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Post by tuftabis on Dec 20, 2009 12:43:09 GMT -7
But on the long term I am worried about Poland too. Poland is inbetween Germany and Russia, which both have sometimes questionable politics and far right political minorities that can grow easily when the economical situation deteriorates. The main problem that worries me about Poland is that we produce politicians so dumb that they don't understand that without proper funding of science, research, new technologies in 30 years we will be a backyard of developed world. Mr.Tusk seemed to understand that, but it seems he only pretended ;D ;D As to life between Scylla and Charybdis - you may really relax, Pieter. We are used to the problem, we live with it since ages, and used to fixing it. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but we always manage to fix it.
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 20, 2009 13:01:48 GMT -7
I don't know much about Lepper's Samoobrona and why they don't mean nothing (just an bunch of rioting radical farmers and youngsters with an old leader? Or something else why they don't get votes). They don't have any 'core electorate'. They got into Sejm in just one elections thanks to the votes of the less informed, the less educuated, the most disappointed with lack social care from the state, the most helpless (comapare out discussion on homo sovieticus). This group is rapidly shrinking due to Poland's economic success. It gains less, but their 'core, stable electorate' is around 10 to 15 percent. These are people understanding patriotism in very strict , a little old-fashioned, terms, Pole-Catholic, Scylla and Charybdis danger, etec etc. Becasue Jaroslaw Kaczynski of PiS has very cleverly 'swollowed' LPR. He's a very talented politician. PiS is the second party in Poland. LPR is virtually non-existent. As to ideological differences - PiS in contrast to LPR has a more liberal wing, which overlaps with the conservative wing of PO. No. The most liberal wing of PO and the most consevative wing of LPR are like fire and water, they cannot go peacefully together.
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Post by pieter on Dec 20, 2009 18:22:30 GMT -7
I don't know much about Lepper's Samoobrona and why they don't mean nothing (just an bunch of rioting radical farmers and youngsters with an old leader? Or something else why they don't get votes). They don't have any 'core electorate'. They got into Sejm in just one elections thanks to the votes of the less informed, the less educuated, the most disappointed with lack social care from the state, the most helpless (comapare out discussion on homo sovieticus). This group is rapidly shrinking due to Poland's economic success. Thank god that Poland has that economical progress in the sense of economical growth! The 'core electorate' must be the old class of collective farmers, state company workers, communist state bureaucrats -transformed into leftwing populists ;D -, poor peasents, unemployed and underclass people (because you mentioned the less educated and the helpless comapare). I hope that this 'homo sovjeticus polonis' will disappear soon, due to good education, labourmarket possibilities and a differant attitude of a new generation (the kids of the comapare who do not want to be as helpless as the old folks). LPR gains less, but their 'core, stable electorate' is around 10 to 15 percent. These are people understanding patriotism in very strict , a little old-fashioned, terms, Pole-Catholic, Scylla and Charybdis danger, etec etc. Fortunately PiS, which is not my party by the way swallowed the electorate of this oldfashionate National-democratic party with a Roman Dmowski ideology in a modern coat! To be honest Tufta, does this Pole-Catholic idea, Scylla and Charybdis danger, not live in most Polish hearts, but maybe a little bit more moderate than LPR. If I would be a believing pious Roman-Catholic Pole and Patriot I would be worried about Germany, Russia and the influence of Western-European atheist-secularism (sometimes radical secularism, like the French Laïcité, and the Dutch and Czech "atheist" states) on the European Union and the European constitution and legislation. There is a differance between an atheist-secular (non-religious humanist and liberal-democratic [without the religious element] or agnostic) view of Europe, and the central- and Southern-European look on Europe, which sees a Europe with a Christian heritage which is an important part of the identity of this continent. This defines the differance between confessional Central- and Eastern Europe and secular Western-Europe. You already pointed that out somewhere. And you were right Tufta! Jaroslaw Kaczynski of PiS has very cleverly 'swollowed' LPR. He's a very talented politician. Does Jaroslaw Kaczynski stil has some power as the chairman of PiS or is his brother Lech Kaczyński, the president of Poland more dominant and powerful? Often a presidency is just a ceremonial job. I know that Lech Kaczyński and prime-minister Donald Tusk are not fond of eachother and often stand in eachothers way. Is Jaroslaw Kaczynski a threat to the PO-PSL government and especially Dondald Tusks position? PiS is the second party in Poland. LPR is virtually non-existent. As to ideological differences - PiS in contrast to LPR has a more liberal wing, which overlaps with the conservative wing of PO. Is PiS is that powerful that in coming elections the PO could be forced to cooperate with PiS? And if a PiS-PO government wouldn't be possible would a PiS-PSL-SLD government be possible? If there would be compromises and the SLD would be stripped of old Communists and a new generation of " Polish centre-left" politicians would take the steering wheel? Or is the old the Polish United Workers' Party (Polish: Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza - PZPR) stil to strong and influential in the SLD to make that possible? And what would a possible PiS-PSL-SLD government mean for Poland? Spot wyborczy CentroLewicyThe Centrolew websitewww.centrolew.pl/Would a PO-PiS-LPR coalition government be possible. No. The most liberal wing of PO and the most consevative wing of LPR are like fire and water, they cannot go peacefully together. Yes, understandable the rightwing understanding patriotism in very strict , a little old-fashioned way are differant from centre-right moderate liberals, whith a liberal-conservative ideology of free market laissez fair politics and small government, while the rightwing LPR has rather leftwing, social-economical views with more influence of the state. The party combines social conservatism with isolationism and left-wing economic policies, based upon its own interpretation of Catholic social