We wnetrz nych Exspor tow). Me - forms won deep admi ra tion from econo mi sts an whi le, exo tic pro ducts sud den ly ap pe ared at the World Bank and In ter na tio nal Mo ne ta - in fo odshops, li ke an gel ha ir spi nach pa sta, ry Fund, along with strong fi nan cial sup port. a hu ma ni ta rian gift from the Go vern ment of The reforms also turned Balce ro wicz into Ita ly that was im me dia te ly com mo di ti zed Enemy Number One for millions of Poles who by Poland’s raw capi ta li sts. lost their jobs and savings in the wake of go- Li ke its eco no mics, Po land’s po li tics al so vern ment spen ding cuts, re struc tu ring of en - mo ved ahe ad in fits and starts du ring the la - ti re eco no mic sec tors, and li fting of pri ce te summer of1989. A hybrid govern ment of con trols. One of Bal ce ro wicz’s top aides at Com mu nist po li ti cians and the ir So li da ri ty the time told me with the cold sorrow of afa- oppo nents emerged from an histo ric June 4 ther disci pli ning achild, „This is going to hurt. elec tion, and fa ced con ti nu ing pro te sts But, it’s the pri ce we ha ve to pay.” from im pa tient youn ger Po les de man ding And, hurt, it cer ta in ly did. Mil lions of Po - quic ker change. Ifound myself in the middle les bla med Bal ce ro wicz for vic ti mi zing of se ve ral stre et bat tles, we dged be twe en them, perhaps as part of an ill-de fi ned co- po li ce wa ter can nons and rock -thro wing smo po li tan con spi ra cy. Ma ny co uld not youths who de man ded eli mi na tion of the compre hend where pain ful fiscal disci pli ne

9 was sup po sed to le ad the co un try. Du ring lish Ameri can strate gist, Zbigniew Brzezin - the sum mer of1990, for exam ple, ade pu ty ski, could have won the election had chosen go ver nor in so uthe astern Po land told me of to run. Inste ad, another poli ti cal genius, So- his frustra tions in trying to convin ce his con- li da ri ty le ader Lech Wa le sa, ran away with sti tu ents to ac cept the co un try’s new eco - the elec tion in De cem ber. no mic phi lo so phy: „Last we ek, a far mer A few months earlier, Wale sa had made ca me to me to call for the ar rest of his ne - a re mar ka ble re qu est whi le me eting then -U. ighbor for commit ting an econo mic crime: S. De fen se Se cre ta ry Ri chard Che ney at So - buy ing fo od for the lo west po ssi ble pri ce li da ri ty’s he adqu ar ters in Gdansk: mi ght Po - and selling it for the highest possi ble price.” land purcha se U.S. F-16 figh ter jets to repla ce The am bi tions of to urist vi sa ap pli - its existing arse nal of Soviet aircraft? Taken cants I in te rvie wed each day at the U.S. Con - aback, Che ney chuc kled that this mi ght be su la te in Po znan un der sco red the ble ak ness a worthy long-term goal, after Poland left of the econo my.I was eager to issue as ma- the War saw Pact. Hud dling to ge ther on the ny visas as possi ble to help the U. S. win new way back to Gdansk Air port, mem bers of the friends, espe cial ly from my eth nic ho me - Cheney dele ga tion, (inc lu ding futu re U. S. land. Still, econo mic reali ties made genu ine Am bas sa dor to Po land Dan Fried and fu tu re to urism im pos si ble for ne ar ly all Po - Under Secre ta ry of Defen se Eric Edelman, les. I simply could not convin ce myself that both of whom would later play key roles in the sco res of pe ople who ap pro ached me Poland’s acces sion to NATO), ini tial ly qu- each day cla iming they wi shed to spend estioned Wale sa’s serio usness. But, as we a year’s sa la ry to see Nia ga ra Falls and the con ti nu ed tal king, we be gan to think that Sta tue of Li ber ty we re tel ling the perhaps Poland’s exit from the Warsaw Pact truth. I knew from expe rien ce that the se pe - mi ght not be so far off. ople plan ned to work in re stau rants or re - In fol lo wing mon ths, Po land’s de par tu re model the base ments of their Polish from the War saw Pact ac ce le ra ted. The So - immi grant rela ti ves. I deeply sympa thi zed li da ri ty ac ti vi sts who to ok over Po land’s po - with them, kno wing they so ught the sa me li ce and in tel li gen ce se rvi ces re ached out in eco no mic op por tu ni ties my grand pa rents se arch of de ep part ner ship with the U.S. to had se cu red, and thanks to whichI had be - re orient the ir work to ward the West and come a U.S. diplo mat. But, U.S. immi gra tion away from Moscow. Top comman ders of Po- law dicta ted that anyone who planned to land’s Border Guards told me how they we- work whi le vi si ting the Uni ted Sta tes was in - re awed by the preci sion -gu ided muni tions eli gi ble for a tourist visa, even if tempo ra ry they watched on CNN during the Gulf War stays of such eager workers would econo - and dre amed of acqu iring them to re pla ce mical ly bene fit both the United States and their infe rior Warsaw Pact arse nal. Follo - Poland. wing the 13th (and fi nal) to ast at a lunch on In contrast with this dark econo mic pic- the Po lish -So viet bor der, one of the com - tu re, Po lish po li tics we re bri gh te ning. Ha - man ders whi spe red to me, „You know, we ving moved to the Poli ti cal Section of the might not be in the Warsaw Pact much lon - U.S. Em bas sy in War saw in Au - ger.” In de ed, on Fe bru ary 25, 1991, the War - gust 1990, I felt poli ti cal electri ci ty as Poles saw Pact’s mi li ta ry struc tu re dis ban ded, and pre pa red to elect the ir first in de pen dent on Ju ly 1 the War saw Tre aty on which it was presi dent since World War II. The United ba sed ce ased to exist. Po land’s vic tim ho - Sta tes was so po pu lar that the bril liant Po - od now seemed to be fading into anew hope

10 it might beco me the master of its own stra - its hi sto ri cal vic ti mi za tion on ce and for all, te gic de sti ny for the first ti me in300 years. and was fully ancho red in the West as By early 1991, the first shoots of econo - a member of the most success ful secu ri ty mic freedom were also sprouting. In spring allian ce in histo ry. Strate gic stabi li ty helped of 1991, my mother andI visi ted her mo- ac ce le ra te eco no mic growth (de spi te a slow - ther’s tiny villa ge, Mysla tycz ne, in the coun - down in 2001-2002), as did Poland’s histo ric trysi de of present day Ukraine near Lviv. acces sion to the Euro pe an Union in 2004. Dodging ahorse cart on a grassy path as we By 2007, eco no mic growth re ached6.8 per - pul led in to the vil la ge, we saw three young cent, the highest in Euro pe, and the Polish men digging pota to es with their bare hands eco no my had tri pled in si ze sin ce the launch on the appro xi ma te spot where my grand- of the Bal ce ro wicz Plan in1989. mother said her house had stood, oppo si te At this po int, Po land had emer ged as the vil la ge’s Ro man Ca tho lic church. Had a top-tier Ally of the United States. Polish my grand pa rents not ri sked eve ry thing to troops formed two of the largest mili ta ry flee to Chi ca go after World War I, I co uld ha - con tin gents fi gh ting in Afgha ni stan and ve been working in that same pota to patch Iraq. Partners from the Polish Govern ment with earth-co ve red hands rather than repre - helped us at the White House and State De- sen ting the most po wer ful co un try on earth. partment think through how to coun ter A co uple days la ter, one of the se men con fi - Rus sia’s mo no po ly po wer over Eu ro pe’s gas ded that he dre amt of cre ating abet ter eco - markets. And, when Russia inva ded Geor gia no mic fu tu re. But, in ste ad of re qu esting in August 2008, it was Polish Presi dent Lech a vi sa for the Uni ted Sta tes, asI expec ted, Kaczyn ski who flew his Baltic and Ukrainian he sa id he dre amed of mo ving to Poland. coun ter parts into Tbili si on his offi cial air- Poland never the less still faced signi fi cant craft to sup port Geo r gia and de ter fur ther eco no mic hard ship. The Bal ce ro wicz Plan’s Russian aggres sion. deep structu ral reforms and budget cuts pro- Today, Poland has reemer ged as amajor duced short-term disrup tions that caused Euro pe an power. Gone are the days when the the eco no my to shrink by 7 per cent in1991. co un try was buf fe ted by the whims of po li ti - Econo mic shock thera py was never the less cians in Pa ris and Ber lin. In ste ad, Po land begin ning to work. Mass priva ti za tion of sta- helps de ter mi ne Eu ro pe’s di rec tion, as in Fe - te as sets ge ne ra ted en tre pre neu rial op por - bru ary 2014, when Fo re ign Mi ni ster Si kor ski tuni ties that had not existed in Poland for50 joined his French and German coun ter parts years. As re forms to ok hold, eco no mic to nego tia te a break th ro ugh agreement in growth retur ned, reaching one year later, Ukraine’s poli ti cal crisis. Poland forms the and 5.2 per cent in1993 (ac cor ding to Po lish fo un da tion for NA TO’s pre pa ra tions to pro - Go vern ment sta ti stics). I sen sed we alth must tect the Al lian ce’s Bal tic mem bers. And, the ha ve be en tric kling down whenI he ard amo - Bal tic sta tes lo ok to Po land as the ir key con - ther and her young son speaking Polish as nec tion to Eu ro pe’s elec tri ci ty and na tu ral they brow sed li ke ty pi cal We stern to uri sts at gas ne tworks, which, on ce es ta bli shed, will Har rod’s in Frank furt Air port. end the Baltic states” full depen den ce on As the 1990’s pro gres sed, Po land’s po li ti - Rus sian sup plies and al low Eu ro pe fi nal ly to cal and mili ta ry leaders no longer mere ly be co me tru ly who le and free. dreamt of acquiring U. S. weapons; they pre- Du ring my vi sits to Po land the se pared to join NATO. When Poland achieved days, I gawk at the forest of gleaming sky- NATO member ship in1999, it had left behind scrapers that surro und the Pala ce of Cultu -

11 re, Sta lin’s42-sto rey „gift” in ten ded to re - ther’s peasant fare, which were absent from mind Poles that Moscow was suppo sed to menus25 years ago, when Polish restau ran - call the shots in War saw. I ma rvel that the teurs struggled for accep tan ce as main stre - free mar ket now calls the shots at the War - am Euro pe ans. saw Stock Exchan ge, Cen tral Eu ro pe’s lar - In sum, just a qu ar ter -cen tu ry after its gest, and which may soon merge with the first se mi -de mo cra tic elec tion, Po land is no Viennabo ur se to exceed the size of Istan- longer avictim. The Polish phoenix has ri- bul’s stock market. AndI am deli gh ted that sen from hi sto ry’s ashes, and is so aring at Poland’s finest restau rants now proudly se- the he ad of Eu ro pe in full part ner ship with rve gour met rendi tions of my grandmo - its stron gest We stern Al lies.

MATTHEW BRYZA Director of International Centre for Defence Studies in Tallinn. A US diplomat for 23 years, he served in Poland, Russia, and in Washington at the State Department and White House, finishing his career as Ambassador to Azerbaijan. He resides in Istanbul, where he also works as a strategic business consultant and member of several corporate boards in the fields of energy, petrochemicals, agribusiness, and oil spill cleanup.

12 Heroic or Materialist? Polish Democratisation since Solidarity

GEORGE SANFORD

”Unstable” Histo ri cal Tradi tions: Piast westward and Jagiel lo nian eastward what ma de the Po les tick? orien ta tions sin ce the tenth cen tu ry and the later deba te crystal li sed by the Warsaw There is awell esta bli shed view, blared and Krakow histo ri cal schools on the con- out in studies carry ing titles such as God’s stitu tio nal and social defects of the Com- Play gro und (Nor man Da vies) that Po land monwe alth of Poland and Lithu ania which has had an exceptio nal histo ry of suffe ring occa sio ned its parti tion. cau sed by an unfa vo ura ble geo gra phi cal Adam Brom ke’s Ide alist (He ro ic/Ro man - posi tion, aggres si ve neigh bo urs and inter - tic) v Realist (Posi ti vist) dicho to my has be- nal di vi sions. The Po lish self -per cep tion, en the most in flu en tial in ter pre ta tion of until re cen tly, has al so be en that the ir ‘He - the abo ve no ted events sin ce Ko sciusz ko’s ro ic” re spon ses and in do mi ta ble will po wer, Upri sing in 1794. Re alist at ti tu des cau sed reflec ted in the likes of The Polish Volca no by the Se cond World War expe rien ce and (Flora Lewis) and The Eagle Unbowed (Ha- Yal ta do mi na ted the first po stwar ge ne ra - lik Kochan ski), were the central factors en- tion of Po les sha ping so cie ty’s pe ace ful su ring na tio nal su rvi val. Unsur pri sin gly, com pro mi se with the Po lish Pe ople’s Re pu - the re has be en a bit ter do me stic de ba te blic (PRL) in October1956. This gained pri- since the final Parti tions in the1790s abo- vate peasant ownership, co-exi sten ce with ut the causes of the Polish predi ca ment the Roman Catho lic Church, intel li gent sia and the re spon ses re qu ired to en su re su rvi - auto no my and autho ri ta rian, not tota li ta - val and to rega in inde pen den ce. Clear ly di- rian, ru le by the com mu nist par ty (PZPR). scerni ble tradi tions emerged. These have The se cond po stwar ge ne ra tion, af fec ted been used to explain key events; nota bly by the PRL’s so cial di vi sions and eco no mic the 1831 and 1863 In sur rec tions, ri val Pil - de fi cien cies, ho we ver, mo ved away from sud ski and Dmow ski pro gram me’s be fo re Realist accep tan ce of the Moscow impo sed and during the First World War, the strug- status quo in the1970 and 1980 workers” gle to pre se rve in de pen den ce in ter war, stri kes. But did the post -So li da ri ty co ur se Septem ber1939 and the 1944 Warsaw Upri- of events in di ca te are turn to the ol der Ide- sing. Ol der the mes we re the clash be twe en alist tra di tion of in sur rec tion or was it pro -

13 vo ked by eco no mic and ma te ria list fac - So viet Bre zh ne vi te ve to of struc tu ral re - tors? I ha ve ar gu ed (Co nqu est of Hi sto ry) forms then provo ked the emergen ce of that wha te ver the ba lan ce be twe en the se a dis si dent mo ve ment, no ta bly KOR (Wor - factors Poland’s deve lop ment since 1980, ker’s Defen se Commit tee), ally ing workers mar ked by the Ne go tia ted Trans i tion to De - and intel li gent sia. mocra cy in1989, NATO entry in 1998 and When the com mu nist re gi me was for ced EU member ship in2004, has been charac - by finan cial reali ties to intro du ce econo mic te ri sed by a de spe ra te qu est for the ‘Nor - auste ri ty measu res in Summer 1980 the re- ma li ty” of De mo cra tic Po li tics and sulting workers” revolt led by the Gdansk Inter na tio nal Secu ri ty. Equal ly signi fi cant, and Szczecin shipy ards spread nation wi de. has be en the re ma king of po li ti cal cul tu re But it was their sit-in strikes in August, ga- and the ge ne ral shift from ‘clo sed” to ining worldwi de media atten tion, which for- ‘open” men ta li ties, de spi te re si du al con spi - ced the re gi me in to dra ma tic ne go tia tions racy type reac tions to the Smolensk trage - which con ce ded Free Tra de Unions. The dy. This is borne out by the balan ced and over whel ming bulk of wor kers then jo ined digni fied reac tion to Jan Gross’s publi ci sa - the So li da ri ty mo ve ment led by Lech Wa le - tion of the 1941 Jedwab ne killings, the long- sa. So li da ri ty it self was, ho we ver, a most -de lay ed re ve la tion of the de ta iled truth ambi gu ous force. Poli ti cal ly, it started out about the whole of the1940 Katyn Massa - as a wor kers” pro test aga inst pri ce in cre - cre and the reca sting of Polish -Je wish re- ases and cuts in li ving stan dards and then, la tions in c lu ding the over co ming of the went on to de mand wor kers” con trol of Au schwitz cros ses and co nvent di spu tes. work pla ces. It was al so un c le ar whe ther it There has also been growing compa ra ti ve stood for Socia list Rene wal or the system’s aware ness of neigh bo urs” mutu al histo ri cal over th row and its re pla ce ment by de mo cra - grie van ces and suf fe ring. Fi nal ly, one mi ght cy and mar ket ca pi ta lism. Whi le So li da ri ty no te, gi ven this Re port’s ti tle, that Pre si - ‘Self -Li mi ted” it self and me dia ted lo cal out - dent Oba ma’s elec to ral ly suc cess ful and bur sts and na tio nal cri ses du ring the pe riod optimi stic slogan ‘Yes we Can” altho ugh in- of Du al Po wer of1980-81 with the help of spi ra tio nal in do me stic po li tics has be en the Roman Catho lic church, backed by the ba lan ced by Sto ical Re ali stic ada ption in fo - Po lish Po pe John Paul II, the key fac tor re - re ign po li cy to gro wing li mi ta tions on Ame - mained that Moscow preven ted real party rica’s post-com mu nist hege mo ny. re for mi sts from ga ining con trol of the PZPR. After Gene ral Wojciech Jaru zel ski be- Soli da ri ty: Search for Freedom came both Prime Mini ster and party boss or Kielba sa (sausa ge) the com mu ni sts used eco no mic shor ta ges to we ar so cie ty down. When So li da ri ty re fu - Com mu nist le ader Edward Gie rek bo ught sed a li mi ted of fer of in cor po ra tion wi thin im pro ved stan dards of li ving du ring the commu nist system in exchange for the the 1970s by assu ming dange ro usly high le- ac cep tan ce of par ty he ge mo ny Mar tial Law vels of We stern lo ans. At temp ted eco no mic was decla red in Decem ber 1981. Socie ty was restruc tu ring, inc lu ding incre ased food pri- cowed by the Army’s take over of the poli ce, ces, in 1976 pro vo ked wor kers” pro te sts, ad mi ni stra tion and eco no my and mass in - sup pres sed lo cal ly in pla ces li ke Ra dom. ternment of Soli da ri ty’s leaders and acti vi - A na tio nal out burst was on ly pre ven ted by sts. Strikes and prote sts were suppres sed a com ple te Go vern ment climb down. The with re la ti ve ly li mi ted loss of li fe. Most si -

