Balcerowicz slams pension fund 'expropriation'

Leszek Balcerowicz: photo - PAP / Jakub Kaminski

Balcerowicz, a former chief of Poland's national bank, said on Monday that the move, announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk in September, was “an unheard of partial expropriation of pension funds belonging to the public [so as to be able to] increase spending before the [2015] election”.

Banking stocks fell as did the Polish currency, the zloty, as markets reacted to the announcement on 4 September that the finance ministry intended to transfer assets held by private pension funds, including treasury bonds, to the state, which would offset public debt and enabling the government to raise borrowing after an economic slowdown hit growth more than expected this year.

Leszek Balcerowicz, however – who has long called for difficult structural reforms be made to the economy to secure long-term growth – criticised the proposal as being short sighted.

Falling short of calling for the resignation of finance minister Jacek Rostowski – in office since 2007 after Civic Platform won the first of two general elections in Poland - Balcerowicz told the TVN 24 news broadcaster that “the longer someone is a politician the less able he is to do something else”.

“Good democracy is not limited to going to the polls every four years. A good democracy is one where people try to block bad proposals,” he added.

Central bank policy maker Anna Zielinska-Glebocka told Reuters Polska in September, however, that “changes to the pension system are positive and create a chance for an impulse, for a growth engine, in the form of investments that are so important.” (pg)





















Balcerowicz, a former chief of Poland's national bank, said on Monday that the move, announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk in September, was “an unheard of partial expropriation of pension funds belonging to the public [so as to be able to] increase spending before the [2015] election”.

Banking stocks fell as did the Polish currency, the zloty, as markets reacted to the announcement on 4 September that the finance ministry intended to transfer assets held by private pension funds, including treasury bonds, to the state, which would offset public debt and enabling the government to raise borrowing after an economic slowdown hit growth more than expected this year.

Leszek Balcerowicz, however – who has long called for difficult structural reforms be made to the economy to secure long-term growth – criticised the proposal as being short sighted.

Falling short of calling for the resignation of finance minister Jacek Rostowski – in office since 2007 after Civic Platform won the first of two general elections in Poland - Balcerowicz told the TVN 24 news broadcaster that “the longer someone is a politician the less able he is to do something else”.

“Good democracy is not limited to going to the polls every four years. A good democracy is one where people try to block bad proposals,” he added.

Central bank policy maker Anna Zielinska-Glebocka told Reuters Polska in September, however, that “changes to the pension system are positive and create a chance for an impulse, for a growth engine, in the form of investments that are so important.” (pg)