teaching. This is a horror scenario for the most liberal wing of the PO. ;D This stands in their way of a free market economy! Dumb politicians and the way it should beThe main problem that worries Tuftabis about Poland is that it produces politicians so dumb that they don't understand that without proper funding of science, research, new technologies in 30 years Poland will be a backyard of the developed world. How do you get rid of these dumb politicians or how do you change their mind or point of view? Every European government has to invest in the Information Communication Technology sector, because we are in fact already having an Internet economy and are moving towards a Baltic stile Internet democracy in the near future. You are right Tuftabis! Invest in higher education (the Polish universities), better primary and highschool education, and the research centres in which the chain exists between Polish science and commercial succes (scientific inventions of research institutes of Universities that are used or co-funded and produced by the private sector). Krakow is a good example of that! I saw the research centre there and the exellent Jagiellonian University. In 2006 The Times Higher Education Supplement ranked Jagiellonian University as the top Polish university. Since 2000 a new complex of university buildings, the so-called Third Campus, is under construction, due for completion in 2010. The Third Campus borders the LifeScience Park managed by the Jagiellonian Centre of Innovation. Poland should keep and expand this development. And dumb politicians should be smart politicians. The Polish voters have a vote in this. If the majority of the politicians is dumb as you say Tufta, the Poles should create new parties for new politics for the direction you described, so that Poland in 30 years we will be in the forfront of the developed world. Tufta, you are very disappointed in Mr.Tusk because he doesn't want to understand what you are saying or is for opportunistic reasons, short term goals watching towards 2010 elections, and politics in that perspective and the powergame of that is then more important than economical matters, financial stability and Polands future on the long term. In that perspective, you are right that it seems that he only pretended to know the importance of proper funding of science, research, new technologies for Polands future in Europe and the world (as member of the EU, NATO and international markets (import and export sector, trade and businessworld), and as a country that can catch up with Modern countries it has good ties with such as the USA, Great-Britain, The Netherlands, Israel, Denmark, France and Germany. Polish science and technologyToday Poland has over 100 institutions of post-secondary education — technical, medical, economic, as well as 500 universities — which are located in most major cities such as Gdańsk, Kraków, Lublin, Poznań, Rzeszów and Warsaw. They employ over 61,000 scientists and scholars. Another 300 research and development institutes are home to some 10,000 researchers. There are, in addition, a number of smaller laboratories. All together, these institutions support some 91,000 scientists and scholars. It is of the upmost importance for Poland to maintain this higher education and invest in Human capital and the New economy which is coming back after the collapse in the ninetees. You can't turn your back to new technology, scientific developments and the electronic digital age. We have a digital economy today, and internet based trade, exchange of ideas and commercial activities on the web are very important. So Poland should invest in the fasted internet connections, wireless zones in cities and an attractive investment climate for Sillicon Valley like companies of the New Economy (ICT based businesses). Poland should create it's own niches, inventions which have a scientific, commercial general human value. Jagiellonian Universityupload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Kampus_UJ_IGiGP.JPGThe Campus of the 600th Anniversary of the Jagiellonian University Revival Corporate Research Center in Krakowwww.abb.com/cawp/plabb046/50e7e3eb296c453cc1256b5700478ded.aspxThe Polish governmentPrime Minister Donald TuskPrime Minister Donald Tusk (1957) and his PO were voted due to his political vision and and ambitian to combine a strong support of a free market economy with little government interference. That is what he said and that's why Polish voters like Tuftabis and others voted for him. Waldemar Pawlak (1959 is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy in the liberal Civic Platform (PO)-PSL government, formed after the 2007 parliamentary election. Although PSL is still the smallest party represented in the Sejm, Pawlak is often cited as having achieved a major political victory. During his time in the party chair his party enjoyed better electoral results, the elimination of major competition among agrarian voters from the also agrarian dominated party ( Samoobrona), and the resumption of major influence in rural areas. Additionally PSL was put in charge of three cabinet posts in the Tusk government. (Without the PSL votes, the PO would not have a Sejm majority, even though it easily accounts for the biggest political group in the sitting parliament.) Waldemar PawlakJan Vincent-Rostowski Jan Vincent-Rostowski (1951), the Finance Minister of the Republic of Poland supports Poland joining the Euro as soon as possible. He is fluent in Polish, English, French, Russian and German. Radosław Sikorski (1963), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland is a strong supporter of a decentralized state, free market economy, and social conservatism. He is a pro-American politician, believing that that cooperation between the two countries can lead to the modernization of Poland's military. He is also a strong supporter of Poland's membership in the European Union. On August 20, 2008, Sikorski, the government's point man on missile defense, signed a missile defense agreement with Condoleezza Rice of the United States over the vociferous objections of Russia. The agreement came less than two weeks after the breakout of the 2008 South Ossetian war in Georgia. " Parchments and treaties are all very well," Sikorski said, " but we have a history in Poland of fighting alone and being left to our own devices by our allies." Sikorski meets United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Grzegorz Schetyna (1963), ( Platforma Obywatelska), Minister of Interior and Administration Katarzyna Hall (1957), the Minister of National Education of the Republic of Poland since November 2007. Barbara Kudrycka, minister of Science and Higher Education Cezary Grabarczyk (1960), Minister of Infrastructure.