14 PZPR pro du ced a re for mist le ader ship ge - nuine ly commit ted to nego tia ting Soli da ri - ty’s re -le ga li sa tion in an An ti -Cri sis Pact. The aim was a plura list form of autho ri ta - rianism which would gain natio nal support for the auste ri ty requ ired to intro du ce suc- cess ful eco no mic re form. The cour se of events during1989 which sty mied this com mu nist re form stra te gy and which led to com mu nism’s pe ace ful ab - dica tion and a funda men tal syste mic break set ting Po land ir re vo ca bly on a co ur se to - wards de mo cra tic ca pi ta lism are well known and do not deta iled rehe ar sing here. What is cru cial is that the Po lish eli tes re - no un ced the He ro ic In sur rec tio nist in he ri - tan ce lur king in the ir con scio usness and nego tia ted a genu ine and accep ta ble com- promi se at the Round Table. This allo wed the na tio nal will to be de mon stra ted in par - tial ly free elec tions which by Au gust pro du - gni fi can tly, a So viet in va sion was avo ided ced the first non -com mu nist do mi na ted but, whe ther it was li ke ly, except as a thre - go vern ment sin ce 1945. Ta de usz Ma zo wiec - at, rema ins a high ly charged poli ti cal issue. ki’s gra du alist di sman tling of com mu nist in - Commu nism survi ved but the price paid sti tu tions cul mi na ted in Wa le sa’s elec tion by the regi me was the resur gen ce of ano- as Presi dent in Decem ber1990, the fully ther entren ched Polish charac te ri stic Sta- free par lia men ta ry elec tions of Octo - te-So cie ty conflict as during the Parti tions, ber 1991 and the ensh ri ne ment of full demo - Na zi Oc cu pa tion and Sta li nist ru le cracy in the ‘Little Consti tu tion” of 1992. until 1956. The Ja ru zel ski re gi me pro ved The exclu sion of conse rva ti ve and natio - unable to revi ta li se the PZPR after the Sta- nalist forces from this deal and their poli ti - te of War en ded in1983. In tra -sys te mic re - cal failu re in Jan Olszew ski’s govern ment forms desi gned to create aform of in 1992 na tu ral ly cau sed bit ter re cri mi na - consul ta ti ve autho ri ta ria nism failed to win tion and de nun cia tion of the eli tist Mag da - over socie ty while the econo my stagna ted. lenka ‘betray al”. These forces only came to Above all Soli da ri ty and a coun ter -so cie ty po wer in2004 with the Lech and Ja ro slaw su rvi ved as un der gro und for ces sup por ted Kaczyn ski twins and the Law and Justi ce by the West. The 1980s was, thus, a pe riod Par ty (PiS) on a slo gan of com ple ting the re - of stale ma te and stagna tion. volu tio na ry transi tion by repla cing the tar- Gor ba chev’s emer gen ce in 1985 slow ly ni shed Third Re pu blic with aful ly pur ged allo wed this logjam to be broken. Indu - Fourth. Poland’s poli ti cal life until then was strial unrest and stri kes in Sum mer188 domi na ted by the libe ral conse rva ti ve, post- had two crucial conse qu en ces. A Second -So li da ri ty (1990-1993) and trans for med So li da ri ty re -emer ged most no ta bly in Wa - post com mu nist Left/SLD for ces (1993-1997 lesa’s Civic Commit tee in Decem ber. The and 2001-2004). Their syste mic concen sus

15 pro du ced the co un try’s gre atest achie ve - Inter na tio nal Secu ri ty at last? ments through avery English type process of eli te -led trans for ma tion thro ugh gra du - After 1989 Poland ‘Retur ned to Euro pe”, alist compro mi ses. re ga ining the na tio nal so ve re ign ty de nied De mo cra cy was con so li da ted de spi te bit - by the Warsaw Pact and Soviet commu nist ter and colo ur ful poli ti cal party conflict and control. NATO member ship, the moder ni sa - a wor ka ble con sti tu tion was ne go tia ted tion of her Ar med For ces and in te gra tion wi - by 1997. Market Capi ta lism and inte gra tion thin the Western Allian ce may have cost in the world and Eu ro pe an eco no mies we re con tro ver sial in vo lve ment in the Afgha ni - de ve lo ped de spi te pa tho lo gies in the form stan con flict as well as di sap po int ment over of major corrup tion scandals which shook a propo sed Ameri can missi le defen se sys- the sys tem espe cial ly in Le szek Mil ler’s go - tem. But the ga in was a cre di ble gu aran tee vern ment (2001-2004 cf. the Ry win Af fa ir). aga inst any po ten tial Rus sian thre at, re -ite - The system survi ved the perso nal vaga ries rated during Obama’s June 2014 Warsaw vi- of Wale sa’s (1990-1995) and Lech Kaczyn - sit, and a le vel of in ter na tio nal se cu ri ty ski’s er ra tic pre si den cies (2005-2010) as undre amt of since the seven te enth centu - well as the natio nal trauma of the latter’s ry. Working towards EU member ship de ath, along with that of95 others, mo stly by 2004 com ple ted Po land’s fun da men tal promi nent members of the elite, in the shift away from Eu ro -Asia to wards full in te - crash of the pre si den tial TU -154 at Smo - gra tion in Eu ro -Atlan tic struc tu res. Pa ra do - lensk airfield. It was strengthe ned by the xi cal ly, this has al so trans cen ded the strong and ba lan ced pre si den cies of Alek - erstwhi le German threat and Berlin has be- san der Kwa sniew ski (1995-2005) and Bro ni - come a suppor ti ve ally. Poland gained mas- slaw Komo row ski (2010-). Its dura bi li ty was si ve EU sub si dies de si gned to mo der ni se her de mon stra ted by the pe riods of ‘Co ha bi ta - agricul tu re and infra struc tu re and to com- tion” when a Presi dent faced hosti le parlia - ple te the bu il ding of an open de mo cra tic men ta ry ma jo ri ties (1993-1995, 1997-2001 market system. The costs in terms of the and 2007-2010). Po li ti cal par ties trans for - decay of small towns and the coun try si de, med and re ne wed them se lves suc cess ful ly, mas si ve emi gra tion of ma ny mil lions to especial ly on the Right and Centre. Soli da - work in more advan ced econo mies, moder - ri ty Elec to ral Ac tion (AWS) and the Fre edom nist challen ges to a Natio nal Catho lic iden- Union (UW) un der pin ned Je rzy Bu zek’s Cen - ti ty and the loss of out stan ding spor ting tre -Ri ght re for mist go vern ment (1997-2001). perso na li ties such as Radwan ska and Klose This has been repla ced by the current hege - are ma jor. The ove rall sys te mic ba lan ce mony of two Centre -Ri ght parties, the alre - sheet has undo ub te dly been a posi ti ve one ady mentio ned PiS and the more libe ral altho ugh many Poles rema in febri le and di- Ci vic Plat form (PO) sup por ting Do nald sconten ted with their perso nal situ ations. Tusk’s govern ment since Novem ber 2007. Poland’s success ful co-ho sting of the Eu- The con stants ha ve be en the Po lish Pe asant ro 2012 Fo ot ball Cham pion ship al tho ugh not Party (PSL) and the Union of the Demo cra - the per for man ce of the na tio nal te am, the tic Left (SLD) which cur ren tly fa ces ma jor unprece den ted re-elec tion of the Tusk go- pro blems of ge ne ra tio nal and iden ti ty re ne - vern ment for ase cond term in2011 and Po - wal as a via ble so cial de mo cra tic for ce. It is land’s effec ti ve Presi den cy of the EU at the also challen ged by the secu lar popu lism of he ight of the fi nan cial cri sis are strong in di - Janusz Pali kot’s Move ment (RP). ca tions that Po land has en tren ched ‘Nor -

16 ma li ty”. It is well on the way to wards over - still has far to go befo re it achieves west Eu- co ming hi sto ri cal pe ri phe ra li ty and bac - rope an socio -eco no mic levels. Mere per ca- kward ness and play ing its full ro le as pita inco me of about half the West a medium sized power, compa ra ble to Spa- Euro pe an avera ge and high unemploy ment in, in Euro pe an and world affa irs. But the le vels ha ve on ly be en par tial ly al le via ted by com pa ra ti ve world in di ces ran king its de - the safe ty valves of massi ve labo ur emigra - mocra cy45th out of 167 and rating Po- tion and the black econo my. Dange ro us land 41st out of 176 in terms of corrup tion urban -ru ral di vi sions and be twe en the ge ne - percep tions show that the transfor ma tion, rally prospe ro us west and the stagnant east al tho ugh ir re ver si ble, is still so me what in - of Poland and frustra ted expecta tions still com ple te and une ven. Po land we athe red persist but natio nal outbur sts of the pre- the post 2008 econo mic crisis well but it -1990 type are incre asin gly unlike ly.

GEORGE SANFORD Former professor of politics at the University of Bristol, England. His teaching interests lie within the field of European politics. His unit on Postcommunist Eastern Europe examines the nature of its systemic transformation away from communism, and also considers the domestic as well as external problems facing the region, East-Central Europe in particular.

17 This short essay on the economic performances of Poland over the last decades is dedicated to a friend of mine with whom I shared childhood and teen years in the playground and playroom (but principally also our Holy First Communion and Confirmation in the Parish Church of Sacred Heart) in Macerata, Italy, where we were both born. He was Italian and Polish, since his mother was Italian and the father was Polish. He came to Italy with the Polish army during the Second World War and then... he never left Italy. For fifty years they have been the only Polish people I knew. Fifty years later, when I visited Poland for the first time in my life I understood why they were so deeply Catholic, so nice and polite, full of culture and knowledge. Even if they were not a very wealthy family. I also understood that faith, believes and culture are the deep pillars of people and of the Nation, even when national geographic borders are outraged by History because any kind of outrage cannot destroy and wipe up the internal borders of people and the History of a Nation.

MARIO BALDASSARRI

18 Polish Economic Transformation after ‘89: a Model for the Region

MARIO BALDASSARRI

Premise on Data(1980-2022) and in stan ce the fact that pu blic spen ding and a First Synthesis tax re ve nue are „stran ge ly” di spro por tio na te to GDP in the ear ly ni ne ties, co nver ging with This paper aims to analy ze long-run econo - „western” standards only around 1994/95. mic da ta, in terms of both the „re al” eco no my The same goes for infla tion. In planned eco- and the „finan cial and public finan ce” condi - nomies, infla tion is by defi ni tion almost non- tions rela ting to the Polish econo my in recent -existent, imba lan ces betwe en demand and de ca des –from 1980 to 2013. To this mix, we supply being expressed not through price ha ve al so „ad ded” the fo re ca sts ava ila ble to - fluctu ations but by the length of queu es out- day from Oxford Eco no mics up to2022. side shops or the quan ti ty of unsold stock sit- In the 1980s, the first de ca de of the pe - ting on shelves. There fo re, these stati stics riod, Poland had aplanned econo my run by sho uld be un der sto odin the con text to the a „one -par ty Pe ople's de mo cra cy”. The co - most impor tant moments of „histo ric” di- untry was firmly within the econo mic and sconti nu ity that were deter mi ned in Polish po li ti cal or bit of the So viet Union that had socie ty and econo my. be en de ter mi ned in Yal ta after the Se cond For this reason we have repor ted the da- World War. ta series refer ring to the two most signi fi - After the fall of the Berlin Wall a complex cant moments:9 Novem ber1989 (the fall of transi tion began to a market econo my and the Berlin Wall) and Janu ary 1st, 2004 (Po- towards a system of Western -sty le plura list land's acces sion to the Euro pe an Union). As demo cra cy. will be see below in more deta il, begin ning The acco un ting and stati sti cal metho do - in the early ‘90s (1990 to 1994) Poland un- logies applied by central ly -plan ned econo - der went ten years of ma jor trans i tion and mies diffe red radi cal ly from those used in the appe ars to have prepa red well for Euro pe an market econo mies. Unsurpri sin gly, there fo - Union acces sion. Over the last ten years, re, until the transi tion years of the early ‘90s, from 2004 to 2014, the da ta show how well the availa ble stati stics show high degre es of Po land has so far se ized the op por tu ni ties inde fi na bi li ty, uncer ta in ty and incon si sten cy its new place in Euro pe has presen ted. The be twe en the two eco no mic sys tems. Ta ke for da ta al so show the ne ed for afur ther long

19 Figures 1

transi tion phase if Poland is one day to join -up” process of the previo us two deca des) the eu ro zo ne. Even gi ven the se ca ve ats in Po land is expec ted to su sta in an nu al the analy sis and tempo ral compa ri sons of growth of abo ut3.5 per cent (see Fi gure1). long-term data, Poland’s appa rent success In mo re ana ly ti cal terms the eigh ties we - story looks like it may be a model for the re a deca de of stagna tion for Poland, GDP who le of the Cen tral and Eastern Eu rope. contrac ting by 0.3 per cent per annum thro- ughout that period, and hove ring around600 Growth and In fla tion bil lion zlo tys in re al terms at1995 pri ces. But betwe en1990 and 2003, prior to EU In the la te se ven ties and ear ly eigh ties, acces sion, Poland boomed, seeing a 55 per Poland under went a seve re crisis, experien - cent re al GDP in cre ase, ave ra ging 4.2 per cing seve ral years of nega ti ve growth. Only cent a year. This bo om car ried on after Po - after 1982 was the re are turn to po si ti ve land had jo ined the EU, with an nu al growth growth, amo un ting to an ave ra ge of aro - acce le ra ting further, to 4.8 per cent. Even und 3 per cent per annum until the Berlin though, as noted above, the projec tions Wall fell (see Ta ble1). to 2022 in di ca te aslow down to3.5 per cent, The transi tion to a market econo my was it is well known that the real value of eco- then marked by a sharp drop in GDP – by nomic fore ca sts is not just in helping „gu- abo ut20 per cent be twe en1989 and 1990. ess” a path, but in helping us under stand the From 1991 onwards, howe ver, the Polish challen ges and oppor tu ni ties a coun try fa- eco no my has rid den on awa ve of growth, ces – in Poland’s case, the challen ges and only strengthe ned after EU acces sion, De- oppor tu ni ties of econo mic poli cy and Euro - spite a minor slowdown fore cast from 2014 pean and inter na tio nal context. to 2022 (per haps, are sult of the „cat ching - Poland’s recent growth looks even more

20 ro bust when com pa red with the Eu ro pe an the la bor mar ket (see Ta ble2), star ting with Union and Euro zo ne avera ges. Despi te the Eu- the po pu la tion. Po land’s po pu la tion has rope an and worldwi de crisis in 2009, betwe - fluc tu ated sin ce 1980 go ing from aro - en 2002 and 2013 Poland’s growth was much und 35.6 million that year to over38.6 mil- higher than the Euro pe an avera ge –and is fo- lion in 1998. This was follo wed by a decli ne re cast to re ma in this way until 2022. of about half a million in2007/2008 and Thus the pro cess of Po land cat ching up a re turn to the high of1998 in 2013. Ac cor - to Euro pe an levels of deve lop ment and pro- ding to the projec tions to2022, the Polish spe ri ty sho uld con ti nue in a sta ble fa shion po pu la tion will sta bi li ze aro und this le vel in and could even be more substan tial if eco- the co ming years. no mic and struc tu ral po li cy -ma king brings The popu la tion of working age grew si- abo ut hi gher than the3.5 per cent an nu al gni fi can tly too from 23.7 mil lion in1990 to growth fore cast in the „trend” toward 2022. ne ar ly 26.2 mil lion in2010. Sin ce that year, In terms of infla tion it is clear that the „ze- howe ver, the aging of the popu la tion has ro infla tion” befo re the fall of the Berlin Wall brought about aslow and steady reduc tion is enti re ly due to the planned -eco no my acco - in the num ber of pe ople of wor king age. This unting princi ples mentio ned in the intro duc - trend is set to ac ce le ra te in the co ming tion, where imba lan ces betwe en demand and years, fal ling be low25 mil lion in2022. sup ply was ma ni fe sted not in pri ce chan ges The par ti ci pa tion ra te suf fe red a sharp but in queu es and shorta ges, surplu ses deser - dec li ne from73 per cent in the ear ly ni ne - ted shops. It is cle ar that the for ced low in fla - ties to 65 per cent in 2005, be fo re re co ve - tion of the eighties led to aprice explosion at ring gra du al ly to aro und69 per cent in 2011. the ti me of trans i tion with in fla tion pe aking The econo mic crisis, howe ver, rever sed the at over 600 per cent in 1989. It is the re fo re evi - trend in 2012, with some signs of reco ve ry dent that the transi tion to amarket econo my, in 2013. Fore ca sts for futu re years indi ca te which ge ne ra ted twen ty years of re al growth, a return to a parti ci pa tion rate of appro xi - went hand-in -hand with high infla tion, espe- ma te ly 71.7 per cent in 2022. cial ly in the first pha se of the ni ne ties. Con su - The parti ci pa tion rate is crucial to asses - mer prices rose by over 120 per cent sing the pro spects of the Po lish la bor mar - betwe en1989 and 2000, with an annu al ave- ket in the coming years. In fact, a reco ve ry rage of around 11 per cent. Subse qu en tly, ho- in the parti ci pa tion rate could compen sa te wever, infla tion too was brought under for a fall in the si ze of the wor king -age po - control and has decli ned at an avera ge rate pu la tion. In fact, the sup ply of la bor drop ped of 3.3 per cent per year, not cre ating apro duc - substan tial ly in the nine ties befo re rebo un - tion or em ploy ment cri sis but as pre vio usly in - ding in the first deca de of the new millen - di ca ted, fur ther con so li da ting high GDP nium. Pro jec tions in di ca te a po ssi ble new growth ra tes. peak of more than18 million units in2019 to 2020. Employ ment and Unemploy ment In fact, in the first phase of the transi tion, many Polish workers moved to the other Eu- Poland’s excellent econo mic growth has rope an coun tries in search of work and bet- had equal ly excellent conse qu en ces for the ter econo mic condi tions. Now, though, the labor market, with employ ment rising and suc cess of the Po lish eco no my, and the pro - unemploy ment falling. mi se of job op por tu ni ties, has at trac ted Let's turn now to the fun da men tals of them back ho me. But de spi te the po si ti ve

