Former Polish gov't notched up huge debt: report
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
12.01.2017 11:24
Of Poland's PLN 1 trillion (EUR 228 billion) public debt, one third was drawn by the former Civic Platform (PO)-led government, the Gazeta Polska Codziennie daily has said.
Leszek Balcerowicz in front of the public debt calculator in Warsaw which on Tuesday clocked more than PLN 1 trillion. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell.
Polish debt grew by PLN 527 billion to nearly PLN 850 billion when PO ruled in coalition with the Polish People's Party (PSL) for two terms, from 2007 to 2015, the daily said.
During PO's eight years in power, public debt grew by some PLN 56 million daily, the TVP Info broadcaster said, citing the daily.
Former Polish Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz recently accused the current Law and Justice (PiS) government of increasing Poland's debt.
After a public debt calculator set up by Balcerowicz's Forum for Civic Development (FOR) in Warsaw's centre clocked PLN 1 trillion, Balcerowicz said: “Every day that state debt grows is bad for the country,” according to the Gazeta Polska Codziennie.
“Such debt acts to curb systematic growth. It creates uncertainty, which discourages investment and secondly, if the debt continues to grow, the risk of a sudden market crash as a result of a fiscal crisis increases,” he added.
Broadcaster TVP Info said that in the past 16 years when Polish debt tripled, PiS was in power for only three – from 2005 to 2007 and since elections in October 2015.
Gazeta Polska Codziennie claims that the calculator's reading of PLN 1 trillion was organized intentionally ahead of new ratings to be released by the Fitch and Moody's agencies in three days. (vb)
Source: GPC, TVP Info, for.org.pl