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 3:23:58 GMT -7
But on the long term I am worried about Poland too. Poland is inbetween Germany and Russia, which both have sometimes questionable politics and far right political minorities that can grow easily when the economical situation deteriorates. As to life between Scylla and Charybdis - you may really relax, Pieter. We are used to the problem, we live with it since ages, and used to fixing it. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but we always manage to fix it. Tufta, You sure did! Thank god this unpleasent experiance of opression, hardship and failing germanisation (Prussian state and Third Reich program to Germanise Polish kids) and Russification (occupied Czarist Poland) learned Poland a lesson in Machiavellian geopolitics, long term resistance, the fact that the Polish identity, language (literature and poetry) and culture can not be erased by foreign occupiers. Today you have a free Poland, a democratic Poland, and a high class, middle class and working class of a normal society. You see threats from within, like dumb politicians, a state bureaucracy that isn't abolished yet and a PO government that gives in to demands of the past instaid of the present and the future. (Do what you promised, implement the tax reforms, cut back the seize of the government and continue economical reforms or take measures to modernise the economy). Tuftabis, What would your policy be if you were the leader of the cabinet Tuftabis with the best politicians and technocrats available! Would you appoint Leszek Balcerowicz as Finance Minister of Poland again. And Andrzej Olechowski (1947) former Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993-95) and former Minister of Finance (1992) of the Republic of Poland, and one of the co-founders of conservative liberal party Civic Platform in 2001 as the minister for economy? Tadeusz Mazowiecki as a Shimon Peres like Polish President and minister of state? And Paweł Wojciechowski (1960), Polish economist and specialist in the field of computer sciences and former Minister of Finance, as the new minister for the department of ICT, infrastructure and New economy a new sub ministry linked to the ministry of economy of Andrzej Olechowski ? The Polish economist Michał Dybuła could be the state secretary of Marco Economics in the Tuftabis government. Lech Walensa the minister of foreign affairs, Jarosław Kaczyński as minister of internal affairs, due to his role as frontbench MP and being a powerful leader of his party, who is also described as Poland's most influential politician. His brother Lech Kaczyński could be the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Poland, due to his graduation of law and administration of the Warsaw University and his experiance as Mayor of Warsaw and his 4 years of presidential experiance. ;D Maciej Nowicki (1941), manager, scientist and the current (from 16 November 2007) Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Poland in the cabinet of Donald Tusk can stay at his post in the Tuftabis cabinet. And Ewa Kopacz (1956) can stay the Minister of Health! The rest of the ministers of the present Tusk cabinet can keep their positions too. In the Tuftabis cabinet promised measures of the PO election program of the 2005 and 2007 general and presidential elections will be implemented. In the Tuftabis cabinet there will be a more long term focus on the economy, fiscal responsability, market reform, investments in the Polish infrastructure (better highways, roads and railways is good for Polish trade, tourism and the Polish internal market), sciences, New Economy and in the same time decreasing the seize of the Polish state and the fight against corruption and state bureaucracy. In the elections of 2010 centrist leader Tuftabis of the New Poland Party, said the time of dumb politicians was over and that the time of " Realpolitik", using a German term for pragmatic and realistic political measures and policies would rule from now on! Stating the ideological and quality gap between his generation of new politicians and the " old guard" of old dissidents, former -communists and newcommers after 1989 who were corrupted by the " old-guard", the younger politicians who failed to materialise their promises and the " New-guard" of old dissidents and new Post-communist young politicians is huge and that there is not a bridge large enough to hold this. Tuftabis New Poland Party unites the former centre-right and the non-communist wing of the former centre left in one movement. Former PO, PiS, (non-communist ) SLD and PSL members joyned the NPP! Ofcourse this huge concentration in the centre will make new shifts in the Polish politics possible and on the right and left new oppositions emerge! The intelligent and experianced leader Tuftabis is well aware of that! Adam Michnik (1946) the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, thinks the chance is big that the next prime minister will be Tuftabis, since many PO voters are disappointed in Donald Tusk's government. And PiS isn't able to fill this gap because voters remember the PiS-LPR-Samoobrona government before the Tusk cabinet, and that was old politics as usual. PiS is also considered " Old Guard" as present opposition leader Tuftabis stated. Many Poles are attracted to the idea of New politics! And mister Tuftabis new party provides in that political desire and demand for change, stability and modernisation. Michnik thinks a NPP-PO-PSL government is likely, because the leftovers of PO and PSL who did not join Tuftabis NPP are willing to cooperate in a centrist coalition government. There were sounds for former prime ministers Tusks appointement as the new mayor of Warsaw and there were rumors that Waldemar Pawlak will be the new mayor of Krakow in the fall of 2010. ;D Tufta, this was a comical scetch, a parody with