21 out lo ok for the co ming years, if the fall in to ana ly zing pu blic fi nan ce da ta (see Ta - the wor king -age po pu la tion is not ac com pa - ble 3). In fact, the da ta up to1994-1995 on nied by the expected incre ase in the parti ci - govern ment expendi tu re and reve nue have pa tion ra te, la bor sup ply in Po land co uld questio na ble cohe ren ce and lack credi bi li - fall, cre ating ten sions in the mar ket. ty. Accor ding to histo ri cal data, govern ment At the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, spending and reve nue were repor te dly even accor ding to the stati stics of the planned higher than GDP in the years after the Ber- eco no my, mo re than 16.6 mil lion wor kers lin Wall fell. had employ ment in Poland. The transi tion In the first phase of transi tion, the burden and the re struc tu ring of pro duc tions la shed of the public budget on the econo my clear - this number to alow of 13.6 million in2003. ly falls, with pu blic spen ding and to tal re ve - By 2011 the total number in employ ment nue re spec ti ve ly fal ling to41 per cent to 38 had re co ve red to abo ve16 mil lion; after the per cent of GDP in 2000. crisis of recent years, this should again be Du ring the cri sis of2009, the pu blic de fi - the ca se after2017. cit rose sharply, with govern ment spending So, the first phase of the transi tion to rising back to45 per cent of GDP while to- a mar ket eco no my cut aro und three mil lion tal re ve nue sank to37 per cent. jobs from the total. The follo wing period of The bud get de fi cit as a per cen ta ge of strong growth saw these three million jobs GDP there fo re constan tly rema ined betwe - rega ined by the end of 2011. Certa in ly, once en 4 per cent and 6 per cent, then jum ping aga in the dif fe ren ces in me asu re ment of to wards 8 per cent be twe en2008 and 2009. sta ti stics be twe en plan ned and mar ket eco - In recent years concer ted efforts to re-ba - nomies must not escape atten tion. Inde ed, lan ce the bo oks ha ve bro ught abo ut adec - one wonders what „employ ment levels” we- li ne in pu blic de fi cit to3.5 per cent in 2013; re se cu red be fo re the fall of the Ber lin Wall further conso li da tion would bring it below 2 and what tho se le vels we re ha ving be en mo - per cent in 2019. re soli dly created subse qu en tly in a compe - Sin ce1991, the sta te bud get in Po land titi ve and open market econo my. has always run a prima ry defi cit: total reve - In fact, from just over 600,000 unem- nue has al ways be en in suf fi cient to of f set ployed in1990 (a rate of3.4 per cent) the fi- to tal expen di tu re exc lu ding in te rest pay - gure spiked in2003 at 3.2 million (almost 20 ments. Thus since the second half of the ni- per cent), befo re dropping back to1.5 million ne ties the trend has be en for pu blic debt to in 2008 (below10 per cent). The global cri- rise: after being limi ted to37 per cent of sis has bro ught Po lish unem ploy ment back GDP in 2000, it has peaked at57 per cent of up to over 13 per cent, with projec tions po- GDP in 2013. This trend sho uld now re ver se; in ting to as li ght dec li ne be twe en now fore ca sts to 2022 indi ca te an expected fall and 2022 – though fore ca sts are that the in this ra tion back to ward 45 per cent. num ber is unli ke ly to fall be low11 per cent From this po int of view, then, the Po lish in this pe riod. econo my is in sound finan cial condi tion and the state budget has goodpro spects; Govern ment Finan ce the data show that the limit of3 per cent defi cit of the Maastricht Treaty and the 60 As no ted ear lier re gar ding sta ti sti cal evi - per cent Debt/GDP ratio would alre ady be den ce on trends in GDP and the la bor mar - ful fil led. ket, still more doubts abound when it comes

22 Money and Inte rest Rates fo re ca sts, this le vel sho uld be ma in ta ined up to 2022 (see Ta ble5). By ke eping its cur ren cy, the zlo ty, and its Aga inst the eu ro, in the ni ne ties and the mo ne ta ry so ve re ign ty at its Cen tral Bank, ear ly years of this de ca de, the zlo ty was de - Poland has been able to provi de full auto no - va lu ed mo re than aga inst the dol lar, as if to my to the econo mic system, along with the re pre sent a re la ti ve peg ging on the Ame ri - ne ces sa ry li qu idi ty to fi nan ce eco no mic can cur ren cy. This con di tion has al lo wed growth whi le at the sa me ti me con trol ling the Po lish eco no my to ga in a com pe ti ti ve in fla tion. Thro ugho ut the ni ne ties in fact, in - ed ge with the rest of the world and, abo ve te rest ra te sha ve re ma ined high, both in no - all, to the rest of the Eu ro zo ne. mi nal and re al, in fla tion -ad ju sted, terms. The sub se qu ent sta bi li za tion, on ce aga - On ly sin ce the ear ly years of this de ca de, in, proves the vali di ty of the choices made. after in fla tion was bro ught un der con trol, In fact, in view of the coming years, while have the condi tions for asharp drop in inte - the zlo ty ap pe ars to sta bi li ze aro und the rest ra tes com pa red to the pre vio us de ca de dollar at avalue of three, the stabi li za tion be en pre sent, al tho ugh re al in te rest ra te tends to be loca ted around3.9 to 3.8 aga- shave rema ined at around10 per cent (see inst the eu ro and this will al so al low the Po - Table 4). lish eco no my so me exchan ge ra te compe ti ti ve ness in the coming years. Exchange Rate and Foreign The Cur rent Ac co unt of the Ba lan ce of Accounts Pay ments (Fo re ign Ac co unts) was in de ep and de epe ning de fi cit for the twen ty years We have seen so far the first two precon - up to 2010. The last two years have seen ditions for the Polish econo my’s susta ined a mar ked re duc tion in the de fi cit, but ava - and signi fi cant success follo wing the fall of ilable fore ca sts fore see a gradu al return to the Ber lin wall, thro ugh ac ces sion to the Eu - incre ase until 2022. ro pe an Union, ri ght up to to day. On the one So, is there an issue with the susta ina bi - hand, in fact, the condi tions of rela ti ve equ- lity of Polish external acco unts? On the one ilibrium of public finan ces and especial ly of hand, over the first twenty years of the pe- a pu blic debt ha ve be en ma in ta ined well be - riod under discus sion, the current acco unt low the EU avera ge; on the other hand, mo- defi cit was large ly off set by two impor tant ne ta ry so ve re ign ty has al lo wed Po land to items of inco me and capi tal inflows: fore ign cover in adequ ate quan ti ties and at compa - di rect in ve st ment and emi grant re mit tan - ra ti ve ly low in te rest ra tes both ho use holds ces. On the other hand, Po land’s fo re ign and bu si nesses in or der to fo ster growth debt has tren ded upward, ac ce le ra ting and em ploy ment. The „trian gle” of Po lish sharply in all the years of this millen nium success can thus now be closed with the and it is expected to conti nue in futu re pro- third pil lar, which has be en de ter mi ned by jections, albe it at a slower pace. the mana ge ment of the zloty exchange ra- Ne ver the less, two ri sks ne ed to be un der - te and the Ba lan ce of Pay ments. li ned: the sharp re duc tion in re mit tan ces The zloty exchange rate, false ly atte sted and at the sa me ti me, the no ta ble re duc tion as abo ut equ al to one in1990, suf fe red ade - of fore ign direct inve st ment. Since 2007, in va lu ation of mo re than400 per cent, to a ra - fact, both of these items have shown te of 4.35 in 2000. In subse qu ent year sit has a sharp decli ne. While fore ca sts to 2022 pre- be en sta ble at aro und three. Ac cor ding to dict the se flows to re su me amuch mo re su -

23 sta ined pa ce, if this do es not hap pen, cle ar - of Eastern Euro pe, inc lu ding flow of funds ly risks for the fore ign debt of Poland could from the Euro pe an Union. gi ve mo re cau se for con cern. Whi le the in flow of EU funds va ries from co un try to co un try, hi ghest bud get is al lo - Last but not Le ast: cated for Poland, by far the largest of the EU Funds to Po land Eastern Euro pe an Member States by popu - lation. Of no less si gni fi can ce than the other fac - Poland needs to conti nue this optimal tors di scus sed abo ve is the con tri bu tion to uti li za tion of the Eu ro pe an funds in the co - the Polish growth made by the coun try’s ming years, per haps fo cus mo re on in fra - excel lent use of Eu ro pe an Union funds. Ta - struc tu re, hu man ca pi tal for ma tion and ble 1 shows key indi ca tors for the econo mies inno va tion and techno lo gy.

MARIO BALDASSARRI Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance in 2001-2006. Professor of Economy at the Sapienza University of Rome. Currently, he is President of Economia Reale, an economic think tank. He specialises in budget, monetary policy, industrial policy, labour market structure and employment. He has advised many companies and institutions.

24 - APPENDIX - TABLES OF DATA -

1.- GROWTH AND INFLATION

HISTORICAL DATA 1980-1996 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

1 GDP annual growth, real LCU -10,1 -4,8 5,6 5,7 3,6 4,2 2,0 4,2 0,2 -11,6 -7,0 2,5 3,7 5,3 6,9 6,4

2 GDP, real, LCU 600 584 540 002 514 371 542 914 573 788 594 177 619 225 631 458 657 672 658 837 582 526 541 659 555 281 576 040 606 528 648 694 689 670

3 Consumer price index 0,2 0,2 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,4 0,4 0,5 1,4 10,0 17,6 25,6 35,1 46,7 59,8 71,7 82,5

4 GDP deflator 0,0 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,2 0,3 0,4 1,4 10,1 15,7 21,8 28,5 38,8 52,0 61,1

HISTORICAL DATA 1997-2013 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

1 GDP annual growth, real LCU 7,0 4,9 4,4 4,5 1,3 1,5 3,9 5,2 3,6 6,2 6,8 5,0 1,6 3,9 4,5 2,1 1,5

2 GDP, real, LCU 737 806 774 167 808 542 844 720 855 513 867 934 902 162 949 324 983 120 1 043 885 1 115 116 1 171 027 1 189 899 1 235 980 1 292 097 1 318 922 1 338 529

3 Consumer price index 92,1 100,0 107,3 118,1 124,6 126,9 127,9 132,5 135,3 135,8 140,1 145,1 151,7 155,9 162,4 158,5 170,5

4 GDP deflator 69,6 77,3 82,0 88,0 91,2 93,2 93,4 97,4 100,0 101,5 105,5 108,8 112,7 114,4 118,1 121,0 122,1

FORECASTS 2014-2022 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2021

1 GDP annual growth, real LCU 2,9 3,2 3,5 3,4 3,4 3,3 3 2,7 2,6

2 GDP, real, LCU 1 377 661 1 422 216 1 471 770 1 522 066 1 573 456 1 624 814 1 674 177 1 718 804 1 763 926

3 Consumer price index 173,1 177,7 182,4 186,9 191,3 195,7

4 GDP deflator 123,4 126,2 129,3 132,5 135,7 138,6

- APPENDIX - TABLES OF DATA -

2.- EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT

HISTORICAL DATA 1980-1996 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

5 Population, total x1000 35 614,3 35 939,5 36 272,5 36 615,1 36 943,9 37 236,5 37 485,0 37 692,1 37 839,5 37 980,7 38 128,9 38 262,0 38 377,3 38 472,2 38 552,1 38 598,5 38 628,1

6 population of working age 23 708,62 23 859,07 24 019,41 24 187,94 24 367,54 24 547,33 24 724,92

7 Participation rate 72,79 72,79 72,79 72,75 71,95 71,21 70,56

8 Labour supply 17 258,49 17 366,24 17 482,74 17 595,75 17 532,51 17 479,94 17 446,98

9 Employment, total 16 627,19 16 593,70 15 118,24 14 853,34 14 617,26 14 781,10 14 937,73

10 Unemployment 619,75 1 667,50 2 358,67 2 742,42 2 915,25 25 698,83 2 509,25

11 Unemployment rate 3,44 9,01 12,93 15,03 16,51 15,23 14,30

HISTORICAL DATA 1997-2013 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

5 Population, total x1000 38 652,2 38 664,4 38 414,7 38 257,5 38 246,6 38 227,4 38 201,1 38 180,1 38 163,3 38 137,3 38 113,3 38 128,3 38 155,5 38 393,9 38 535,2 38 535,2 35 566,0

6 population of working age 24 928,04 25 162,46 25 150,98 25 220,62 25 414,44 25 587,06 25 748,72 28 596,54 26 030,82 26 104,80 26 127,55 26 118,81 26 087,10 26 163,90 26 123,24 26 020,06 25 594,46

7 Participation rate 69,04 68,06 67,66 67,58 67,33 66,12 65,18 65,02 64,99 65,56 65,36 66,02 67,25 68,03 68,80 67,42 68,11

8 Labour supply 17 211,04 17 125,97 17 016,58 17 043,40 17 111,72 16 917,32 16 781,91 16 838,17 16 916,82 17 061,33 17 128,92 17 244,18 17 544,25 17 799,64 17 973,39 17 542,54 17 536,77

9 Employment, total 15 187,63 15 369,23 14 858,75 14 519,65 14 197,98 13 754,40 13 602,08 13 746,50 14 044,33 14 524,58 15 168,50 15 720,10 15 813,50 15 881,73 16 005,55 15 493,98 15 454,95

10 Unemployment 2 023,42 1 756,75 2 157,83 2 523,75 2 913,75 3 162,92 3 179,53 3 091,67 2 872,50 2 535,75 1 960,42 1 524,08 1 730,75 1 917,92 1 967,83 2 048,57 2 174,53

11 Unemployment rate 11,51 10,01 11,99 14,03 16,22 19,72 19,92 19,50 18,18 16,19 12,69 9,83 10,97 12,11 12,38 12,80 13,54

FORECASTS 2014-2022 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

5 Population, total x1000 38 614,6 38 637,5 38 645,0 38 650,5 38 655,2 38 658,7

6 population of working age 25 826,81 25 749,96 25 633,86 25 518,25 25 405,83 25 296,25 25 187,35 25 074,29 24 954,76

7 Participation rate 68,46 68,94 69,45 70,00 70,63 71,16 71,43 71,55 71,68

8 Labour supply 17 681,09 17 751,25 17 805,50 17 863,59 17 944,45 18 002,02 17 990,87 17 940,82 17 886,75

9 Employment, total 15 586,97 15 705,35 15 848,77 15 975,90 16 060,72 16 114,53 16 103,17 16 058,05 16 009,08

10 Unemployment 2 085,24 2 045,91 1 957,13 1 887,69 1 883,73 1 887,49 1 887,70 1 882,76 1 877,67

11 Unemployment rate 12,95 12,65 12,07 11,60 11,53 11,51 11,52 11,52 11,53

25 - APPENDIX - TABLES OF DATA -

3.- GOVERNMENT FINANCE

HISTORICAL DATA 1990-2001 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

12 Government expenditure, total, LCU 150 934,24 150 934,24 150 934,24 150 934,24 150 934,24 160 858,90 215 042,42 238 402,55 265 263,45 283 097,41 305 533,26 341 917,82

13 Government revenue total, LCU 136 719,40 136 719,40 136 719,40 136 719,40 136 719,40 146 020,77 194 381,49 214 767,82 240 114,32 267 848,51 283 231,56 300 544,20

14 General government net lending/borrowing LCU -14 887 -20 552 -23 867 -25 692 -15 386 -22 541 -41 095

15 General government net lending/borrowing % of GDP -4 415 -4 865 -4 631 -4 276 -2 311 -3 028 -5 272

16 Government primary balance, LCU 18 550,04 -10 061,26 -7 209,66 -489,96 946,24 4 523,86 -1 382,94 -250,74 -1 609,92 4 425,19 210,30 -17 038,62

17 Government primary balance % of GDP 31,43 -11,86 -6,01 -0,33 0,39 1,34 -0,32 -0,04 -0,26 0,67 0,03 -2,18

18 General government gross debt LCU 165 200 183 294 221 220 233 687 253 392 273 832 292 818

19 General government gross debt % of GDP 48 989 43 390 42 926 38 889 39 567 35 787 37 562

HISTORICAL DATA 2002-2013 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

12 Government expenditure, total, LCU 358 366,42 376 743,71 393 827,93 426 636,40 465 066,90 49 680,80 550 670,30 598 329,10 642 183,70 662 143,40 673 194,10 694 797,20

13 Government revenue total, LCU 317 918,71 324 488,44 343 906,08 387 315,11 425 869,90 474 223,00 503 506,40 499 054,80 530 438,10 585 859,60 610 979,40 612 885,30

14 General government net lending/borrowing LCU -40 317 -52 212 -49 775 -40 049 -38 470 -22 136 -46 985 -99 595 -111 303 -76 731 -62 716 -74 078

15 General government net lending/borrowing % of GDP -4 986 -6 192 -5 384 -4 073 -3 629 -1 881 -3 684 -7 408 -7 857 -5 021 -3 931 -4 540

16 Government primary balance, LCU -17 093,68 -27 199,28 -24 436,85 -12 805,36 -10 005,60 4 853,09 -18 801,89 -65 560,87 -72 564,28 -35 522,66 -16 623,68 -24 400,29

17 Government primary balance % of GDP -2,11 -3,23 -2,64 -1,30 -0,94 0,41 -1,47 -4,89 -5,13 -2,33 -1,04 -1,49

18 General government gross debt LCU 340 896 396 731 422 386 463 019 506 036 529 370 600 845 684 082 776 825 859 076 886 779 937 869

19 General government gross debt % of GDP 42 160 47 053 45 686 47 088 47 738 44 986 47 106 50 880 54 838 56 218 55 590 57 476

FORECASTS 2014-2022 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

12 Government expenditure, total, LCU 711 644,70 745 195,40 784 410,30 825 269,30 859 082,70 912 255,50 956 987,60 1 002 122,00 1 048 837,10

13 Government revenue total, LCU 797 192,30 698 641,10 743 763,20 787 375,80 831 706,90 875 479,70 920 446,40 963 851,30 1 009 348,00

14 General government net lending/borrowing LCU -60 453 -54 413 -42 229 -45 707 -43 632 -40 622

15 General government net lending/borrowing % of GDP -3 543 -3 017 -2 214 -2 263 -2 039 -1 792

16 Government primary balance, LCU -122 965,92 -8 577,26 -221,50 3 610,92 7 115,22 10 612,21 11 226,95 11 414,63 12 010,17

