Vitaly Portnikov. Balcerowicz's third plan

Balcerowicz's third plan
Vitaly Portnikov

Publication date: November 20, 2000

One of the most famous politicians in Poland, the leader of the right-wing liberal Union of Freedom, Leszek Balcerowicz, announced that at the upcoming party congress in December 2000 he would not run for the post of its leader. “At the Congress of the Union of Freedom in February 1998, I announced that, as a former stayer at the 800-meter distance, I would start for a second and final term. This mandate ends in December. I want to publicly confirm my intentions ,” Balcerowicz emphasized.

Professor Balcerowicz led the Polish liberals in April 1995. It was this decision - to stand at the head of the party - that made it possible to talk about Balcerowicz as a politician. The professor had a brilliant career as an economist behind him. 53-year-old Balcerowicz received an education that could only be dreamed of in socialist times: after graduating from the Warsaw Main School of Planning and Statistics, he continued his studies at the New York University of St. John, where he defended his master's thesis. Unlike the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of Poland provided its citizens with such an opportunity, although it itself was not able to claim their education. They started talking seriously about Balcerowicz's abilities only when Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a representative of Solidarity, became the Prime Minister of Poland. In Poland's first non-communist government, Balcerowicz became deputy prime minister and minister of finance. At the same time, the Poles were presented with the famous “Balcerowicz plan,” which allowed the country to overcome inflation, create thousands of real jobs, and make Polish products competitive. In two years, 600 thousand private enterprises appeared, which meant the creation of one and a half million new jobs. It was the implementation of Balcerowicz's plan that allowed Poland to become one of the countries vying to join the EU. The implementation of this plan was the death knell for pseudo-reform efforts in the former Soviet republics neighboring Poland, where the corrupt nomenklatura that retained power justified the lack of radical economic reform by the peculiarities of the economic structure and the unpreparedness of society for “shock therapy.” Today, the governments of Mikhail Kasyanov in Russia or Viktor Yushchenko in Ukraine face the need to solve problems that were successfully overcome in Poland in the early 90s.

Balcerowicz resigned in December 1991, when the foundations for Poland's economic transformation had been laid, but he himself was subject to serious criticism due to a number of social difficulties arising from the implementation of his plan. He returned to politics when the effectiveness of the “Balcerowicz plan” was confirmed by time - first leading the Union of Freedom, and then becoming deputy prime minister in the coalition government of Solidarity and liberals. At the same time, the “second Balcerowicz plan” was announced (November 1998), the meaning of which was to double the incomes of Poles in 10 years, reduce inflation to 5% and reduce unemployment to 30% by 2000. Changes had to happen in education, health, defense, etc. However, it cannot be said that the government consistently adhered to this plan. The coalition collapsed, and since that time the liberals have taken a neutral position in relation to most government actions, supporting only those that correspond to their economic and political program.

Apparently, this situation does not suit Balcerowicz’s active nature. By resigning, he makes it easier for himself to run for the post of chairman of the board of the National Bank of Poland. The country's chief banker, Hannah Gronkiewicz-Waltz, considered a symbol of the zloty's stability, is resigning due to her appointment as deputy head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In this regard, in Poland they began to say that a country in need of investment requires a new authoritative banker, whose identity would not raise doubts among Western financiers. Balcerowicz is just such a person. And since the chairman of the board of the National Bank is proposed by the left-wing president, and approved by the right-wing parliament, Balcerowicz could become a compromise figure for both Alexander Kwasniewski and Solidarity. When the professor was asked whether his refusal to run for the post of party leader was connected with the desire to head the National Bank, Baltserovich replied that so far there are no real reasons for such aspirations, but he is not a person shying away from important responsibilities... The answer is more than transparent. ..

So, this is the “third plan of Balcerowicz”: the popular politician and economist wants, from the chair of the head of the National Bank, to promote the growth of the economy, which has stabilized not least thanks to his efforts. Balcerowicz's first plan promoted the emergence of a stable currency in Poland. Now Balcerowicz wants to exclude any accidents associated with fluctuations in the government exchange rate - fortunately, the chair of the head of the National Bank and his activities in the Monetary Policy Council, specially created to support the zloty, provide him with such opportunities...