a serious undertone, because a NPP would be nice if it has a strong grassroots movement, stabile and strong politicians, a long term strategy ( a long breath, trained in political struggle and fierce opposition) it holds to and in contrast to the present Polish, Dutch and European politics would dare to take impopular measures for the long term sake of Polands future. Not the short term popular, opportunistic political visions of politicians and parties of today, who only try to find a balance towards the image they have in the media, the short term political media hypes, the polls, the fear of the power of the opposition, civilian activists and state clerks and bureaucrats. Ofcourse hypothetical the NNP, the merger of the best of prewar and post-communist elements and technocrats like economists, businessmen- and women who become politicians and govern with an inside knowledge of the practice of the business world, trade (import and export business), trade legislation, the (marco- and micro) economy and the financial market, professors of the best Polish universities with corporate experiance due to the cooperation between universities and private firms in the research centres in larger Polish cities, could be possible. In fact I am curious what a real Tuftabis political movement, party, ideology, cabinet or government would be? What is your own stance in this? Pieter P.S.- Here some small articles: Public debt in Poland will spiral if not brought under control, says economist10th December 2009 BNP Paribas economist Michał Dybuła announced during a press conference yesterday that " if within the next five years the government will not decide on well-defined restrictions in relation to the fiscal policies, then in ten years the public debt could reach 100 percent of GDP." Currently the public debt is half that amount. Moreover, the economist explained that if there will be no changes made to the fiscal policies the pace of GDP growth in Poland will fall to almost zero within ten years. " Our situation will be similar to that which is currently observed in Greece," added Mr Dybuła. Source: Rzeczpospolita And from Career journal.comEurope | Poland | 2009-10-12 Poland: Island of stability, but increasing pressure for reformUnlike other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and the majority of the EU-15, Poland’s economy is remarkably robust, exerting a stabilising effect on the entire region and many euro-area banks. However, the economic and financial crisis has also highlighted structural weaknesses which require determined reform efforts.
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 8:17:55 GMT -7
An article of the past with some actual information: www.cer.org.uk/articles/barysch_guardian_blog_23oct07.html2007 (Guardian blog)Neither Donald Tusk nor the PO had any government experience when they gained power in 2007. Despite the statist leanings of the PiS, they bequeathed an economy in rude health: GDP was growing at 7% a year back then, the inflation was low, the budget in balance, unemployment kept falling. Foreign investors brought in $ 20 billion in 2006. Against this background, Tusk finds it hard to make the case of painful measures, such as lower taxes and reforming an ill-targeted social security system and a bloated, ineffective state bureaucracy. These tasks are urgent: corruption watchdog Transparency International listed Poland in 2007 way below any other EU country bar Bulgaria and Romania. And in the World Bank's ranking of the ease of doing business, Poland scored lower than Kazakhstan. How is doing business in the Poland of 2009 for foreign investers, Polish diaspora Businessmen- and women and foreign governments who support joint ventures? Third, although 80% of Poles think that their country did well out of being in the EU, Poland wanted (and wants) to be taken seriously as one of the EU's big countries. When I went to the Krynica Economic Forum in September 2007, I was surprised to find that many liberal-minded Poles supported the Kaczynskis' nationalist and anti-German line. " We only started coming to terms with the second world war in 1990," said one. The PO itself has a mixed record on Europe. It was a PO politician who came up with the infamous " Nice or death" slogan to defend Poland's voting share in the EU. The new government's rhetoric will be less combative, and atmospherics matter in the EU. But I would still expect the Poles to be tough, for example in the forthcoming review of the EU budget, where Poland will fight tooth and nail for a big share in EU regional funds and against reforming the common agricultural policy. Comment Pieter: In fact I have heard less of the present Polish government then the previous Polish government of the Kaczynskis'. That can mean three things, first neutral, things gow their way and Poland is a normal or average European memberstate with not much problems. Secondly this can be a succes of POlish diplomacy, foreign politics and the succes of the Polish economy (no news can be better than bad news). The third option is that the Polish government maintains a low key, that it manages to get little attention while the situation in Poland deteriorates with high unemployment rates, reform policies that failed, and the government lost grip on the situation. The only benefit of the government in that case is that the whole of Europe and the World is in economical crisis, so Poland is not that in the picture. Mostley foreigners like me get positive news about Poland via Polish government circles (public relations and communication), the Western media. The critical voices come from inside Poland and from some expat Poles who travel between Poland and the European country they live in. The latter is the best source. For me these sources are people like you Tuftabis, and the Warsaw Voice, the Warsaw Business Journal and Radio Poland.