17 Government primary balance % of GDP 7,23 -0,48 -0,01 0,18 0,34 0,47 0,48 0,46 0,47

18 General government gross debt LCU 844 993 903 672 951 419 983 411 1 013 393 1 037 002

19 General government gross debt % of GDP 49 513 50 109 49 888 48 685 47 355 45 741

APPENDIX - TABLES OF DATA -

4.- MONEY AND INTEREST RATE

HISTORICAL DATA 1990-2001 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

20 Money supply, M3, LCU 21 261 30 691 38 523 54 734 69 222 101 296 138 004 176 651 220 599 265 605 297 748 327 090

21 681,81 73,79 52,74 54,31 59,93 60,06 47,51 51,45 47,15 31,31 40,27 36,91 Interest rates on consumer credit and other househole loans with less than one year of a maturity

HISTORICAL DATA 2002-2013 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

20 Money supply, M3, LCU 323 844 343 079 375 352 424 762 492 233 557 565 660 189 712 673 774 325 870 594 909 787 966 656

21 20,30 12,70 13,02 13,55 12,25 12,48 13,62 13,18 13,22 13,65 13,97 12,18 Interest rates on consumer credit and other househole loans with less than one year of a maturity

FORECASTS 2014-2022 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

20 Money supply, M3, LCU 1 020 329 1 075 464 1 136 828 1 203 864 1 272 368 1 340 707 1 411 008 1 478 091 1 548 565

21 11,10 11,69 11,51 11,24 11,04 10,91 10,38 10,25 10,16 Interest rates on consumer credit and other househole loans with less than one year of a maturity

26 - APPENDIX - TABLES OF DATA -

5.- EXCHANGE RATE AND FOREIGN ACCOUNTS

HISTORICAL DATA 1990-2001 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

22 Exchange are, period average 0,95 1,06 1,36 1,81 2,27 2,42 2,70 3,28 3,49 3,97 4,35 4,09

23 Exchange are, period average, per Euro 1,21 1,31 1,76 2,12 2,70 3,17 3,42 3,71 3,91 4,23 4,01 3,67

24 Current account of balance of payments, LCU 2 913,65 -2 341,33 -4 272,03 -10 361,13 2 226,94 2 047,14 -8 897,74 -18 932,45 -24 104,10 49 597,76 -44 892,01 -24 151,05

25 External debt, total US $ 49 364,30 53 420,50 48 431,60 45 113,40 42 489,90 52 511,00 47 541,00 49 547,00 59 177,00 65 443,00 69 463,00 71 971,00

26 Workers remittances, net, US $ 1 000,00 1 000,00 1 000,00 1 000,00 1 000,00 1 000,00 1 000,00 2 000,00

27 Foreign direct investment, inward, US $ 89,00 291,00 678,00 1 715,00 1 875,00 3 659,00 4 498,00 4 908,00 6 365,00 7 270,00 9 252,00 5 713,00

HISTORICAL DATA 2002-2013 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

22 Exchange are, period average 4,08 3,89 3,65 3,23 3,10 2,77 2,41 3,12 0,30 2,95 3,26 3,16

23 Exchange are, period average, per Euro 3,85 4,40 4,54 4,03 3,89 3,78 3,52 4,33 3,99 4,12 4,19 4,20

24 Current account of balance of payments, LCU -22 510,95 -21 377,59 -48 875,37 -23 480,09 -40 566,06 -72 682,20 -83 711,87 -52 628,30 -72 379,81 -76 949,98 -58 943,27 -20 929,93

25 External debt, total US $ 84 875,00 107 274,00 129 943,00 132 869,00 169 765,00 233 343,00 244 751,00 280 187,00 317 132,00 323 289,00 365 744,00 379 279,00

26 Workers remittances, net, US $ 2 000,00 2 000,00 4 000,00 5 000,00 7 000,00 9 000,00 8 000,00 7 000,00 6 000,00 6 000,00 5 000,00 5 277,34

27 Foreign direct investment, inward, US $ 4 146,00 4 608,00 12 481,00 10 321,00 19 772,00 23 577,00 14 912,00 13 085,00 14 459,00 20 494,00 5 997,00 -6 076,00

FORECASTS 2014-2022 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

22 Exchange are, period average 3,04 3,05 3,01 2,95 2,95 2,99 3,02 3,04 3,04

23 Exchange are, period average, per Euro 4,16 4,07 3,97 3,85 3,83 3,83 3,83 3,83 3,83

24 Current account of balance of payments, LCU -21 614,19 -28 618,69 -36 205,33 -45 527,11 -52 929,86 -53 369,23 -53 564,98 -58 188,00 -60 147,19

25 External debt, total US $ 383 341,70 392 624,60 406 426,60 424 060,30 442 370,90 460 329,20 479 016,90 498 174,70 518 098,10

26 Workers remittances, net, US $ 5 712,68 6 006,09 6 449,60 6 987,03 7 372,14 7 685,30 8 002,26 8 333,94 8 702,03

27 Foreign direct investment, inward, US $ 10 378,75 14 531,79 17 423,83 19 880,04 21 411,06 22 742,89 23 980,24 25 251,72 26 553,52

27 Not Just Sausages. Polish Export Hits – How We Conquer Other Markets

RYSZARD FLOREK

The si xties. Po land. The pic tu re sque vil la - ling, flo oring, bu ilt -in war dro bes and ga te - ge of Tymbark, loca ted in the Island Be- ways to the histo ric buil dings we manu fac tu - skids. This is whe re it all started. red there went on sale in Germa ny. ButI had not forgot ten about roof windows; I was pre- The idea for ro of win dows was born in the pa ring to ma ke them all the ti me. loft of my fami ly home. Guests had arri ved, That time in Poland –1988 – was marked but there was simply not enough room. For with the emergen ce of afree market. The chil dren, tho ugh, sle eping in the loft was Sejm, under the leader ship of Mieczy slaw a real treat. As the light seeped through Rakow ski, adop ted a law on econo mic acti - a single glass tile, it dawned on me that bu- vi ty that al lo wed the es ta bli sh ment of pri va - il ding awin dow in to the ro of co uld be away te en ter pri ses and fo re ign ca pi tal -fi nan ced to go. At the ti me, the idea se emed too lu di - com pa nies. This act pro ved adri ving for ce cro us for any one in the fa mi ly to gi ve he ed for the forma tion of compa nies and in com- to my re vo lu tio na ry con cept. To day, a few bi na tion with ap pre cia ble shor ta ges on the deca des later, FAKRO is the fastest growing mar ket, re le ased the en tre pre neu rial spi rit manu fac tu rer of roof windows in the world. of Po lish ci ti zens. As you can see, dre ams doco me true... In 1989, in du strial pri va ti za tion and re - This play ti me in a loft vir tu al ly de vo id of li - -pri va ti za tion con ti nu ed. At tempts we re ght, with on ly one small glass ti le, was the ma de to li be ra li ze the law go ver ning the first im pul se. It was la ter, du ring my stu dies setting up of priva te busi nesses. The Polish at the Cra cow Uni ver si ty of Tech no lo gy, market opened up to fore ign inve stors too. when I first to ok a se rio us in te rest in the in no - The Da nish ro of win dows in du stry le ader, va tions ap pe aring in the field of ro of win - Velux, ente red the Polish market. I reali zed dows. I saw an exten si ve ni che in Po land this was the last chan ce to ful fil my dre am – where no one yet produ ced roof windows. of produ cing roof windows. In 1976 I tra vel led to West Ger ma ny for an in - Toge ther with my wife Krysty na and co- ternship –it was there thatI grew convin ced usin Krzysz tof Kro nen ber ger, we be gan put - that my idea ma de sen se. In1986 I star ted the ting toge ther the very first roof windows in Buil ding Joine ry Compa ny, Florad. The pane - a humble home gara ge. We fabri ca ted the

28 wo oden ele ments in the Flo rad plant in Tym - Wa le sa, be au ti ful wo men, vod ka and de li - bark whi le the me tal parts we re stam ped by cio us sau sa ge. All true, but far from the a friendly mecha nic in Nowy Sacz. In the who le sto ry. To this list, we ha ve to add at mid -1990s the ga ra ge held the first batch of le ast a do zen com pa nies that are ta king the pro duc tion in the form of10 ro of win dows hearts of custo mers around the world by and in Ja nu ary 1991 the new com pa ny was storm. The se com pa nies co uld con fi den tly re gi ste red un der the na me FA KRO. be descri bed as Polish natio nal treasu res. The first pro duc tion plant was fur ni shed Ma spex Wa do wi ce Gro up – an in ter na - with equip ment moved from the home ga- tio nal fo od bu si ness. Es ta bli shed in 1990, rage. By2002, we had alre ady produ ced and the com pa ny is now one of the lar gest fo - sold mo re than two tho usand win dows. od pro du cers in Cen tral and Eastern Eu ro pe. With constant expansion in mindI went on It star ted from pac king cof fee cre amer and a tour around the world to see how the best instant cocoa. Over time, the Maspex Group com pa nies in the in du stry ma nu fac tu red expanded its product range to inc lu de soft win dows – in Ger ma ny, Scan di na via and drinks, ju ices and fru it pre se rves. In the me - Ame ri ca. I clo se ly fol lo wed exhi bi tions at an ti me, in Hun ga ry, the Czech Re pu blic, Ro - the largest construc tion trade shows taking ma nia, Slo va kia, Ka li nin grad and Mo scow, place in Euro pe and brought all that expe- Maspex set up fore ign subsi dia ries. rien ce back to No wy Sacz. In 2003 Ma spex Wa do wi ce S.A. acqu ired The pri va ti za tion pro gram of sta te en ter - sha res in Lu bel la, the re by bran ching out in - prises launched in the years 1991-1992 was to pa stas, ce re als, grits and flo ur and be co - the next engi ne of growth of priva te sector ming a le ader in the pa sta mar ket in Po land. small and medium -si zed enter pri ses. These Cur ren tly Ma spex em ploys aro und fi ve tho - we re cre ated by the pri va ti za tion and di vi - usand people. The compa ny is aclear mar- sion of lar ge sta te -owned en ter pri ses, and ket le ader in ju ices, nec tars and soft drinks ab sor bed sur plus la bo ur from li qu ida ted in Po land, the Czech Re pu blic, Slo va kia, as and failing state -owned compa nies. well as be ing the le ading pro du cer in Hun ga - To day, al re ady a qu ar ter cen tu ry has pas - ry, Roma nia, Bulga ria and Lithu ania. The sed since the fall of the commu nist state. pro ducts of the Ma spex Wa do wi ce Gro up are The free market econo my set in motion in expor ted to over 50 co un tries worl dwi de. Po land in1989 at first bro ught abo ut awa - Inglot – a Polish cosme tics compa ny fo- ve of setbacks (high infla tion, collap se of un ded in1983 by Woj ciech In glot in Prze - the overall econo mic situ ation, price shock, mysl. The brand is well known among ladies ri sing unem ploy ment and loss of li qu idi ty in not on ly in Po land. Ma sca ras, lip sticks, na il fi nan cial mar kets) and, on ly la ter, fo re ign in - var ni shes or eye sha dows pro du ced by In - ve st ment. Ho we ver, a num ber of com pa nies glot are bo ught by wo men in mo re than50 did cope with the transfor ma tion, conqu - co un tries worl dwi de. In glot has bo uti qu es ering the Po lish mar ket. To day the se firms in such exclu si ve places as Broadway and are extreme ly success ful in the world at lar- Ca esars Pa la ce in Las Ve gas. ge; they purcha se fore ign compa nies, build The compa ny alre ady boasts around 500 fac to ries abro ad and open new sto res, be - stores around the world. Despi te the death coming truly global enter pri ses. of the fo un der, the In glot fa mi ly is ta king the Po lish export hits? If you ask a fo re igner bu si ness from strength to strength. Ul ti ma - what Poland is best known for abroad, you te ly, the dre am is to achie ve apo si tion in the will most li ke ly he ar: Po pe John Paul II, Lech world si mi lar to that en joy ed by Max Fac tor

29 and Hele na Rubin ste in – and here is another jects inc lu ded electric trains, the first sin- inte re sting fact – both of these global co- gle -spa ce tra in and fi nal ly, the co un try's smetic compa nies were foun ded by Poles. first low-flo or tram. LPP – owner of such brands as Re se rved, Today PESA is at least a Euro pe an brand, Mo hi to, Cropp, Sin say and Ho use. LPP’s clo - its rail vehic les, trains, trams and loco mo ti - thes are worn by Po les, Rus sians, Czechs, ves vi si ble up and down the co un try, as well Slovaks and fashion -con scio us consu mers as in Italy, Hunga ry, Lithu ania, Ukraine, Be- from seve ral other coun tries from our re- la rus, Ger ma ny, Rus sia, Ro ma nia, the Czech gion. The com pa ny has mo re than1,000 sto - Repu blic and Kaza kh stan. res. LPP products are sold in700 stores in Sele na – an inter na tio nal manu fac tu rer Po land and324 abro ad. and supplier of awide range of construc tion Headqu ar te red in Gdansk, the compa ny che mi cals for pro fes sio nal con trac tors and is gearing up for the conqu est of Western indi vi du al users in over 70 coun tries. The Se- markets. Rese rved brand bouti qu es are to lena Group compri ses 30 compa nies, loca ted be es ta bli shed in Mi lan, Pa ris, Lon don and in Poland, Spain, Brazil, Bulga ria, China, the Ber lin. But we stwards is not the on ly di rec - Czech Repu blic, Slova kia, Finland, Germa ny, tion of deve lop ment –LPP products are al- Ka za kh stan, So uth Ko rea, Ro ma nia, Rus sia, so availa ble on the Arabian Penin su la. Tur key, Hun ga ry, Ita ly, Ukra ine and the USA. PE SA – a Byd goszcz -ba sed ra il ve hic le Sola ris – a produ cer of public transport ma nu fac tu rer. The hi sto ry of PE SA is tied to vehic les. It was a boyho od dream of Krzysz- the first rail way line to reach Bydgoszcz, tof Olszew ski, a gradu ate in Mecha ni cal En- in 1851. The post-1989 econo mic upheaval gi ne ering of the Tech ni cal Uni ver si ty of mas si ve ly de sta bi li zed the mar ket, hit ting War saw, to open an au to mo bi le re pa ir shop. the Byd goszcz plant hard. In Decem ber 1981, while Olszew ski was In 1998, To masz Za bo klic ki bo ught the travel ling to Colo gne for some spare parts, plant from the sta te, cre ating ama na ge - mar tial law was dec la red in com mu nist Po - ment com pa ny. In awa ter shed year of2001, land. He rema ined in West Germa ny, finding PESA began the construc tion of arail bus a job at the Neo plan bus plant in Ber lin, whe - na med Part ner. Fur ther pro prie ta ry pro - re in 1985 he was ap po in ted plant ma na ger.

30 In the ‘90s, Ol szew ski re tur ned to Po land. un tries aro und the glo be. Today he and his wife have their own facto - These compa nies are buil ding the Polish ry produ cing buses and trams, Sola ris brand, bringing forth the best Polish quali - Bus&Co ach. In2006, as the first com pa ny in ty and cre ating apo si ti ve ima ge of Po land Euro pe, they presen ted a hybrid bus – com- in the world. In this way, they blaze atrail for bining a combu stion engi ne with an electric other Polish compa nies that are looking to motor. Two years ago, the compa ny unve- break into inter na tio nal markets. iled fully electric buses, which are one hun- And you have to admit doing so is not dred per cent sa fe for the envi ronment. easy. When Poland joined the Euro pe an As well as bu ses, So la ris pro du ces trol - Union we belie ved acces sion was a guaran - ley bu ses and trams. So la ris to ok the Eu ro - tor of uni form de ve lop ment for each mem - pe an mar ket for ci ty bu ses by storm. The re ber state. But the creation of an equal is har dly a re spec ta ble ci ty in Eu ro pe whe re op por tu ni ties me cha nism has fa iled. The you will not see at least one Sola ris on its ro- abo li tion of bar riers to the free flow of ca pi - ads. You can alre ady commu te by this Polish tal, goods and labo ur has let the largest cor- bus on the Ara bian Pe nin su la, and in the ne - po ra tions from the old EU co un tries re ap ar fu tu re the sa me will be true for Ame ri ca. the big gest be ne fits of all. So what abo ut the po si tion of FAKRO ? With the eco no mies of sca le they had al - FA KRO is one of the world’s most dy na - re ady achie ved on the ir exi sting mar kets, mic and fastest growing compa nies in the these large corpo ra tions have proven to be roof window indu stry. In just 20 years FA- the big gest be ne fi cia ries of Eu ro pe an in te - KRO has grown from a small, fami ly compa - gra tion. The eco no mic ad van ta ge the se ny in to an in ter na tio nal cor po ra tion, now com pa nies ha ve re aped is ge ne ral ly much vi ce -le ader of the glo bal mar ket for ro of gre ater than the be ne fits to com pa nies of windows, with about15 per cent share of the the new EU coun tries, achieved main ly due global market. to lo wer do me stic la bo ur co sts. Po lish com - The FAKRO Group, which employs more pa nies – de spi te the excel lent qu ali ty of the - than 3300 people, consi sts of 13 produc tion ir products and servi ces –are not always compa nies and 15 distri bu tion compa nies, able to compe te with pan-Eu ro pe an enter - lo ca ted in Eu ro pe, Asia and Ame ri ca. The pri ses. What can Po lish com pa nies doin compa ny is also one of the world's leading these circum stan ces? They can go about ma nu fac tu rers of loft lad ders and FA KRO their busi ness, belie ving that a mecha nism products can be found in more than50 co- of equ al op por tu ni ties will still be cre ated...

RYSZARD FLOREK Direc tor and owner of FAKRO, a fami ly -owned busi ness foun ded in 1991. Curren tly, it is the most dy na mic and the most fast -gro wing com pa ny in the worl dwi de branch of the ro of win dows. Lau re ate of the En tre pre neur of the2010 Year Award. Twi ce ho no red by the Eco - no mic Award of the Pre si dent of the Re pu blic of Po land for bu il ding the pre sti ge of Polish econo mics in the Euro pe an Union coun tries.

