Right Wing Staff for Left Wing Policy? The Polish Central Bank enters a new Era – from Warsaw reports Markus C. Kerber
The appointment by President Duda of the two remaining members for the Council of Monetary Policy – the strategic steering instance of Poland’s Central Bank NBP – has accomplished the total renewal of the leading staff of Poland’s monetary policy makers.
NBP’s President Marek Belka who contrary to his predecessor Skrzypek is internationally recognized as an expert has no other choice but to moderate the transition period till his term of office in June. Of course he will try to underline the continuity of monetary policy instead of paying lipservice to the new power in Poland dominated by Kaczynki’s Law and Justice Party. However the newly appointed members of the Monetary Policy Council represent controversial qualities and are contested as to their competence. Their only common denominator is their loyalty to Kaczynki’s party. That is not only true for Jerzy Zyzynski who so far has been a member of parliament but as well for Eugeniusz Gatnar a professor from Katowice and the Kaczynski activist Grazyna Ancyparowicz who has become notorious because of her public catholic confessions in the ultra-right wing radio Maryja. She like the 34 years old Marek Chrzanowski – a junior professor – are „ advisors“ in President Duda’s Council. Another new member Kamil Zubelelwicz is apart from his quality as the rector of a private university totally unknown and unreferenced in the monetary community.
However the selection process of candidates has at least kicked out academically controversial candidates like the public PiS devotee Malgorzata Zalewska who had been compensated by the highly visible position as president of the National Stock Exchange.
Some MPs had already postulated in autumn an „adjustment“ (easing) of monetary policy to enable the new government to fulfill the generous promises in social policy without impact on the interest rates fixed by the Central Bank NBP. The expectations of the Kaczynski electorate continue to be enormous. With the new staff in the Council of Monetary Policy the right wing government will have no opposition to fear once President Belka will have left the office. But the markets cannot be deceived in the long run. The rating agencies will continue to downgrade Poland if monetary laxism accompanies fiscal overspending and the exchange rate of the Zloty – already under pressure – will not easily survive the obedience of the newly composed Monetary Council. Fiscal and monetary matters are – fortunately – so robust and will remain stronger than Kaczynski’s and his spin doctors’ conjuring up of conspiracy from abroad.