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 8:40:28 GMT -7
Balcerowicz Plan remembered21st December 2009 Poland's government and society have marked the anniversary of a controversial plan to transform the country's economy Leszek Balcerowicz was the main architect of the economic transformation of Poland after 1989 A special commemorative ceremony was held in the Sejm in mid-December to mark the 20th anniversary of the passage of the so-called Balcerowicz Plan, which laid the foundation for Poland’s transition from socialism to a free-market economy in 1989. “ Leszek Balcerowicz devised a plan which was truly comprehensive. Many other countries made the transition from communism to capitalism after much suffering, but those countries usually did not have a comprehensive plan,” Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said at the ceremony. In December 1989 Leszek Balcerowicz, then a finance minister and deputy prime minister in the first post-communist government of Tadeusz Mazowiecki, presented the reform package. It included 11 major bills aimed at a thorough transformation of the centrally planned economy, which by then had already led to galloping inflation and the shortage of even the most basic foodstuffs in shops. Ten of the 11 bills were adopted by Parliament and signed into law by then-President Wojciech Jaruzelski in that same month. Among other things, the reforms provided for the privatization and restructuring of some state-owned enterprises, as well as for the exchangeability of the Polish złoty and the standardization of taxes. They abolished the state’s monopoly in international trade and allowed foreign businesses and individuals to invest in Poland. The Balcerowicz Plan, which inspired similar reforms in a number of other post-communist countries in the region, undoubtedly paved the way for Poland’s modernization. However, the social costs of its “ shock therapy” in the early years of its implementation were inevitably very high. As a result, even if hailed by the majority of economists, the reform package continues to be a controversial one, and a contentious issue for many politicians and ordinary Poles. From Warsaw Business Journal by AdamZdrodowski
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 8:56:37 GMT -7
POLITICS The Polish Government at Mid-TermBy W.Ż. 2 December 2009 The coalition government of the Civic Platform ( PO) and the P olish People's Party ( PSL), headed by Donald Tusk, has hailed what it says are a string of accomplishments during its first two years in office, which ended Nov. 16. The opposition blasted the government, claiming it has failed to keep its election promises. PO politicians cite the fight against the economic crisis, effective use of EU funds, highway construction, the transition to a professional army, withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq and the splitting of the functions of justice minister and chief prosecutor as major successes of the Tusk government. They also argue that in the past two years, Poland has emerged as a major regional leader and point out that Eurodeputy Jerzy Buzek from the PO was appointed president of the European Parliament while other Poles were appointed to key posts in the European Parliament and the European Commission. Asked what the government has failed to achieve in the past two years, PO officials point to incomplete health service and pension system reforms, the failure to get a new media law enacted, delays in privatization and the limited reform of the farmers' social insurance system. The latter reform has been blocked for many years by the PSL, the junior partner in the ruling coalition. PO blames president The PO blames many of these failures on President Lech Kaczyński and his vetoes of the health care, media and other laws. PO politicians say it is no coincidence that in a time of global crisis, Poland is the only EU country with a growing economy. " It is not only a question of the anti-crisis package," said Rafał Grupiński, a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office. " We simplified many investment procedures beforehand and created conditions for this growth." In 2008, when the first signs of the crisis emerged, " we improved many pieces of legislation, including the road-building, environmental and public tender laws," he said. " As a result, at a time of crisis, the investment plan could move ahead at full steam." Janusz Palikot, a vice-chairman of the PO parliamentary group, says the government has managed to overcome stagnation in the construction of roads and freeways. "A t present, more than 1,000 kilometers of freeways are under construction in Poland," he said. " The construction of another several hundred kilometers will start next year. It really is a turning point." On the down side, the ruling coalition has been hit by a gambling scandal, in which high-ranking PO politicians were accused of lobbying for their friends who run casinos and slot-machine halls. " It is the greatest disappointment we have caused," Palikot admitted. But he claimed the scandal could have been engineered by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau ( CBA), which was controlled until recently by figures connected with the opposition Law and Justice ( PiS) party, including former CBA head Mariusz Kamiński. Election promises broken, says PiSOpposition Law and Justice ( PiS) politicians say the Tusk government has not kept its election promises. Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad, Health Minister Ewa Kopacz and Finance Minister J acek Rostowski have drawn the strongest criticism. " This is the government which did more harm to Poland over two years than any other government since 1989," said PiS official Joachim Brudziński. In his view, the withdrawal of the Polish military contingent from Iraq is the only election promise the PO has kept. " Prime Minister Tusk and his government will go down in history as the ones who have sunk the Polish shipbuilding industry," he said, with the result that several thousand shipyard workers who waited in vain for a non-existent Qatari investor to step in " are now facing unemployment." PiS also accuses the government of gross neglect in health care. " We have an uncontrolled process of privatization and a decline of hospitals, and the budget of the National Health Fund has fallen apart," Brudziński said. " The list of refunded drugs has not been updated and we have no list of guaranteed services." In yet another criticism, PiS argued that the huge budget deficit and state of the national budget prove that the state of public finances is bad. Aleksandra Natalli-Świat, deputy head of PiS and one of its main economic experts, said as a result of the government's financial policy, it now has problems meeting its basic responsibilities, such as paying the police on time and paying out unemployment benefits. Eurodeputy Paweł Kowal of PiS said the government's foreign policy has " a discrepancy between declarations and actions." He cites as an example the Eastern Partnership scheme, a project