31 Giving Power back to the People: How to Build Efficient Self-government out of a Centrally-Controlled System

JANUSZ SEPIOŁ

When Po land was re born after World structu res. A dogma of 'demo cra tic centra - War I, uni ting ter ri to ries hi ther to in the lism' re igned, me aning that the elec ted au - thrall of the three occu py ing powers – Au- tho ri ty of a lo wer unit was sub ject to the stria, Germa ny and Russia –creating auni- au tho ri ty of a hi gher le vel bo dy, and lo cal form sys tem for the ad mi ni stra tion and co un cil lors re pre sen ted both the in te re sts mana ge ment of the coun try was a singu lar of citi zens and the inte re sts of the state. chal len ge. In fact three tra di tions cla shed The execu ti ve autho ri ties were strictly hie- in the new Po land. The first was Ger ma ny’s rar chi cal as well as ha ving de fac to in de pen - rich Prussian tradi tion of local govern ment, den ce from the elec ted bo dies. The word from which Po les had be en si de li ned due to „elec ti ve” can be mi sle ading, be cau se the the sta te’s re pres si ve ness. Se con dly, the elec tions we re asort of fic tion; the re was Austro -Hun ga rian Empi re, since the esta bli - on ly one list of can di da tes (the so -cal led sh ment of Ga li cian Au to no my, had de ve lo - Front of Na tio nal Uni ty list) for whom it was ped its own excellent system of local man da to ry to vo te. Ad di tio nal ly, the ad mi - govern ment. One mani fe sta tion of this was ni stra tion per for med a pu re ly tech ni cal, the fer ti le de ve lop ment of Lviv and Kra kow. execu ti ve function. The opera ti ve princi ple Thir dly, the Rus sia -an ne xed lands – the was „the party leads –the govern ment go- lion’s sha re of the co un try – we re in fact verns”. Thus, all strate gic, direc tio nal and charac te ri sed by a lack of any local govern - per son nel de ci sions we re ta ken by the Com - ment tradi tion whatso ever. During the two munist Party, whose bodies out in the coun - inter war deca des, attempts were made to try, as well as at all workpla ces, formed orga ni ze the coun try’s inter nal system but a baro que and opaque structu re. the se at tempts we re not wi tho ut con flict. Lo cal au tho ri ties ne ither had in co mes Court dispu tes betwe en muni ci pa li ties and nor set their budgets inde pen den tly. Nor did central govern ment, and admi ni stra tors ap- the local autho ri ties own their own proper - poin ted to perform the duties of the mayors ty, since, other than priva te proper ty, only of larger cities –were far from exceptio nal. in di vi si ble sta te „owner ship” exi sted (what In commu nist Poland there was no room had be en the pro per ty of lo cal go vern ments for sub jec ti vi ty or in de pen den ce of lo cal was natio na li zed). Despi te the preten ce of

32 elections and the functio ning of local and Du ring the Ro und Ta ble di scus sions, regio nal repre sen ta ti ve bodies, the system a group of acti vi sts led by Profes sor Jerzy was centra li zed, statist and inef fec ti ve. So- Re gul ski ma na ged to squ eeze the slo gan cial inte gra tion was far more centred aro- „lo cal go vern ment” on to the ne go tia tion und the workpla ce than the „little agenda. While the talks did not bear fruit, ho me lands”. The work pla ce pro vi ded ho - the idea began to catch on. An oppor tu ni ty using, kin der gar tens, ho li day ac com mo da - for action came after the first demo cra tic tion, sports clubs, commu ni ty centres and elections to the revi ved Sena te in1989. Je- orche stras. The workpla ce was the orga ni - rzy Regul ski, as chair man of the Sena te zer of so cial li fe. Commit tee on Local Govern ment, ini tia ted It is puzzling that as the commu nist sys- work on the buil ding of asystem of local go- tem mo re and mo re evi den tly lost its vernment. The first non-com mu nist govern - strength and ide olo gi cal at trac ti ve ness, ment in Central Euro pe –that of Tade usz emer ging op po si tion gro ups did not fill the Ma zo wiec ki –ad ded this task to its agen da. gro wing va cu um in lo cal go vern ment af fa - Unfor tu na te ly amid the ca co pho ny of di - irs or lo cal de ve lop ment. This was due to scus sion of so ma ny other com pe ting is su - the charac ter of that oppo si tion. On the one es (not least of which being the „shock hand, it was for med by circ les in the in tel li - thera py” econo mic reforms) this project fo- gent sia, most often Ca tho lic. In the se gro - und it self low in the list of prio ri ties, as well ups, no bat tle cry to se ize po wer ever grew as be ing mi sun der sto od and re si sted by up; in ste ad the fo cus was on hu man ri ghts a lar ge sec tion of the go vern ment. and poli ti cal and civil freedoms. On the The gro up of re for mers fa ced an in sur - other hand, the old sys tem was ero ded by moun ta ble task; in order to main ta in social the free trade unions, concer ned with im- enthu siasm for poli ti cal change, it was ne- pro ving wor kers” ri ghts, gu aran te eing de - ces sa ry to act qu ic kly. Pre pa ra tions re qu - cent work and im pro ving so cial con di tions. ired such funda men tal changes as anew It is hard to demand such people to enga ge elec to ral law, a law on lo cal go vern ment, lo - in deep reflec tion on the natu re of the sta- cal govern ment’s compe ten ce, the allo ca - te’s poli ti cal system. tion of lo cal go vern ment pro per ty, lo cal Ne ver the less, a hand ful of par ti cu lar in - govern ment finan ce, employ ees, muni ci pal divi du als did try. For the seve ral stormy orga ni sa tions and, no less impor tan tly, in- months of the „Soli da ri ty” move ment’s troduc to ry and transi tio nal provi sions. Out growth, the word „self-go vern ment” found of respect for the auto no my of local govern - it self in the li me li ght. It was un der sto od pri - ments and to stress their inde pen den ce ma ri ly in the mo ral sen se: „self -go vern - from central govern ment, sepa ra te insti tu - ment”, or go ver ning our own way, tions (Self -Go vern ment Ap pe als Bo dy) to as - in de pen den tly, wi tho ut fol lo wing the par ty sess the quali ty of local govern ment line. This is preci se ly how to read the offi cial ad mi ni stra ti ve de ci sions we re es ta bli shed. na me „the In de pen dent Self -Go ver ning Tra - So too was a sys tem of Re gio nal Ac co un ting de Union Soli da ri ty”. The need was decla red, Chambers to control muni ci pa li ties” finan - abo ve all, for wor kers” self -de ter mi na tion in cial mana ge ment. the work pla ce and the ne ed to de ve lop the The context in which these reforms took in fra struc tu re of ci vil so cie ty – mo ve ments place must be borne in mind. For instan ce, in de pen dent of par ty po wer. Lo cal go vern - the dif fi cul ty in al lo ca ting pro per ty stem med ment was ra ther an abs tract con cept. not only from legal doubts, but also from the

33 loss of land and pro per ty re gi sters un der Po land’s po li ti cal in sta bi li ty in the ni ne - commu nism. Further mo re, how could a new teen nine ties meant that subse qu ent local finan ce act be drafted at atime of raging hy- go vern ment re forms, which we re to com - pe rin fla tion –over 600 per cent in 1989? Even plement muni ci pal reform, were signi fi can - so, on 27 May 1990, lo cal go vern ment elec - tly delay ed. First the need for so-cal led tions were held, less than nine months after powiats was esta bli shed. Powiats are inter - the forma tion of the Mazo wiec ki govern - media te (supra -lo cal but sub-re gio nal) orga - ment. Ap po in ted by the pri me mi ni ster, of fi - ni sa tio nal units who se mis sion it wo uld be cials went to all 49 voivod ships, their task to to deli ver servi ces that local coun cils (gmi- im ple ment the re forms. The se of fi cials ran ny) co uld not ef fec ti ve ly. The es ta bli sh ment tra ining, hel ped con duct the first co un cil ses - of the powiats had to accom pa ny the reform sions and drafted statu tes and bylaws. The of the vo ivo de ships, and thus the cre ation of on ce lost ti tles of wójt (al der man) and bur - the re gions re spon si ble for so cial and eco - mistrz (may or) we re re sto red to the Po lish no mic de ve lop ment, as well as ra ising com - langu age. pe ti ti ve ness across the co un try. The se The reforms sent out poli ti cal shockwa - re forms we re fi nal ly im ple men ted du ring ves. Sud den ly this gre at bre ak th ro ugh, the go vern ment of Pri me Mi ni ster Je rzy Bu - which for many in the provin ces had been zek, eight years after the muni ci pal reform. lit tle mo re than adra ma play ed out on te le - It is not our task he re to exa mi ne the suc - vi sion, ca me to eve ry town and vil la ge of Po - cessi ve reforms that ensu red the evolu tion land. New faces came to power. Typi cal ly of Poland’s system of local govern ment the se we re pe ople who had had no chan ce – with perhaps one exception: after EU ac- of fin ding the ir way on to the elec tion li sts of cession in 2004, the govern ment deci ded to the Front of Natio nal Unity, but now had re- create a decen tra li zed system of structu ral al bac king in so cie ty. funds, parti cu lar ly the Euro pe an Regio nal The first term of lo cal go vern ment was Deve lop ment Fund. While the finan cial per- a great success, parti cu lar ly in small muni - spec ti ve2004 to 2006 was of an expe ri men - cipa li ties and rural areas –and this in spite tal natu re, the2007 to 2014 term later of the on go ing eco no mic tur mo il of shock the 2013 to 2020 in par ti cu lar, saw mo re the ra py (de scri bed vi vi dly by so me one as „li - than half of Eu ro pe an funds ma na ged at re - ke try ing to turn an ome let te back in to an gio nal le vel and im ple men ted by lo cal go - egg”). The for ce dri ving this suc cess was for - vern ments. To me et this chal len ge lo cal ty tho usand com mit ted pe ople who to ok lo - govern ment had to raise its profes sio na lism cal matters into their own hands. This whi le se izing the op por tu ni ty to ha ve re al in - gro und swell was co upled with an unpre ce - flu en ce on the sha pe of re ali ty. dented inflow of funds into areas that had To day Po lish lo cal go vern ments are al ways be en last in li ne when pu blic mo ney a major econo mic and poli ti cal force. Their was be ing di shed out. Things did not go qu - in co me con sti tu tes aro und 40 per cent of ite so well in the larger towns and cities, pu blic sec tor in co me as awho le and the ir whe re the law gu aran te ed in suf fi cient go - in ve st ments over60 per cent of all pu blic vern men tal sta bi li ty and me tro po li tan fi - in ve st ment. Lo cal au tho ri ties are al so co - nan ces fell short of co ve ring es sen tial ope ra ting exten si ve ly in ter na tio nal ly, bu il - costs. Never the less, reform had been set in ding con tacts and part ner ships as well as mo tion and it re ma ined on ly to ad just and suppor ting Polish fore ign poli cy goals thro- deve lop the system. ugh social diplo ma cy.

34 The almost fifty thousand citi zens elec- sa tions ma ke up the Jo int Go vern ment and ted onto local coun cils every four years play Local Govern ment Commis sion, which evo- an essen tial suppor ting role in Polish poli - lved from a series of infor mal meetings to tics – par ti cu lar ly as get ting elec ted on to be co me a sta tu to ry bo dy that as ses ses all a re gio nal co un cil (vo ivo de ship co un cil) no cur rent le gi sla tion af fec ting the func tio ning less of a challen ge than getting elected to of the state, as well as being aforum for parlia ment. Today, Polish parlia men ta rians strate gic deba te and settling matters rela - or mi ni sters wi tho ut lo cal go vern ment ting there to. experien ce are a rare animal. The re form of lo cal go vern ment was The reforms at muni ci pal and then po- a mate rial factor in ahost of other areas. It wiat and vo ivo de ship le vels that so gre atly spur red the de ve lop ment of a ban king spe - changed the Polish poli ti cal landsca pe are ciali sing in local govern ment finan ce and viewed as a deci si ve success. Local autho ri - tra ding in lo cal self -go vern ment se cu ri ties. ties now fare well in public opinion surveys, The carving out of local autho ri ties” proper - the term „the lo cal co un cil lor” car ry ing an ty from that of the sta te as awho le was the enno bling conno ta tion. first step to wards pri va ti za tion and re -pri va - Having deve lo ped a ratio nal local govern - ti za tion. The ta ke over by lo cal au tho ri ties of ment struc tu re in si ze and num ber, and pro - commer cial proper ties for one thing enabled viding those units with stable finan cing, the mo no po ly on com mer ce to be bro ken. ju di cial pro tec tion and full au to no my with re - One can not un de re sti ma te the po li ti cal gard to proper ty, Poland’s local govern ment fac tor. After the re gio nal re form, as its chief sys tem is ey ed by tho se abro ad with ke en in - ar chi tect, pro fes sor Mi chał Ku le sza, sa id, terest – especial ly by the Eastern Partner ship „from now on, no sin gle po li ti cal par ty will co un tries, Rus sia, Ro ma nia, the Bal kan sta - rule Poland.” The local govern ment reforms tes and Ka za kh stan among others. streng the ned po li ti cal plu ra lism and bro - Wi thin just a sin gle term after the first lo - ade ned the ran ge of de mo cra tic ac tion of cal elections, Polish local autho ri ty orga ni - the mecha ni sms of modern socie ty. In real sa tions ma na ged to bu ild a ne twork of terms, Poland gained thousands of commu - as so cia tions: the As so cia tion of Po lish Ci - ni ty, co un ty and re gio nal ad mi ni stra tors. ties, the Asso cia tion of Rural Muni ci pa li ties, One can not over sta te the si gni fi can ce of the the Union of Small Towns and the Union of proces ses trigge red by the wave of change Po lish Me tro po li ses. To ge ther the se or ga ni - that be gan with the re form of1990.

JANUSZ SEPIOŁ An architect and art historian, a Civic Platform politician, senator, chairman of Local Self-government and State Administration Committee. Former Marshal of Malopolska Region, Chairman of the Polish Delegation to the Central European Initiative and coordinator of Poland-Russia: Forum of Regions.

35 Lessons from the Past: the German-Polish Partnership

MARKUS MECKEL

In Poland history has had a deep impact on the Gulag, more than 20,000 were killed by society. History is part of Polish social life the Soviets in Katyn and elsewhere. and anyone seeking political relations with After the invasion of the Soviet Union, the country – especially Germans or thousands of Polish soldiers were freed to Russians – should take note. In a few words fight the Germans. Not only in the here I would like to sum up the burdens underground of the Polish Home Army but Germany and Poland have faced in history. also within the Allied forces Polish soldiers fought and liberated us from the Nazis. The three partitions of Poland by Russia, Many Germans are hardly aware of this fact Habsburg Austria and Prussia at the end of and appreciate it even less. the 18th century eliminated sovereign To this day in neither Germany nor Western Poland for 120 years. Poland regained its Europe is it commonly understood that independence after World War I and Poland's history and experiences in successive successfully defeated the Soviet Union. centuries have shaped attitudes towards the However, the Hitler-Stalin Pact divided totalitarian Nazism and communism that Polish territories once again. On 1 differ from those in the West. It is asimilar case September 1939, Germany invaded Poland in the Baltic States; Nazism and communism and World War II began. Shortly after, on 17 are considered equally as oppressive regimes. September, the Soviets occupied Eastern Contrary to this perception, communism is for Poland. The Nazis began to eliminate Polish Western Europe less dreadful than Nazism. elite and three million Polish Jews were During the Cold War, two German states killed during the Holocaust. Other than in emerged for Poland to cope with. Both the the West against France and Great Britain, GDR and Poland belonged to the Soviet bloc Hitler waged a war based on acquisition of and were compelled by the Soviets to lebensraum and extermination in the East. maintain a forced friendship. The GDR Ten thousand Polish soldiers were sent to defined itself as an anti-Fascist state and

36 accused its Western counterpart of being structures, reconciliation with the East responsible for the Holocaust. Only the seemed complicated. In an effort to cling on church and the East German democratic to power, the communist leaders opposition were aware that all Germans as encouraged anti-German sentiment. a whole were responsible for the Holocaust Anti-German sentiment also intensified and tried to deal with the historical guilt. In among many Poles due to uncertainty the so-called Polish classes of Günter about the future of the former German Särchen, who worked for the Catholic so-called „regained” lands in the East. Church in Magdeburg, Polish-German During the Cold War there was no chance reconciliation was initiated by important for a peace agreement between Germany projects such as the Action Reconciliation and Poland. The Christian churches were Service for Peace (Aktion Sühnezeichen). central in improving German-Polish Although the borders between East relations, initiating dialogue between the Germany and Poland were closed in the ‘80s, countries. In 1965 the Protestant church in the GDR opposition stayed in touch with the Germany published a memorandum on Solidarity trade union. A consciousness of relations with the East known as common cause between the two „Ostschrift”, declaring reconciliation and movements was raised for the common recognizing the border. At the end of the good and against the communist regime. Second Vatican Council, Catholic bishops in The Round Table and the establishment of Poland wrote a letter to their German the Mazowiecki government gave immense counterparts with the famous words, „we encouragement to the GDR opposition. forgive and ask for forgiveness”. After the Peaceful Revolution and the This letter was a first courageous act and first free elections in East Germany the GDR was followed by many others, leading to government wanted to unconditionally Willy Brandt’s and Helmut Schmidts” recognize the border with Poland as soon as Eastern policy and a policy of détente in possible. After discussing unresolved issues the 70s. Brandt’s peace treaty with Poland that resulted in Helmut Kohl’s hesitation, in 1970 was hotly contested in Germany. It Germany recognized the Polish border in included an agreement on the Polish border the Two-Plus-Four talks. France especially subject to recognition by a final treaty played an important role during the between a unified Germany and the Allies of negotiations. World War II in future. Kneeling before the Unlike the GDR, West Germany’s relations Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, Brandt gave the with Poland were a controversial and Polish people to understand that his policy oft-discussed issue. In the 1950s and ‘60s did not address the communist government none of the Bundestag’s political parties were but the Polish population at large, which had ready to recognize the border with Poland. suffered so much under German occupation. Cooperation was developed gradually by After the trade union Solidarity was individuals and particular social groups. But founded and martial law was imposed in it was very difficult to bring forward Poland, German-Polish relations improved. German-Polish reconciliation while Poland Germans showed solidarity sending was part of the communist Soviet bloc. thousands of care packages to Poland. This While Germany and France pursued gesture reshaped the image of Germany deepening reconciliation, easing West and opened many Poles” hearts to Germans. Germany’s integration into Western Many Poles came to Germany in the 1980s,

