A graphic that has gone viral online shows that when Poland was ruled by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS), it benefited from the highest economic growth rates, whereas the period of rule under Donald Tusk’s liberal Civic Platform (PO) was a period when the economy was stagnant.
While it is true that Tusk’s government had to face the global financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, that does not explain why the economy continued to grow very slowly right up until 2015 when that government finally left office.
From the moment PiS came into office, growth quickened significantly; the economy only stalled during the COVID pandemic, but recovered quickly thereafter. Commentators are wondering if Poles are in for a repeat of the Tusk government slowing down the economy once again.
After only 100 days of his government, Tusk complained that he had a difficult situation to contend with and has blamed the previous PiS government for his inability to implement his election promises.
According to Cezary Kaźmierczak from the Union of Polish Entrepreneurs and Employers, the government has done nothing in its first 100 days with regard to implementing any pro-growth policies. He remains hopeful this might change and believes Tusk’s party should learn from the experience of its last period of government, when a lack of ambition in the end cost it dearly.
While Kazmierczak acknowledges that the economic situation inherited from PiS is good and there is no need to rush into changes, he warns that the global economy is changing fast. He fears Tusk’s team are dithering and delaying projects such as the central airport and not doing enough to close a multi-billion euro deal with Intel. He said he hopes that a negative view towards projects does not have to do with the fact that they were initiated by the previous PiS government.
Meanwhile during Easter, Tusk’s party posted cheekily claiming credit for Poland’s inflation rate falling to 1.9 percent, showing a graph comparing inflation in 2023 with that in 2024 and claiming to have turned the corner.
This led to a battle on social media, with the party being accused of shameful lies and appropriation of the last government’s and the central bank’s policy success.
“You’re treating voters like idiots” was the general tenor of remarks, while some also asked whether the central bank is no longer responsible for inflation.
PiS left office with falling inflation, full employment, and high growth, despite EU funds being blocked. It remains to be seen how the Tusk government will cope. For the time being, it has raised VAT on food from 0 to 5 percent and has signaled large hikes in energy prices from July.