initiated by Poland to forge special ties between the EU and former Soviet republics seeking to integrate with Europe. Kowal said the policy has remained " a bunch of declarations without substance." Kowal also said Polish ties with the United States had suffered in recent months. The left-wing opposition is also critical of the PO-PSL government halfway through its term of office. Grzegorz Napieralski, leader of the Democratic Left Alliance ( SLD), said that two years of the Tusk government had produced no real policies except for those aimed at boosting PO's image in the media. " Tusk avoids difficult decisions, reforms and difficult measures," Napieralski said. " He pursues his policy mainly through slogans of different kinds." The government's relations with the United States, Russia and European institutions were all criticized by Napieralski. " On one occasion, the prime minister tells us we will be a very safe country if the missile shield is [installed in Poland]," he said. " But when no missile shield is there, because President Obama is withdrawing from the plan, Tusk says we will be even safer." Napieralski added that Poland has not adopted the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, is not a member of the G-20 group, and said that Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is making " serious blunders more and more often." In fact, according to Napieralski, the only real success the government can claim was organizing the events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Source: www.warsawvoice.pl/view/21402
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 21, 2009 10:07:42 GMT -7
Pieter, the situation is not as ideal as the government claims but certainly it is not as catastrophic as the oppositions wants the voters to believe. Overall PO government is a success - they still have a chance to fullfill the promised 'budget deficit cut reform. The most disappointing is lack of increase in R&D funding. Both parties PO and PiS could and should go together, they are both Solidarity origin. Fot that the exchange of their respective leaders is needed (or Tusk becoming the president). You have asked about my dream government ;D Let me give a try, which in my opinion would probably be succesful and would bring the equilibrium into Polish political scene. Jerzy Buzek PM, Leszek Balcerowicz Finance, Jacek Sariusz-Wolski Foreign Affairs, Lech Kaczynski Internal Affairs, Radek Sikorski - Defence. Also a guy who is not a politician, but would make a great one, to lead the great reform of science and RD funding - his name is Dariusz Karłowicz
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 21, 2009 10:26:47 GMT -7
In fact, according to Napieralski, the only real success the government can claim was organizing the events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. This is criticism typical for the postcommunists - they criticise TOTALLY ;D Examples of two thumbs up notes for Tusks government to de-black the image you might have gotten. Not a 'general plan to make Poland better' kind but still success.Would there be any other government during the outbreak of crisis, we would have spent billions to overcome it. We didn't and we are the only ones in the green. The second is less important, but still: we did not spend millions on vaccines againts the mildest of all flews - the 'pig' one.
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 14:40:19 GMT -7
Pieter, the situation is not as ideal as the government claims but certainly it is not as catastrophic as the oppositions wants the voters to believe. Overall PO government is a success - they still have a chance to fullfill the promised 'budget deficit cut reform. The most disappointing is lack of increase in R&D funding. Both parties PO and PiS could and should go together, they are both Solidarity origin. Fot that the exchange of their respective leaders is needed (or Tusk becoming the president). You have asked about my dream government ;D Let me give a try, which in my opinion would probably be succesful and would bring the equilibrium into Polish political scene. Jerzy Buzek PM, Leszek Balcerowicz Finance, Jacek Sariusz-Wolski Foreign Affairs, Lech Kaczynski Internal Affairs, Radek Sikorski - Defence. Also a guy who is not a politician, but would make a great one, to lead the great reform of science and RD funding - his name is Dariusz Karłowicz Tuftabis, Your words comfort me a bit, because I got the impression that the Polish government did not it's job propperly. A government should work on a healthy economy, create the right macro economical climate and system in a country with it's departments of economy, financial affairs, Infrastructure, Internal Affairs and Administration, Labour and Social Policy, State Treasury, Agriculture and Rural Development and education. Cutting back the seize of the state and therefor government could make funds available for investments. In economics or macro-economics, fixed asset investment or formation (sometimes simply called investment) is the production per unit time of goods which are not consumed but are to be used for future production. Examples include tangibles (such as building a railroad , factory or a Research institute) and intangibles (such as a year of schoolings or on-the-job training like). On the micro-economical field the companies, firms, businessworld, trade, entrepreneurs and the sole proprietorships can do their job on the micro economical level. They create Supply and demand, economical activity, new enterprises, employment, new settlement, transformation of poorer area's with less assets (=economic resources owned by business or companies) in rural and former state owned old fashionate plan economical industries, service sectors and companies. National investments and European structural funds together with foreign private investments create new capital, labour and wealth in regions. So luckily the situation is not as catastrophic as the centre left SLD and centre right PiS opposition wants the voters to believe. It is good to hear that overall PO government is a success. They still have to fullfill the promised ' budget deficit cut reform' though! How can a government reform the cut of an excess of expenditures over revenues? I mean the bad thing about left- and rightwing governments and politics in general is mostly that they spend more than they earn. That is the differance between the private sector businessworld (You can't spend what you can't effort or have, because you have to think about your Revenue and profit balance) and governments, which have government parties demands and the influence of the parlaiment. (the opposition which can gain majority on certain fields and force the government to make some policies or implement some measures which cost more than the government and opposition can afford. Often a state depth is then permittable, because one thinks, we can pay back later and who hasn't a state depth?). That is the mistake both centre-left and centre-right governments make. Often governments have prestigious plans or