37 via scholarships. Many received an and move in Eastern Ukraine in 2014 – have education then remained in exile Germany. made Poland’s concerns seem more Even if Helmut Kohl’s hesitation was reasonable to the West. Poland’s voice on regarded with some irritation by Poland as security policy-making in Eastern Europe is well as the Americans and the French, the appreciated more than ever. The same goes German-Polish border was unconditionally for EU matters, though to begin with, recognized with the Two-Plus-Four Poland seemed to pose problems for the EU Agreement that was signed in November. through some public discussions and the The Treaty on Good Neighbourship provided Kaczynski government in the years 2005- the basis for future partnership. Germany 2007. This changed very quickly. Under voiced strong support for Poland´s and Tusk’s government Poland has grown into other new democracies” integration into the a reliable EU partner in various areas. EU and NATO, pushing against some Unlike many other countries, Poland has resistance from other Western countries. weathered the economic crisis since 2008. Poland has been a member of NATO The population’s support for the EU remains for 15 years and is also celebrating ten years high; even the rural population, once very of EU membership. Both of these were euro-sceptic, can feel the benefits of EU Poland’s foreign policy goals after 1990. To membership today. take up this challenge, Poland’s domestic Poland initiated the Eastern Partnership, politics had to make colossal effort to establishing the EU’s Eastern policy. It has transform social and economic structures been a priority to strengthen the sovereignty dramatically. of its Eastern neighbours and to boost their NATO membership has been regarded as democratic and economic development. crucial due to historic experiences and These goals are now acknowledged by the current developments in Russia. However, EU. Less welcome is Poland’s goal to offer in the West, Poland has earned a reputation these countries a path to EU membership. of being in the grip of a trauma it has never France and Germany especially, but other overcome. The developments over recent member countries too, have a very critical years – the 2008 war in Georgia and, in attitude, even though Article 49 of the particular, Russia’s annexation of Crimea Lisbon Treaty offers the prospect of EU

38 membership to all European countries. beside the Allies at all of these celebrations. In 2012 Foreign Minister Sikorski gave Poland too played a role in liberating a remarkable speech in Berlin, challenging Germany from Nazism; Poles fought Germany to take more initiative in foreign together with British in Monte Casino in Italy and security policy issues, and to take up and during the Normandy landings, as well a stronger leadership position at the centre as with the Soviets in the battle for Berlin. of the EU. At first this claim appeared to fall All over Europe the 70th anniversary on deaf ears but at the beginning of 2014 the should be celebrated in a way to make clear debate was taken up. During the Munich that everybody was liberated from Nazism. Security Conference, the German President, But in Eastern Europe there was no freedom Gauck, urged Germany to take more afterwards; a new dictatorship followed. responsibility in foreign policy issues and Western Europe was given a new both Foreign Minister Sikorski and the beginning after 1945. Germany and France German Defence Minister, von der Leyen, reconciled and an integration process was agreed. Initiatives such as the common initiated that formed new relations through agreement of the three foreign ministers of the European community. Only together was Germany, Poland and France with Ukraine’s it possible to win the future; hostilities and President Yanukovych followed. Even if zero-sum games from the past had to be German public opinion reacted with renounced. The Cold War and the Soviet restraint, there is hope that German politics dictatorship cut off Eastern Europe from this is ready to recognize its responsibility development. Through the victory of liberty through greater initiative and engagement. and democracy in Central Europe in 1989 and In this case, Poland’s support for Germany the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new in pursuing common strategic decisions and democracies could finally join in this process. projects will be very important. Poland and Germany are considered as Next year marks the 70th anniversary of becoming increasingly reliable and equal the end of World War II and the 25th partners in building and shaping Europe. anniversary of Germany’s reunification. This is not a right of nature that should be There will be many occasions for Germany taken for granted. To maintain such to express thanks to the former Allies for its good relations in future, both countries liberation, to the Western allies for their need to show willingness to listen to each support during the Cold War and to all of other and to take each other’s historic them for accepting German reunification. experiences and concrete interests We should not forget to invite Poland to sit seriously.

MARKUS MECKEL President of the German War Graves Commission. He also served as the first democratically elected Foreign Minister of the German Democratic Republic (1990). Since the 1970s, he was involved in the opposition in the German Democratic Republic and co-founded in 1989 the Social Democratic Party in the GDR. As a member of the German Bundestag (1990-2009), he focused on European politics, security issues and Eastern Partnership. He served as Vice-Spokesman of the Social Democrats for foreign policy.

39 Recipe for a Miracle

EDWIN BENDYK

Fre edom Day (Świę to Wol no ści) – the 25th said that Polish compu ter scienti sts make anni ver sa ry of the overth row of commu - great employ ees; soon they will be compa - nism in Po land on4th Ju ne1989 drew nu - red to the entre pre neurs of Sili con Valley. me ro us di stin gu ished gu ests to Po land. We alre ady have the first specta cu lar evi- Among them was Eric Schmidt, exe cu ti ve dence that the ambi tions of young Polish cha ir man of Go ogle. Schmidt used this oc - infor ma tion techno lo gi sts are firmly groun - casion to anno un ce the opening of aGo- ded in reali ty. ogle Campus in Warsaw, a centre to Pre si dent Ba rack Oba ma, in Po land to ce - sup port pro gram mers and the cre ation of lebra te Freedom Day, remar ked that Polish new tech no lo gy firms. The War saw cam - friends had given him acopy of the compu - pus will be the third such project, follo - ter ga me The Wit cher. Cre ated by War saw wing tho se in Lon don and Tel Aviv. com pu ter ga me di stri bu tor CD Pro jekt RED. The compa ny’s owners pledged to reinvest To the question, „Why Warsaw and not, the proce eds from games sales in produ cing for in stan ce, Ber lin?” Schmidt ob se rved a game they had always dreamed of but no that Warsaw has every thing a compa ny like pro du cer had ever ma de. Google needs – a good poly tech nic and uni- When they began transfor ming their dre- ver si ty, edu ca ted work for ce. Go ogle al so ams into a busi ness project, it quic kly beca - has a deve lo ped network of rela tion ships in me appa rent that the Polish market was too Warsaw, having long been present on local small to make their ambi tions viable. On the market. other hand, by set ting the ir si ghts on co nqu - In fact, the U. S. Inter net giant has offi ces ering the compu ter gaming world, they in Wroc law and Kra kow too. It em ploys mo - knew they we re set ting the bar extre me ly re than 500 people, among them many de- high from the very outset –going up against ve lo pers wor king on the la test pro ducts. the best and ri chest of ga mes pro du cers. Ma ny Po lish de ve lo pers al so work at other Thus, this Polish product could in no way be Google centres abroad, inc lu ding its Moun - tech ni cal ly in fe rior to its in ter na tio nal com - tain View headqu ar ters. pe ti tion; it had al so to mark it self out as uni - To the Po lish tech no lo gy com mu ni ty, que in the light of the abundant choice the de ci sion to open the Go ogle cam pus availa ble to the digi tal enter ta in ment con- opens a new chap ter in the na tion’s de ve - sumers. lop ment –it is the best te sta ment to the This uni que ele ment pro ved to be asto ry fact that the tech no lo gy sec tor – par ti cu - ta ken from the work of An drzej Sap kow ski, lar ly in for ma tion tech no lo gy – is ap pro - Poland’s leading fanta sy writer and creator aching criti cal mass. Soon it will not just be of The Witcher saga. Working close ly with

40 ta lent in c lu ding To masz Ba gin ski, a com pu - ti tion from the best te ams fiel ded by the ter ani ma tor no mi na ted for an Oscar for his Uni ted Sta tes, Rus sia and Chi nato win. work on The Ca the dral, CD Pro jekt’s de si - Simi lar succes ses have been achieved in gners tur ned this fan ta stic sto ry in to aga - other com pe ti tions – the Fa ce bo ok Hac ker me that sin ce2007 has won hun dreds of Cup, the Go ogle Co de Jam, the Mi cro soft thousands of loyal fans. To date, the game Ima gi ne Cup and Top Co der. Pro fes sor has sold around2 million copies. Part three Krzysztof Diks of the Univer si ty of Warsaw, is so on to be re le ased, gi ving Pre si dent Oba - who to ge ther with pro fes sor Jan Ma dey co - ma so me thing to ke ep him self bu sy on his aches the Polish team, is quick to stress travels. that such suc ces ses are no ac ci dent; ra ther The success of The Witcher certa in ly they are ro oted in strong fo un da tions –each con firms the po ten tial of Po lish tech no lo gy year aro und a hun dred War saw uni ver si ty talent, which has alre ady achieved some de- com pu ting stu dents are of fe red in tern ships gree of fa me. In1994, for the first ti me, aPo - at the world’s top IT com pa nies. Not on ly lish te am, con si sting of stu dents from the does this equip them with experien ce at Uni ver si ty of War saw, en te red the ACM In - cen tres that are de ve lo ping cut ting ed ge ter na tio nal Col le gia te Pro gram ming Con - techno lo gy, but it means their earnings are test, the most pre sti gio us con test of its kind many times the Polish natio nal avera ge. in the world, orga ni zed by the Asso cia tion Such offers would not be forth co ming for Com pu ting Ma chi ne ry. Sin ce then, the we re the se pe ople not of an in ter na tio nal Warsaw Univer si ty team has reached the fi- stan dard. And this qu ali ty that is far from nals every year, twice facing down compe - uni que to War saw – aca de mic cen tres in

41 Kra kow, Wroc law and Po znan ma in ta in si - eded in pre se rving the ir in tel lec tu al in de - mi lar stan dards. The se col le ges il lu stra te pen den ce, re cal ling other out stan ding tra - one of the most stri king phe no me naof the ditions, such as the Lvov school of Polish transfor ma tion – the boom in educa - ma the ma tics, which pro du ced Sta ni slaw tion. When com mu nism fell, aro und400 Ulam, among others. Ulam’s calcu la tions tho usand young pe ople we re stu dy ing at enabled diffi cul ties in buil ding the Ameri can Polish univer si ties; in the 21st centu ry, this thermo nuc le ar bomb to be overco me. The number has incre ased five fold. Not all of Po lish tra di tion of cryp to gra phy was (and tho se cau ght up in this rush to stu dy we re still is) a live ly one. The contri bu tion of Po- hap py. Cri tics em pha si zed that the explo - lish crypto gra phers was key to unravel ling sion in stu dent num bers has har med the qu - the my ste ry of the Ger man World War Two ality of educa tion. cipher machi ne, Enigma. Ne ver the less, the pre sen ce of Po lish By way of an in te re sting epi lo gue to the compu ter scienti sts at leading insti tu tions rather uninte re sting commu nist era, in 1999 shows that, at le ast in this ca se, the cri ti - Serb air defen ces shot down an „invi si ble” cism is unfoun ded. It is true that for many Ameri can F-117 aircraft. The radar system years Poland had no place on the compu ter used that day was of Czecho slo va kian ma- map of the world; as was the case for other nu fac tu re, but its Ro dan bra in, a mi li ta ry commu nist coun tries, the Iron Curta in me- version of the Odra compu ter, was produ ced ant techno lo gi cal as well as poli ti cal isola - du ring the com mu nist era in Wro cław. tion for Po land. But this ban on con tact with The explo sion of fre edom in1989 may ha - the wi der world did not equ ate to aban on ve sent shock wa ves thro ugh Po lish po li tics, thin king. An excel lent em bo di ment of the but the co un try’s eco no my was cer ta in ly no cre ati vi ty of Po lish scho lar ship is the la te less af fec ted. The new wa ve of en tre pre - Pro fes sor Zdzi slaw Paw lak, scien tist and neur ship in e vi ta bly ga ve an im pe tus to the ma the ma ti cian as so cia ted with War saw Po - de ve lop ment of Po lish com pu ter scien ce. lytech nic. Pawlak deve lo ped the rough sets The early ‘90s saw the birth of nume ro us theory, a signi fi cant deve lop ment for IT ap- Po lish IT firms, Co march, now one of Po - plica tions. He was also famed as the creator land’s lar gest com pa nies, be ing among of the „Paw lak ma chi ne”, a new for mal de - them. Co march was fo un ded by Ja nusz Fi - scription of the calcu la ting machi ne, which lipiak, aprofes sor of the Acade my of Mining differs from the classi cal descrip tion known and Metal lur gy in Krakow and one of the as the „Tu ring ma chi ne”. pione ers of Polish acade mic entre pre neur - Ano ther le gend of Po lish com pu ter thin - ship. king was the en gi ne er Ja cek Kar pin ski, a bril - To day, bu il ding on the po ten tial of the liant de si gner of elec tro nic equ ip ment and Ja giel lo nian Uni ver si ty, AGH Uni ver si ty of cre ator of the K -202. This first Po lish mi cro - Scien ce and Tech no lo gy and its po ly tech - compu ter, built in the early 1970s, conta ined nic, Krakow has beco me the most impor tant ma ny world fir sts. Sa dly, in com mu nist Po - outso ur cing servi ces centre in Euro pe, em- land, with its central ly -plan ned econo my, ploying 40 thousand local resi dents. Along- Karpin ski’s idea had no hope of deve lo ping si de, the IT sec tor is blos so ming, em ploy ing and this in ven tion jo ined hi sto ry’s ca ta lo gue a further 20 thousand people. Also growing of other wa sted op por tu ni ties. is a group of people insuf fi cien tly challen - De spi te the unfa vo ura ble po li ti cal and ged even at firms such as Go ogle; the se eco no mic cli ma te, Po lish scho lars suc ce - wor kers are now le aving such jobs to cre ate

42 their own start-ups. Perhaps the hottest Union. Young Podkar pa cians know educa - example of this trend is Esti mo te, acompa - tion is their ticket to abetter life: Rzeszow, ny set up to revo lu tio ni ze commer ce. Of co- a town of 184 thousand resi dents has60 ur se, no one knows yet if this will hap pen, tho usand stu dents – a Eu ro pe an re cord. The but in Septem ber 2013 at a presti gio us San ci ty it self is one of the fa stest -de ve lo ping Franci sco confe ren ce, Esti mo te was hailed Po lish cen tres of the high -tech econo my. the best start-up, beating thousands of Rze szow now forms the he art of „Avia - compa nies around the world. tion Valley”, a cluster of more than100 ae- Mo re and mo re Po land com pa nies with ro spa ce firms, pro du cing, among other glo bal am bi tions are emer ging; mo re and things, compo nents for the F-35. Asse co, more often are the brigh test young IT talent Po land’s lar gest IT com pa ny, with 16 tho - and compe ti tion winners alre ady mentio ned usand employ ees around the world, has its opting to try their luck with start-ups of the- head offi ce in Rzeszow. Assec co is surro un - ir own. An drzej Gą sie ni ca -Sa mek, a mem ber ded by a rapi dly -gro wing cluster of IT com- of the de ve lop ment te am that won the2007 pa nies who se bos ses know one thing –the Acade mic World Champion ships, has foun - lo cal mar ket is too small to gu aran tee ded Atinea, a provi der of advan ced IT servi - growth. So these compa nies work global ly, ces with glo bal re ach. Co di li ty, a com pa ny buil ding on the ambi tions of young specia li - that pre-se lects program mers based on its sts and the quali ty of higher educa tion offe - own te sts, was fo un ded by Gre go ry Ja kac ki, red by lo cal ly. a brilliant compu ter scientist and program - Po land’s suc cess – a qu ar ter cen tu ry of mer edu ca ted at the Uni ver sity of War saw. freedom –is often descri bed as amirac le. Perhaps even more than these examples, This is no mirac le, howe ver; it is the fruit of Rzeszow, capi tal of the Podkar pa cie region, hard work under pin ned by a passion for co uld be apo ster child for the ra te and sca - know led ge and a scien ti fic tra di tion of the le of change taking place in Poland. Podkar - hi ghest ca li bre, all of which me ans Po les pa cie Pro vin ce is a be au ti ful but po or part are reco gni zed not only as excellent wor- of south -eastern Poland, classi fied as one kers, but in cre asin gly as cre ators of com pa - of the poorest regions of the Euro pe an nies and pro ducts with glo bal am bitions.

EDWIN BENDYK A writer and journalist, currently at Polityka. He is interested mostly in topics regarding social transformations. His research is focused on how developments in science and technology impact culture and social life, politics and the economy.

43 The Polish Rush to Sport

WOJCIECH STASZEWSKI

To day, in the fe ve rish bu stle of Po land, or But the orga ni zers of the run – Nike, sup- on one of the 2600 „Eagle” sports fields por ted by the ci ty au tho ri ties – sen sed the rema ining after Euro2012, it is hard to be- winds of histo ry. Or had goodmar ket rese - lie ve that just ten years ago, for ma ny arch. Entry fees were low, entrants all got adults, playing sport would have been a free yel low run ning shirt and on 5 Octo - a sour ce of shame. ber 2005, the stre ets of War saw flo wed yel - low. Ten thousand ran the five -ki lo me tre Phy si cal cul tu re ca me to Po land on distan ce. a tram in the warm days of summer2005. That’s when we saw, coun ted and felt our Po land was no lon ger apo or co un try – 15 strength. If I had to point out one landmark years of transfor ma tion had borne fruit: Po- day, when running went from being the em- lish GDP had grown enormo usly; we had al- barras sing hobby of a handful of enthu sia - ready been members of the Euro pe an Union sts to a so ur ce of pri de –and to day even for a year. We weren’t yet arich coun try; the a fa shion of akind – for me it was that day. modern roads built in the coming years with In subse qu ent years the Run Warsaw EU money were nowhe re to be seen. Nor we- events bro ught to ge ther ma ny tho usands of re the foot ball stadiums built for Euro2012, people. After three years, the city took over be cau se no one co uld ever ha ve dre amed the run, re -na ming it Bie gnij War sza wo (still that Po land wo uld host such an event. „Run War saw”, but in Po lish). The di stan ce was extended to amore deman ding ten ki- October Revo lu tion lome tres. The day of the run, tradi tio nal ly the first Sunday of October, is no longer the In those summer days, trams appe ared on ly ti me you can see run ners on the stre - on War saw’s stre ets pla ste red with ads re - ets of War saw. On ce, on your Sa tur day mor - ading „Run Warsaw”. The few of us who we- ning training run you might meet two or re run ners at the ti me we re stun ned. If we three fellow runners; today on late -eve ning had expected to see such ads anywhe re, it mid-we ek runs, you will come across a do- was in the low-cir cu la tion newslet ter Jog- zen or mo re run ners. ging, pu bli shed sin ce the1970s and still re - sem bling an un der gro und sa miz dat The bi ke’s the win ner? pu bli ca tion. Run ning su rvi ved the cri sis of the late ‘90s, but the largest mara thons in Mazo via has aseries of cycling events the coun try – in Poznan and Warsaw – each – the Meri da Mazo via MTB Mara thon. Every still at trac ted no mo re than aro und fi fte en we ek du ring the se ason, as sor ted towns and hundred runners. ci ties host cyc lo -cross com pe ti tions or ro ad

44 races. Back in2005, around300 people any phy si cal ac ti vi ty?” 20 per cent an swe - star ted eve ry ra ce; now that fi gu re is over red „yes” (meaning regu lar ly or fair ly a thousand. often); 20 per cent an swe red „ra re ly”, whi - Ac cor ding to so cio lo gi cal re se arch, cyc - le 60 percent answe red „not at all”. From ling is Poles” favo uri te form of physi cal this emerges a pictu re of Polish acti vi ty exer ci se. When so cio lo gi sts ask, „What in 2003: 20 percent of Poles dosome form sports ha ve you prac ti ced over the last of re gu lar phy si cal ac ti vi ty, the rest, oc ca - year?” (CBOS, 2013) 51 per cent of Poles an- sio nal ly at best. swer „cycling”. In second place is swimming, Si mi lar stu dies had be en con duc ted by at 28 per cent, with running in third, at18 OBOP six years ear lier. The n15 per cent we - percent. Next come hiking, soccer, volley - re ac ti ve, and 85 per cent in ac ti ve. So the ball and ae ro bics–all with over ten per cent. year -on -year trend is po si ti ve – Po les are be - Some commen ta tors conclu de from this coming more physi cal ly acti ve. By now the that Po land is di vi ded in to two ha lves –the fi gu re for the ac ti ve has pro ba bly re - ac ti ve and the pas si ve. But that just shows ached 30 to 40 per cent. how little we in Poland under stand what phy si cal ac ti vi ty is. Most li ke ly, ma ny of tho - Polish goal se respon dents who said they cycle went for a few bi ke ri des with the ir kids in the year. Do nald Tusk is fa med as the first Po lish That has no thing to dowith re gu lar bi ke ri - prime mini ster to train regu lar ly. In fact, he ding–any mo re than asin gle fa mi ly outing is not a bad run ner: on4 Ju ne this year, he to the swimming pool is compa ra ble to re- to ok part in the Fre edom Ra ce or ga ni zed by gu lar tra ining at the po ol. Po lish Olym pic cham pion Ro bert Ko rze - Other al be it ol der stu dies say so me- niowski with a6 am start. Tusk ran the 11 ki- thing diffe rent about Polish acti ve ness lo me tres at the re spec ta ble pa ce of 5:15 (OBOP 2003). When asked „do you prac ti ce min/ km.

