Not only is the centuries-long struggle for Polish independence and freedom one of the great stories in the development of human liberty, but now the Poles are, relatively speaking, setting a good example in economic policy. From the Wall Street Journal:
Governments across Europe are having to weigh their finances against demand from voters and companies for government help through the downturn. But not in Poland, where the government has offered relatively little help but hasn’t suffered a political backlash.
That’s a testament both to Poland’s relative economic strength during the downturn and a cultural shift as a more business-friendly generation comes of age…
The main prop Poland has put under the economy – an anti-crisis package passed in August – has been so restrictive that only 70 companies have applied for the loan guarantees the new law allows state-owned bank BGK to provide, according to Labor Ministry spokeswoman Bozena Diaby. Companies must show they have suffered a sharp drop in revenue and Bank BGK said it had granted only nine such guarantees, worth 4 million zlotys ($1.4 million), and was analyzing 20 more applications.
And that package is also the only offer of help Poland has made to General Motors’ subsidiary Adam Opel GmbH, which has one of Opel’s newest car-making plants at Gliwice. By contrast, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom have made bailout offers tailor-made to support GM’s embattled operations on the continent.