hobbies that cost a lot, like real estate plans that are out of proportion (new ministry buildings or investments in dying industries to avoid tough impopular measures). Yes, it is disappointing that the PO government has a lack of increase in R&D funding. Research and development according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, refers to " creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." New product design and development is more often than not a crucial factor in the survival of a company. In an industry that is fast changing, firms must continually revise their design and range of products. This is necessary due to continuous technology change and development as well as other competitors and the changing preference of customers. A system driven by marketing is one that puts the customer needs first, and only produces goods that are known to sell. Market research is carried out, which establishes what is needed. If the development is technology driven then it is a matter of selling what it is possible to make. The product range is developed so that production processes are as efficient as possible and the products are technically superior, hence possessing a natural advantage in the market place. R&D has a special economic significance apart from its conventional association with scientific and technological development. R&D investment generally reflects a government's or organization's willingness to forgo current operations or profit to improve future performance or returns, and its abilities to conduct research and development. So the Polish government should increase R&D funding for Poland future. We agree on that totally. I think part of the investments will be an investment in Polish education, especially on the ICT field. Providing universities, primary and highschools with top of the bill computers, the best hardware and software, inovative lessons, and next to the normal educational programs seminars, workshops and trainingfacilities in the evenings and weekends for eager kids who want to learn more than they do already at school or have hobbies that are technical or a technical skill! Polish kids, teenages, adolescents, students and adults should be well prepared for the labourmarket and should develop themselves whole their working lives. A modern competitive market economy requires constant training and the will to change oneself. That's where the R&D funding is all about. Next to the scientific, commercial and so economical value of it. I hope that PO and PiS can go together, because they are both of Solidarity stock, but also for the sake of Poland. If they don't there is the chance that a centre-left government of SLD-PSL- or LiD (Lewica i Demokraci) and PSL would return, after a deterioration of the economy for instance, when the workingclass turns left again with probably a middle class and unemployed mass. God prohibit this worse case scenario of a Polish recession and economical downfall. But you should be prepaired for that as PO. The left are a minority still, and with good governance and good cooperation with the centre-right PiS opposition you could guaranthee a long term political, economical and administrational succes. A very smart move would be to add PiS in a future government of PO-PiS-PSL, but the parties have to overcome their mutual hostility and vermin then. PiS aren't that gentle towards the PO government. Tuftabis you condemned the SLD criticism but were silent about the PiS criticism on the government. What is your comment on the PiS criticism on the PO in the government? What do you mean with the exchange of their respective leaders? Is Tusk popular enough to have a chance to become the president. Tuftabis, can we find the stationary point of a dynamical system which is the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament. You have the internal disballances of the main political parties (within both PiS and the PO), the casinos (gambling lobby) scandal, the well organised and disciplined centre-left and left, and an unpredictable electorate of critical Polish voters. Who often have been disappointed by their political leaders, parties and government. You have the danger of Not voting, indifference, or apathy. (which is not exclusively a Polish problem by the way. It would not be honest to label a problem of the entire Western-world as a Polish defect. In most European countries and other Western democracies there is a large group of people who don't vote). Your dream government is exellent: Jerzy BuzekYour Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek was the Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001 and has experiance in Europe and he has the benefit of the prominent Buzek family, which participated in Polish politics in the Second Polish Republic during the interbellum. So rooted in the Polish politics of the past, present and future. Also the fact that he is a Protestant is good. This will make the connections with the " protestant" countries of North-Western Europe more easy and his knowledge of the European parlaiment and commission gives him great European experiance and a large European political network. We agree about Leszek Balcerowicz on Finance. Jacek Sariusz-WolskiJacek Sariusz-Wolski (1948) is a Polish diplomat, politician and a MEP: member of the European Parliament. He was a plenipotentiary, a diplomat who was fully authorized to represent the Polish government as a prerogative (e.g., ambassador) for European integration and foreign aids from 1991 till 1996. He returned to the government in 2000, when the prime minister Jerzy Buzek has nominated him a secretary in the European Integration Committee (Komitet Integracji Europejskiej). Jacek Saryusz-Wolski played an extremely important role in the negotiations in Nice in 2000. He surely has experiance on Foreign Affairs! Lech KaczynskiYou prefer Lech Kaczynski before his brother Jarosław Kaczyński as minister of internal affairs. You will have your reason for that. Radek SikorskiRadek Sikorski replaces the present Defence minister Bogdan Klich on Defense. On Foreign Affairs he is replaced by Jacek Sariusz-Wolski. Dariusz KarłowiczDariusz Karłowicz (1964) is a philosopher, journalist, President of the Board of the St. Nicolas Foundation (which publishes Political Theology), marketing director at Allianz Polska. Editor-in-chief and co-founder of Political Theology. Previously lecturer at Warsaw University, he now co-chairs seminars there. Since January 2007, Dariusz Gawin, Dariusz Karłowicz and Marek Cichocki have hosted a TV program on TVP Kultura called " Trzeci punkt widzenia". Author of several books in the philosophical field.
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 15:21:04 GMT -7
In fact, according to Napieralski, the only real success the government can claim was organizing the events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Not a 'general plan to make Poland better' kind but still success. You say stil a succes but you would have prefered a ' general plan to make Poland better' which would have been carried out!