45 The pri me mi ni ster’s gre atest spor ting In commu nist Poland, sport was a fronton lo ve is fo ot ball. His com mit ment at soc cer which to prove socia lism’s supe rio ri ty of over training has even been the subject of caba - capi ta lism. Hence the empha sis on compe ti - ret sket ches. But the ef fects are re al. When tive sport. At the Olympics Poles always pla- Po land and Ukra ine we re jo in tly awar ded ced high in the me dal stan dings. Ca re was the right to host the2012 UEFA Euro pe an al so ta ken to de ve lop a fo un da tion for com - Champion ship - Euro 2012 – the govern ment peti ti ve sport; youth training was wide spre ad ad op ted the Or lik 2012 pro gram me and well-fi nan ced. Young people going away (Eagle 2012). In four years, 2,600 modern pu- to sports camps, for in stan ce, went free. blic playing fields were built, finan ced one- But this did not trans la te in to adults -third by local autho ri ties, with the prac ti sing sport. Far from it, in fact. For rema ining two-thirds coming from the cen- adults „getting caught” doing any kind of tral govern ment purse. physi cal acti vi ty was cause for shame. The Usual ly next to the arti fi cial turf foot ball few runners of the time had to contend with field is court for playing volley ball, basket - ridi cu le from beer -drin king bystan ders. ball or hand ball and so me ti mes ten nis. The On the other hand, run ning was a sen sa - ‘Eagles” have attrac ted young people to tion of sorts. In 1979, te le vi sion jo ur na list sport. This is im por tant be cau se young sters To masz Hop fer co ined the slo gan „Run with ha ve a ten den cy to avo id exer ci se li ke the us” and led to the first open ma ra thon be ing pla gue. It is he re the di vi de in Po land be twe - or ga ni zed in War saw. The au tho ri ties wo uld en the ac ti ve and the pas si ve re al ly be co - agree to the run only if it were named the mes appa rent. Children like exerci se when Peace Mara thon. The histo ry of this event is they come from fami lies where the parents the hi sto ry of Po lish sport in a nutshell. play sports and are ro le mo dels for an ac ti - ve li fe sty le. Chil dren from fa mi lies whe re Poland Runs sit ting in front of the te le vi sion is the ma in pasti me, happi ly sit at a compu ter, gain we- The 2nd Peace Mara thon in1980 was ight, be co me less and less fit and mo re and comple ted by 2,289 people. No one would more reluc tant to exerci se. have thought that Polish record would stand for more than aquar ter centu ry. In Whe re are the kids? the last year of com mu nism,1,600 pe ople ran, this fi gu re fal ling to just 300 in 2002. Sys te ma tic re se arch by the War saw Aca - A few years later running boomed in Poland de my of Phy si cal Edu ca tion shows that the and that 1980 re cord was fi nal ly bro ken, avera ge Polish child is less and less fit. with 2,600 pe ople fi ni shing the ra ce. Last In 1989, a se ven -year -old boy do ing the long year's event saw a new re cord set, jump co uld ma na ge a di stan ce of 119 cm; to - with 8,500people taking part. day that boy can jump 109cm. A seven -year - That is a still far fe wer than run in Ber lin, -old girl ran 600 me tres in three mi nu tes Paris, London or New York (more than30 and 16 seconds; now she needs three minu - thousand). But it is more, for example, tes an d59 se conds. A se ven -year -old boy co - than 10 years ago in Vienna. Polish running uld hang from a bar for 17 seconds; today is cat ching up with the rest of the world. only seven seconds. And this even though Ten years ago in Poland, you could still to day’s chil dren are bet ter -fed and sho uld sign up the morning of the race even for the be stron ger. big gest ma ra thons. When In ter net re gi stra -

46 tion was intro du ced, the numbers were still every district of the city. The extraor di na ry so small that the or ga ni zers ac cep ted last - po pu la ri ty of fit ness cen tres in Po land, even -minu te entrants. by global standards, has its basis in econo - Fi ve years ago tho ugh, at the Run Aro und mics. It was easier to invest in a hall furni - the Zoo – where, due to the narrow paths be- shed with mir rors, mats and staf fed by an tween the animal enclo su res, the number in struc tor than in expen si ve gym equ ip - of runners was restric ted – some thing hap- ment. Now the number of gyms is growing pe ned that to ok all of the run ners by sur pri - too, especial ly since the big global networks se: the ra ce was over sub scri bed and pe ople arri ved in Poland. had to be tur ned away. To day this is the Year by year, Polish socie ty is growing ri- norm. For the popu lar races where the ro- cher. The con su me rism of young ca pi ta lism ute li mits num bers – such as the Ta tra Mo - certa in ly hasn’t helped Poles get more invo - unta in Run, the Butcher’s Run or the Run lved in exerci se. Now, though, when so ma- Aro und the Zoo –the ava ila ble pla ces are ny of us alre ady have alre ady bought our gone in minu tes. big-scre en TVs and compu ter, reno va ted our This bo om in run ning has be en bo osted by flats and got our se lves a ni ce car, we are the „Po land Runs” cam pa ign run by Ga ze ta mo re wil ling to fork out for gym or fit ness Wy bor cza, the lar gest of Po land’s opi nion -for - club member ship. ming newspa pers. Every year now the May It is not by chan ce that one of the big gest Day week end se es hun dreds of ge ne ral ly running events in Poland is the now three- small local runs taking place all over Poland, -year-old Kryni ca Running Festi val. The fe- with over one hundred thousand runners ta- stival is timed to coin ci de with the Kryni ca king part overall – typi cal ly novi ces. Eco no mic Fo rum, which has bro ught to ge - In the spring of this year „Poland Runs” ther the eco no mic and po li ti cal eli tes of began a „Natio nal Runners Regi ster”. In two Cen tral and Eastern Eu ro pe an nu al ly sin - we eks, 27,000 pe ople si gned up – wi tho ut ce 1991. Sports and re cre ation are be co ming any do ubt mo re than eve ry one run ning in an impor tant area of social life that is worth Po land20 years ago. in ve sting in – worth it for the gym owners, the run orga ni zers – and the inte re sted par- The best inve st ment ties them se lves, who are in cre asin gly wil - ling to invest their money, time and effort in The rush to sport can be se en too in the re turn for bet ter he alth and bet ter shape. growing number of fitness clubs. Twenty years ago, in the whole of Warsaw there we- And, what’s most im por tant, eve ry year, re a dozen or so; now there are dozens in the re are mo re and mo re of us.

WOJCIECH STASZEWSKI For 25 years, a journalist, currently with Newsweek Polska. Co-founder of the campaign Polska Biega, encouraging Poles to take up running. An amateur runner that run 50 marathons. He writes a popular blog about sport.

47 Polish Theatre in Europe – Finding Its Own Way to International Success

JOANNA TARGOŃ

„La dies and gen tle men, on4 Ju ne ‘89 com mu nism in Po land ca me to an end.” This sen ten ce, spo ken on te le vi sion by ac tress Jo an na Szczep kow ska, is one of the best - -remem be red events asso cia ted with the poli ti cal transfor ma tion. Szczepkow ska had been invi ted onto the news to talk about art, not poli tics but saw her chance to say so me thing im por tant and opti mi stic to her fel low Po les. The forth of Ju ne1989 saw the first par tial ly free elec tions, not just in post -war Po land but across the en ti - re „Eastern bloc”. The se elec tions si gnal led avic to ry for for ces that had on ly re cen - tly be en in op po si tion. But it was on ly afew mon ths la ter that Szczep kow ska ga ve a short perfor man ce, on28 October that year. The transfor ma tion of Polish theatre al so be gan a lit tle la te.

The ear ly ‘90s we re an at tempt at tur - shows that enga ge the audien ce in aserio - ning Polish theatre capi ta list. These efforts us dia lo gue. And that is still so. we re em bo died by the grand pri va te ly -fi nan - The po li ti cal bre ak th ro ugh of 1989 was ced pro duc tion of the1991 mu si cal Me tro. not mir ro red by an im me dia te bre ak th ro ugh Józe fo wicz and Stokło sy’s musi cal told the in the arts, in spite of high expecta tions that story of a group of young people hungry for the arts wo uld re spond to, re co gni ze and ar ti stic suc cess who put on a show in the pro cess the new re ali ty, per haps in so me hi - subway (though the Warsaw metro was yet therto unseen way. In 1990 censor ship was to open). li fted, gi ving new im pe tus to ar ti stic fre - The same year saw the premie re of Ta- edom. But art is gover ned by other laws ma ra, a show who se ma in at trac tion was than social life. Anew aesthetic and new a clas sy din ner pa id for wi thin the high tic - themes had not yet emerged nor had new ket price. But such shows did not beco me blo odyet flo wed in to the the atre (tho ugh the special ty of Polish theatre (though Me- the re was by no me ans ashor ta ge of out - tro is still per for med to day in spi te of the wi - standing perfor man ces). The first half of the de the atri cal re per to ire ava ila ble). Po lish ‘90s belon ged to direc tors who had long set the atre’s spe cial ty al ways was ar ti stic the to ne of Po lish the atre: Je rzy Ja roc ki,

48 Jerzy Grzego rzew ski and Krystian Lupa. Grzegorz Jarzy na. Warli kow ski had worked In 1992 at Paris’s Odéon-Théâtre de l'Eu- in the atre for fo ur years; for Ja rzy na, still ro pe, as part of a pre sen ta tion of Po lish the - a stu dent, this was his de but. Both di rec tors atre, it was in fact Ja roc ki’s The Wed ding having been to theatri cal school in Krakow and Je rzy Grze go rzew ski’s Po wol ne ciem - and stu died un der the tu te la ge of Kry stian nienie malo wi deł (based on Lowry’s Under Lupa, talk arose of a „Krako wian inva sion”. the Vol ca no) that we re shown, along with The double Warsaw debut of Jarzy naand Andrzej Wajda’s The Wedding Party. In the Warli kow ski pola ri zed the critics – and most ‘70s, Waj da’s pro duc tion of Do stoy evsky’s im por tan tly – the au dien ce. The ir per for - The Po sses sed from Kra kow's Old The atre mances attrac ted a new, younger audien ce, to ok the Eu ro pe an sta ge by storm. In re - less at ease with the produc tions of older sponse to perfor man ces at London’s World arti sts and seeking new experien ces, a new The atre Se ason (1972 and1973), Bri ta in’s aesthe tic and explo ra tion of the new re ali - most pro mi nent cri tics de scri bed this pro - ty. Soon Jarzy na would be offe red the posi - duction „an epochal event” and „astagge - tion of direc tor of the Varie ty Theatre; he in ring pro duc tion”. The Po sses sed to ured turn wo uld in vi te War li kow ski to jo in him. Euro pe, and Wajda’s later Dostoy evsky pro- But be fo re that, both men wo uld put on ductions (Nasta sya Fili po vna and Crime and shows at the Drama tic Theatre that would Puni sh ment) the whole world. present new themes even more power ful ly In turn, Jerzy Jaroc ki worked on nume ro - than the ir War saw de buts: War li kow ski’s us oc ca sions in the the atres of Ger ma ny, The Taming of the Shrew tapped into the Switzer land, Russia and Yugosla via, staging bru ta li ty as so cia ted with the so cial ro le of Che khov and Gom bro wicz. In '60s Ger ma ny, gender, while Jarzy na’s Uniden ti fied Human Konrad Swinar ski achieved success – win- Rema ins pain ted a pictu re of youthful con- ning most praise for his two shows at the tempo ra ry urban socie ty. West Berlin’s Schiller Theatre in1964 – The Rele ased from its obli ga tion to enga ge in Bug and the world pre mie re of Ma rat/Sa de po li tics, Po lish the atre tur ned to exi sten tial by Pe ter We iss (which won the cri tics” pri ze questions, but in such a way to arouse as for best show of the season in Germa ny). much enthu siasm as resi stan ce, provo ked Nor may we for get abo ut the hu ge and la - by its brutal exposu re of human rela tions, sting in flu en ce on to day’s con tem po ra ry moral preoc cu pa tions, reaching -out to pop theatre of Jerzy Grotow ski or Tade usz Kan- cul tu re, use of new me dia, de li be ra te nar ra - tor. Kantor's shows provi ded ashocking ti ve in con si sten cies and (in the view of so - con trast from the atri cal ro uti ne; his work me) exhibi tio nist acting. in flu en ced such emi nent di rec tors as Luk It was preci se ly the shows of Jarzy naand Per ce val, Ro dri go Gar cia, Pip po Del bo no War li kow ski that cau ght the eye of the ma - and Em ma Dan te. nage ment of the Avignon festi val. In 1998, In the late1990s, new direc to rial blo- at the festi val’s insti ga tion, the THEOREM od flo wed in to Po lish the atre. On 18 Ja nu - program was created. The program aimed ary 1997, War saw saw two pre mie res ta ke to pro mo te, in vi te and co -pro du ce per for - pla ce: So phoc les” Elec tra and Wit ka cy’s man ces by di rec tors from Eastern Eu ro pe. Tropi cal Madness. The former, staged at the In 2000, in Avi gnon Ja rzy na sho wed Gom - Drama tic Theatre (Teatr Drama tycz ny), was browicz’s Ivona, Princess of Burgun dy and di rec ted by War li kow ski; the lat ter, at the Do sto evsky’s Prin ce My sh kin. Ber nard Fa - Va rie ty The atre (Te atrze Roz ma ito ści) by ivre d'Ar cier, di rec tor of the fe sti val sa id,

49 „I think that until now French cri tics ha ve ses paved the way to festi vals across Euro - had a false pictu re of theatre from the East. pe. In 2009, Lupa was awarded the Euro pe - They had expected rather heavy theatre an The atre Pri ze, known as the „Oscars of – a little „dusty”. But what they saw was so- the the atre”. Geo r ges Ba nu wro te in pra ise mething light, strong and subtle. They were of Lu pa, „[he] is are fe ren ce po int. Lu pa’s ve ry ple asan tly sur pri sed by Po lish the atre.” theatre bears its own pecu liar beau ty of the Two years ear lier, in De cem ber1998, the cul tu ral tra di tion of cen tral Eu ro pe, to great sensa tion of the Festi val d’Autom ne which it re fers, and which it extols, bu il ding at the Odéon the atre had be en Kry stian Lu - from it a vi sion of the world. [...] Are fi ned ad - pa’s The Sle epwal kers, an ho urs -long two - ven tu re, a dan ge ro us expe di tion, jo ur ney in - -part ada pta tion of the ta le by Her mann to the unk nown.” Broch. Showing their works alongsi de Lupa Just as the Fe sti val d'Au tom ne had for were such outstan ding arti sts as Peter Sel- Lu pa, so the Fe sti val d'Avi gnon be ca me lars, Luc Bond and Klaus Mi cha el Gru ber. a springbo ard for young Polish direc tors to Actor Jean -Pier re Leonar di ni writing in Hu- launch the ir Eu ro pe an ca re ers. This was mani te commen ted: espe cial ly true for Krzysz tof War li kow ski, „The ma ster ful di rec tion of Lu pa hits on who in the sum mer ca pi tal of the the atre some thing that we here have not yet explo- made his debut ayear after Jarzy na, with red: the pro trac ted cre ati ve pro cess, the Hamlet, ashow that had alre ady caused profo und philo so phy of the theatre, an en- a stir in Poland, main ly for moral reasons sem ble of ac tors who, as a gu ild, jo in for ces (se xu ali ty was an im por tant the me in the in com bi ned ac tion [...] It is not eve ry day play, and in one scene the prince appe ared that Pa ris gets the chan ce to me et adra ma - na ked) but al so be cau se it osten ta tio usly tic pro po si tion so expres si ve that it ma kes cut itself off from poli tics. This abandon - you jump out of your skin with joy. More ple- ment of po li tics was in fact it self a po li ti cal ase of this Eu ro pe with such an au ra, of the state ment. Warli kow ski made it clear that greatest tonal range.” The perfor man ce re- the re sho uld be pri va cy in the pu blic sphe - ce ived French the atre cri ti cism’s award for re. In Avignon „Hamlet” was very well rece - best fore ign produc tion of the1998/99 se- ived, but a year la ter his sta ging of Sa rah ason. The Sleepwal kers played eleven mo- Kane’s Clean sed made Warli kow ski a star. re ti mes, each ti me to apac ked ho use. „Wonder ful: his abili ty to present with the Follo wing the success of The Sleepwal kers use of meta phor, extensi ve ly descri bed vio- came an invi ta tion for further perfor man ces, lence, homo se xu ali ty, and inten se, master - this time of The Brothers Kara ma zov, as play- ful, the atri cal sex,” wro te Fre de ric Fer ney in ed in Kra kow in1990-92. Ode on di rec tor Geo - Le Figa ro. rges Lavau dant had seen it back then and now Eve ry new War li kow ski pro duc tion is asked for a new produc tion. Mathil de La Bar- shown at Avi gnon, the fe sti val al so be ing co - don ne wro te, „after this se ven -ho ur per for - -produ cer. It is from Avignon that Warli kow - man ce we walk out tel ling our se lves how ski’s group usual ly begins its tours. But they go odit wo uld be, for in stan ce, if Lu pa we re to do not end there; he has staged his produc - be in vi ted to con ta mi na te the sta ge and gil - tions aro und the world –from Se oul to Bu - ded bo xes of the Co me die Fran ca ise”. enos Aires – and from Moscow to New York, Lupa beca me a regu lar guest at the Pa- in both of which cities he has won awards: ris fe sti val; vir tu al ly all of his per for man ces an OBIE in New York in 2008 for Krum and were shown in France; his Pari sian succes - a Meyer hold in Moscow in 2006.