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Post by pieter on Dec 21, 2009 15:25:17 GMT -7
Why Political Theology?Why political theology? And what is political theology? Is it just an attempt to combine religious and political affairs? But how can different approaches towards fundamental issues be combined into one? It is true that such a combination is both unusual and risky, and that politics and faith are quite separate and autonomous spheres. But they need not be seen as such; and investigating political issues from a theological perspective can be both fascinating and fruitful. Indeed, we believe that a proper understanding of political issues is impossible if religion and faith are neglected. It is not our intention to promote any form of political clericalism; we wish to find a path that would lead to a deeper understanding of politics and political affairs. And we believe that this is how a genuine philosophy of politics should explain political life. Political theology has not so far been a popular field for reflection in Poland. Under the communists, relations between the religious and the political sphere were treated either indirectly – as part of social sciences and the history of ideas - or within Marxist doctrine. Paradoxically, the fall of communism did not change this situation. The fear of religious extremism, nationalism etc led to a clear demarcation between questions to do with democracy and the market economy on the one hand and religious issues on the other. Recently, however, as debate has grown in the West about the role of religion in the public domain, interest in the subject has also increased in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, where the relations between homo politicus and homo religiosus are being studied in the hope that they will lead to a better understanding of the human condition after the tragic experiences of the 20th Century. Political Theology is a philosophical journal which concentrates on this field of inquiry, considering social affairs from a religious perspective. Launched in 2003 and edited by Marek A. Cichocki and Dariusz Karłowicz, it is the only journal in Poland to combine political, economic, philosophical and religious issues. It aims to be a forum for philosophical and theological public debate and to inspire wider discussion on the theological aspects of public life in the modern world. It publishes essays on a broad range of subjects, including religion, history, politics, political philosophy and the market economy in Poland, as well as translations of articles on political theology previously published abroad. In recent years Political Theology has attracted as contributors a number of key political and academic figures from Poland and abroad. Thanks to our collaboration with prestigious foreign publishers and journals (Oxford University Press, First Things, Pennsylvania University Press, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, The New Republic, Chicago University Press) and leading Polish and foreign authors (such as G. Weigel, R.J. Neuhaus, Gauck, Meier, R. Brague, E.W. Bockenforde, A. Dulles, R. de Souza, Martha Nussbaum, Halik), the journal rises above other titles present on the market. But Political Theology is more than just the journal: we regularly organize lectures, seminars and debates schools with the participation of some of the most prominent figures from the Polish political, academic and intellectual world. We would like to reach a variety of groups, but most important among these are students and young academics. The first issue of Political Theology was devoted to the question of treason and the way in which political communities have dealt with it and deal with it today. How should we judge betrayal by our compatriots? Should a community be forgiving or should it seek just punishment, without which the religious and political unity of the community seems impossible to sustain? In Central and Eastern Europe this is a very real dilemma, and the problem – in this case that of past collaboration with the totalitarian communist regime – has a direct bearing on people’s lives. But the problem of treason is a much broader one, with a number of implications. Three different experiences of betrayal are portrayed in this issue’s interviews with Jacek Salij, a Polish Catholic theologian, Joachim Gauck, a German evangelical pastor and former head of the institute which studies the archives of the East German secret service, and Andrey Kurayev, a Russian orthodox theologian. They discuss how the betrayal of one’s community is a phenomenon that Christianity has had to deal with from its very beginnings, and argue that one cannot be merciful to the perpetrators and ignore the victims’ valid claims to justice. The interviews also show how difficult it is for Christian churches to speak openly about some of their and their members’ ambiguous attitudes toward communism and their roles in the communist system. Three other authors, Tomáš Halík, a Czech philosopher, Bronisław Wildstein, a Polish writer and journalist, and Jarosław Gowin, editor of the monthly “ Znak” and rector of the European University in Cracow - all active in the anticommunist opposition before 1989 - focus on the degree to which the state of today’s Central and Eastern European democracies can be said to have resulted in part from the fact that very little attempt has been made to punish those who betrayed their compatriots and thus bear some responsibility for what was done in the country’s communist past. The collection of articles on treason also contains contributions from theologians and historians of Christianity on the theological aspects of betrayal, the relationship between mercy and justice, and Christianity’s past reactions to apostasy (the problem of excommunication, penance, and the conditions of mercy). A piece by Piotr Kłodkowski, who describes the approach to treason in the Islamic tradition, concludes this thematic block. In the Netherlands we have three parties who have some sort of Political Theology: CDA: en.cda.nl/default.aspxChristenUnie: www.christenunie.nl/en/SGP: www.sgp.nl/ (no English version unfortunately
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 22, 2009 0:36:34 GMT -7
Not a 'general plan to make Poland better' kind but still success. You say stil a succes but you would have prefered a ' general plan to make Poland better' which would have been carried out! Exactly so.
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Post by tuftabis on Dec 22, 2009 0:40:15 GMT -7
What is your comment on the PiS criticism on the PO in the government? What do you mean with the exchange of their respective leaders? Is Tusk popular enough to have a chance to become the president. PiS criticism is harsh but not total as the postcommunist do. By exchange of the leaders I ment that both Jarosław Kaczyński and Donald Tusk quit being the leaders of their parties. Yes, Tusk's chances are presently the highest. He would make a good president, and he would stop being the head of PO, two in one ! ;D
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Post by pieter on Dec 22, 2009 5:52:33 GMT -7
You say stil a succes but you would have prefered a ' general plan to make Poland better' which should have been carried out! Exactly so. So you agree with me that it hasn't been carried out yet, and that the PO-PSL government should work harder to achieve this goal! What's stopping the Tusk administration except moderation or a slow down of his efforts due to the fact of the Presidential election in 2010!
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