50 Gérard Mor tier, di rec tor of the Pa ris Ope - se qu en tly 2009 saw his Va rie ty The atre and ra from 2004 to 2009, after seeing Krum and Berlin’s Schaubühne co-pro du ce the world the ope ra Woz zeck at War saw’s Grand The - pre mie re of Do ro ta Ma słow ska’s All is Ri ght atre, in vi ted War li kow ski to work with him. Be twe en Us. Ja rzy na’s di rec to rial re per to - Mortier’s goal at was to reinvi go ra te opera, ire spans operas too, inc lu ding Mauri ce Ra- to enter into adialo gue with the audien ce, to vel’s The Child and the Spells and Ale xan der provo ke them into seeing opera as vital con- Zem lin sky’s The Arm cha ir at the Bay eri sche tempo ra ry theatre, not just an aesthetic mu- Staat so per in Munich (2011). seum accom pa nied by beau ti ful music. Functio ning in a some what diffe rent circ- Under Mortier’s leader ship unrest was sown le are the atres that bro adly spe aking con ti - in the conse rva ti ve world of opera by direc - nue the cre ati ve qu est of Je rzy Gro tow ski: tors inc lu ding Micha el Hane ke, Christoph the Gar dzie ni ce gro up was fo un ded ne ar Lu - Mar tha ler and Krzysz tof War li kow ski – who blin in 1977 by Vladi mir Staniew ski; in Wroc- staged seve ral produc tions in Paris over this law, Grzegorz Bral and AnnaZu brzyc ki period: Gluck’s Iphige nia at Tauris (2006); Ja- opened The Song of the Goat Theatre na cek’s The Ma kro pu los Af fa ir (2007), Par si - in 1996. The se the atre gro ups win plau dits fal by Wa gner (2008) and King Ro ger by not only for their ecsta tic, music -fil led per- Szy ma now ski (2009). The emo tio nal re spon - for man ces, which draw on Eu ro pe an the - ses to the direc tor’s work proved that Mor- atrical tradi tions, but also for their rese arch tier had achie ved his go al; me an whi le, in to the so ur ces of the atre and mu sic, the ir War li kow ski re ce ived of fers of co ope ra tion ac tors” tra ining, which opens new ho ri zons, from Brus sels, Ma drid and Mu nich. and for attrac ting practi tio ners from around Unli ke War li kow ski, Grze gorz Ja rzy na did the world. Perfor man ces of the Gardzie ni ce not beco me a regu lar at the Festi val d'Avi- gro up can be se en abro ad mo re often than gnon, though he did have goodstart there; in Poland (in2005 alone the group perfor - The Cele bra tion, a dark fami ly histo ry (ada- med at the Bar bi can Cen tre in Lon don, La pted from a screen play by Vinter berg and MaMa in New York and the Meyer hold Cen- Rukov), was warmly rece ived („The palm for tre in Moscow). Follo wing anine -day run in Po land!” –it was writ ten). Tho ugh the re is London, Micha el Billing ton of The Guar dian no de ny ing that at the sa me fe sti val, Ja rzy - wrote: „Polish energy illu mi na tes this Gre- na’s pro duc tion was ec lip sed by the War li - ek classic, and the physi cal skill of the ac- kow ski’s Cle an sed, The Ce le bra tion was tors reaches the heights of Chine se in vi ted to Lon don, Du blin, Je ru sa lem, and acroba tics. Now I under stand why Staniew - la ter to New York. ski has had such a big influ en ce on the youn- Bey ond his na ti ve sta ge at the Va rie ty ger gene ra tion of British direc tors.” Theatre in Warsaw, where he is direc tor, Ja- In a Euro pe witho ut borders, at a time of rzy na works ma in ly in Ger man -spe aking easy tra vel and fast -flo wing in for ma tion, theatre. In2002 he direc ted Sarah Ka- Polish theatre is no longer a newly -di sco ve - ne’s 4.48 Psy cho sis in Düssel dorf, a year la - red land, as it was in the 1990s. Ar ti sts di - ter Brecht’s In the jun gle of Ci ties at Ber lin’s scove red back then have found ahome in Schaubühne theatre, in2006 at Vienna’s Euro pe, joined the festi val circu it and found Bur gh the ater Me dea. A pro ject (win ner of work in the the atres of Eu ro pe an, the ir pro - the Ne stroy Pri ze). Ayear la ter on that sa - ductions born out of inter na tio nal projects me sta ge he di rec ted an upda ted ver sion of and co-pro duc tions –which has meant per- The Lion in Win ter by Ja mes Gold man. Sub - for man ces at the in sti tu tions that con tri -

51 buted to those produc tions. Krakow’s Divi - ed in Krakow’s offbe at New Theatre. Ahi- ne Co me dy fe sti val has for se ve ral years be - gher profi le means more offers of work; en a pla ce to di sco ver hot new na mes Kry stian Lu pa is not alo ne in di rec ting in – a Po lish show ca se at trac ting the atre di - Ger ma ny– he is ac com pa nied by John Kla - rectors and scouts from inter na tio nal festi - ta (in Düssel dorf; three ti mes in Bo chum, in vals. The youn ger ge ne ra tion of di rec tors Dresden and in Graz), recen tly by Maja Kle- gains from this; unexpec ted invi ta tions are czew ska (Ham burg), Mi chal Za da ra (Vien - not unk nown. Afew years ago, thanks to na), Bar ba ra Wy soc ka (Mu nich), Mi cha el the Divi ne Come dy, the student produc tion Bor czuch (Düssel dorf) and Krzysz tof Gar ba - Versus by Rado slaw Rychcik went to ama- czewski (Stutt gart). Will they make waves jor New York Ci ty fe sti val, ha ving be en play - like their older colle agu es did?

JOANNA TARGOŃ She studied Polish philology and theatrology at the Jagiellonian University. Since 1995, she has collaborated with the theatre bimonthly Didaskalia as a writer and an editor, and, since 2000, has been a theatre critic with the Krakow edition of Gazeta Wyborcza. She has co-operated with a number of publishing houses as an editor and a consultant and has conducted ‘Writing about theatre’ workshops at the Theatre Studies Department of the Jagiellonian University.

52 ’A Neighbour to the North’: How I See the Neighbour behind Our Northern Border

MAGDA VÁŠÁRYOVÁ

If we all had a chance to fly regu lar ly be- jo kin gly re plied, „Be cau se NA TO ne eds im - tween Warsaw and Brati sla va, more of us passa ble, well-pa trol led borders and even could experien ce this incre di ble moment: Hi tler fa iled to se cu re that in the High Ta - the moun ta ins rising slowly above the Po- tras.” „Even Hitler?” asked the Russian, sha- lish plains behind Krakow’s towers. Then, king his he ad in dis be lief. „Even Hi tler!” sa id sud den ly, from no whe re, rock wall to wer Bar to szew ski; „You can not se pa ra te Slo - up in front of you. The High Ta tras. vaks and Po les!” That’s why we me et eve ry day, eve ry ti me and we are espe cial ly hap py Seen from the Polish side the High Tatras to me et at the Eco no mic Fo rum in Kry nica. se em in cre di bly high, unat ta ina ble, im pas - The forty years of Soviet poli cy were not sable. The view from the Slovak side could on ly cha rac te ri zed by its at tempts to ble ed not be mo re dif fe rent. Less fo re bo ding, sad - our fi nan cial and eco no mic re so ur ces dry; dles and moun ta in passes are clear ly visi ble. Soviet poli cy strived to stop us talking direc - But hi sto ry shows us that this high sto ne tly to each other and to ok its toll on re la - border has never kept Slovaks and Poles tions betwe en us. In1989 there was still no apart. The Fore sts of the Tatras and their electric rail way connec ting Slova kia and Po- se cret pa ths wit nes sed rob bers” esca pes, land; even to day we ha ve not yet ma na ged passa ges for Polish rebels or heavy Tatras” to bu ild the brid ges over the Po prad River. back packs, we ighed down with bo oks ban - Inci den tal ly, the connec tion betwe en our ned by to ta li ta rian re gi mes. The se tracks two, geogra phi cal ly diffe rent coun tries, co- be aten out by tho usands of fe et pro ve to us uld well be compa red to the fate of two ri- that no bor der, na tu ral or ar ti fi cial, is so im - vers: the Duna jec and Poprad carry crystal pas sa ble as to stop Slo vaks and Po les from cle ar Slo vak mo un ta in wa ters down to the hel ping each other. Vistu la River and on to the flat Polish plains. Asked once by the Russian Fore ign Mini - These rivers link Slova kia to the Baltic Sea; ster, „Why does Poland want Slova kia in NA- they flood quic kly and unexpec te dly, leaving TO so much too?” Wla di slaw Bar to szew ski behind the High Tatras a changed landsca -

53 pe. But these rivers also bring to the peace - tun nel ling un der the High Ta tras – a tun nel ful landsca pe of Poland the Slovak energy, that, if bu ilt, co uld so lve ma ny of our com - weaned on those racing moun ta in streams. mu ni ca tion pro blems at on ce. Such a tun nel We still lack a quali ty network of high - re ma ins a vir tu al pi pe dre am – the pre se rve ways and the sta te ro ads with mo dern bor - of on li ne de ba te among fans of the idea on - der crossings. But at least the border guards ly. The sancti ty of the High Tatras is age-old, are not so grum py any mo re. This lack of go - pre se rved by the unpre dic ta ble we ather and od ro ads fru stra tes any tho ught of hol ding distur bed only by Polish touri sts care les sly sha red cul tu ral or spor ting events –at le ast wan de ring over to the Slo vak si de. at re aso na ble expen se. Eter nal squ ab bling To day, we are mis sing oil and gas con nec - over the op por tu ni ty to co -host the Win ter tions in parti cu lar. This bottle neck not only Olym pics got un der eve ry one’s skin. At the stops us trading energy but prevents impor - same time, though, it is eviden ce that we tant co ope ra tion or even know led ge -sha - share an inter de pen den ce in such projects. ring in the energy sector. This is partial ly Kra kow’s wi th dra wal of its Win ter Olym - de ter mi ned by – and ma ni fe sted in – the pics bid, after years of pre pa ra tion, put smi - snail’s pace of diver si fi ca tion of oil and gas les on faces both sides of the border –chiefly reso ur ces in Central Euro pe. It seems that on the fa ces of the Gre ens. But it pro ved on - we are wa iting with re si gna tion for are pe at ce aga in that we are not am bi tio us eno ugh of 2009, and for Gazprom– on which Central and pro jects are not ade qu ate ly and jo in tly Eu ro pe gre atly de pends – to aga in explo it com mu ni ca ted wi thin both co un tries. Let’s a harsh win ter and turn the gas off. We fa - not dwell here on the empty deba tes over tali sti cal ly let ourse lves be blackma iled by

54 sup pliers and the ir pri ces. ti tu des, as not on ly for Slo va kia, but for the We allow Moscow to weaken our econo - Czech Re pu blic and Hun ga ry too, ke eping mic progress by sowing uncer ta in ty as they Po land in the V4 gro up is cru cial. on ce did in other parts of Eu ro pe. It to ok qu - We do un der stand and ob se rve with ap - ite so me ti me for us to re ali ze that the gas precia tion Poland’s efforts to deve lop a clo- and oil pipe li nes, Jamal and Brother ho od, se part ner ship with Ger ma ny and Fran ce, are not simply pipes crossing our terri to ry; and to beco me one of the engi nes of the EU. they are mo dern we apons with which our Ho we ver, at the sa me ti me, Po land has oc - big Slavo nic brother can exert new forms of ca sio nal ly be en a ca ta lyst of stra ined re la - pres su re and cre ate new sphe res of in flu en - tions betwe en Slova kia and Hunga ry, as has ce at no cost. This bro ther has al ways de - Slova kia vis-a -vis Poland and the Czech Re- man ded mo re pa triar chal obe dien ce than pu blic. We ne ed each other and it is the re - bro ther ly lo ve. Slo va kia expe rien ced this fore in our common inte rest to talk about all brother’s „help” once alre ady –in 1968. If we the problems and affa irs that divi de us. To- wa it too long to re mo ve the se bot tle necks, day, this problem is mostly the situ ation we harm our abi li ty to help each other with across our eastern bor der. ener gy sup plies; by de lay ing, we al so post - Unfortu na te ly, there are bottle necks be- po ne clo ser co ope ra tion and po li cy co or di - twe en us in other are as. One fa tal da te na tion – not on ly in such a stra te gi cal ly stands out in our cul tu ral con tacts –the impor tant area as energy poli cy. year 1980 and the dec la ra tion of Mar tial law Our jo int mem ber ship in NA TO and the in Po land. Until that ti me, in ten si ve cul tu ral EU is the fruit of excellent coope ra tion be- exchange took place across our shared bor- twe en the go vern ments on both si des. Slo - ders; mu tu al vi sits to each other’s uni ver si - vakia´s lagging behind in the ‘90s, due to ties, Po lish bo oks in Slo va kia and Slo vak Vla di mir Mečiar’s un de mo cra tic ru ling go - ones in the libra ries of Krakow profes sors, vernment, worried Poles most. Witho ut Po- fami ly visits. With one command, Presi dent lish deter mi na tion and energy, the second Jaru zel ski swept all of this away. Slovak pe- NATO expansion would have look diffe rent ople co uld not cross the Po lish bor der fre - – or may not ha ve hap pe ned at all. ely for se ve ral years, al tho ugh even be fo re Du ring the 1990s, re gio nal co ope ra tion a spe cial per mis sion was ne eded. Slo vak wi thin the V4 pro ved cru cial. Slo va kia di sco - profes sors lost their jobs at Polish univer si - vered how impor tant it is to have goodne - ties, transla tors ceased to transla te Slovak ighbo urs ready to help in hard times. The bo oks, even tho ugh Slo vaks ma de an ef fort fate of Central Euro pe –this sore ly tried and to keep pace with Polish lite ra tu re and they unpredic ta ble region – would look very dif- had be en re ading Po lish dis si dent pu bli ca - ferent witho ut such regio nal coope ra tion. tions more often. In Slova kia, a gene ra tion It is parti cu lar ly striking that the events that no longer under stands Polish has in Ukraine are straining coope ra tion within grown up. What is crucial, this gene ra tion V4. Poland rema ins alone since the presen - does not read Polish newspa pers or books. ta tion and cre ation of the EU Eastern Part - Even twenty five years of freedom was in- ner ship pro ject. The Po les ha ve had to re ly suffi cient to make up this shortfall; it is sim- on co ope ra tion with Swe den, be cau se the ply too large, and our govern ments have not other three V4 coun tries have been too afra- al lo ca ted eno ugh funds to eli mi na te this id to stand up to Vladi mir Putin’s poli cies. glaring cultu ral defi cit. Thus we will fa ce the ne ed to re vi se our at - That is why even today, there is not asin-

55 gle modern poli ti cal science book devo ted Thus, what do we agree on and what to Po lish–Slo vak re la tions. Na tio na list hi - do we not? It is said that Poles and Slovaks sto rians on both si des still ta ke aca de mic li - are lin gu isti cal ly clo sest. Whi le Po les find ber ties with the se di spu ted events. the Czech langu age some what ridi cu lo us, Students have retur ned to schools and uni- they find Slo vak no ble and ar cha ic –exac tly versi ties but students know more about like the Polish langu age to Slovaks. Even so, Ame ri can mu sic than Po lish mu sic, unli ke we have to watch out; the same words and my gene ra tion. We cannot fore see how this phrases – lite ral ly as well as meta pho ri cal - ina bi li ty to fill the cultu ral gaps in our com- ly sa id – so und si mi lar ly but me an so me - muni ca tion will leave its mark on Polish– thing com ple te ly dif fe rent or even Slovak rela tions. But we can say that op po si te. I gi ve nu me ro us exam ples in my Slova kian civi li za tion has suffe red a great book on Polish–Slo vak rela tions – A Midni - loss now on ly Czech cul tu re has re ma ined ght Neigh bo ur. Howe ver, a common desti ny a cultu ral partner for us. – ma in ly in 20th and 21st cen tu ry – has bro - Let me ci te apas sa ge from my bo ok: „Re - ught us unprece den tly toge ther. This is the lations betwe en Slova kia and Poland could capi tal we have to build on and not to turn be drawn as a si nu so id. For awhi le we donot our back on – whether just for the sake of know each other, for a while we need each short-term would -be profit from „Moscow” other, for a while we use each other and for or from „Brussels”. Such a short-term poli - a while we exploit each other. Back and cy contri bu tes nothing to today or tomor - forth, back and forth, from ti me to ti me at row. Still, that gre at rock wall, the Ta tra the lo west le vel.” Mo un ta ins do es not mind this at all.

MAGDA VÁŠÁRYOVÁ Founder and the first Director of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association. In the past, she was Ambassador to Austria and Poland, as well as Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. Currently, she is Member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. She is involved in NGO Via Cultura that she founded and that incorporates the Institute for Cultural Policies.

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