Autor: FWG
The Law and Justice Party (PiS) deceived many with a vision of Poland in which prosperity would be based on state-owned “national champions,” oligarchic relations of business and politicians, public investment, and a high degree of redistribution, i.e., taking from some and giving to others. It is high time to move away from such flawed policies.
Those in power should announce a new vision of development and skillfully communicate it to the voters. Business organizations, think tanks, and academics develop many sensible recommendations and concrete policies. We just need to pick the right ones and start implementing them. But let’s subordinate this to a new vision for the economy, one that builds on the proven solutions of the past.
I believe that in this vision, the economy should be based on private property, for which a return to the much-demonized privatization is essential and competitive, which will not be achieved without deregulation and bringing Poland to the forefront of economic freedom. Let us be inspired by the countries of the North, from Scandinavia to the Netherlands, Ireland or Germany, which are much higher in the rankings of economic freedom and competitiveness.
Let’s not follow in the footsteps of the much less economically organized South. The Government re-examines plans for building the Central Communication Port (CPK), but let’s not limit our development vision to the construction of a single airport. We urgently need an answer to the increasingly serious demographic challenges of an aging population and a declining number of people of working age. Finally, we need a vision of a stronger Poland in an integrated Europe, which would be helped by adopting the path to the Euro and returning to a serious discussion about the common currency.
The ruling party has already made some decisive changes in public television and the public prosecutor’s office. Other institutions that PiS tried to take over are waiting in the wings. But the economy should not have to wait its turn – the government can implement many reforms in parallel. In my company, which I have been building for 32 years, we never stop developing. We are investing in new technologies, new people. Development goes on 24 hours a day. If we stop even for a moment, we are finished. The state should act with similar thoughts, especially in times of such dynamic technological changes, the development of artificial intelligence, the war in Ukraine or the next waves of radical populism.
Greater security, modern education, efficient courts, decent infrastructure, and energy transition all require money. They will not be produced by politicians. As British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said, “The state has no source of money other than the money people earn themselves. If the state wishes to spend more, it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. There is no such thing as public money, there is only taxpayers’ money.”. Regardless of one’s views on how much the government should “take away”, the fact is that something must first be created in order for there to be something to “take away”. This is just one of many reasons why the economy is so important.
More importantly, a growing economy allows us to build the strength of the country and the people who live in it. With rapid and stable growth that will lead to catching up with the wealthiest countries in the West, we will strengthen Poland’s position in international institutions, including the EU and NATO. Moreover, economic development is the best way to raise wages and living standards. There is plenty of empirical evidence that free market capitalism, globalization and openness have contributed to tremendous development, poverty reduction and improved living conditions for a large part of humanity over the last 200 years. Argentine President Javier Milei recently recalled this in Davos.
In April 2023, I called for more business engagement in politics and civil society. Although this group could have done more and some of its representatives did not rise to the occasion, I believe we contributed to the change in Poland. Exit polls on election day showed that support among entrepreneurs for the current ruling coalition was more than 65%, while only 20% voted for PiS.
Thanks to business support, there were several high-profile mobilization campaigns that resulted in record voter turnout. The populist referendum, which demonized privatization, raising the retirement age in an aging society, or openness to immigrants, was also effectively discouraged. Significantly, many private businessmen chose to contribute to the parties of the then opposition, in contrast to the Law and Justice Party’s contribution register, which was full of nominees from state-owned companies.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the economic transformation in Poland. Had it not been for these events, I would probably never have become an entrepreneur. The leaders who guided Poland through this difficult process, including Lech Walesa, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Leszek Balcerowicz, had the vision and determination to lead the country toward democracy, greater economic freedom and integration with the Western world. They did not succumb to the easy excuses that nothing could be done. They were not afraid to take risks. We can see now how much those efforts paid off. Today, such great sacrifices are not necessary, but in both politics and business, a certain amount of effort is required to reap additional benefits over time.
The anniversary of the transformation is a reason to celebrate and an excuse to talk about the future. It will not be possible to carry out ambitious reforms if there is no change in the way we think about the economy. Economic policy cannot be a secondary issue, limited to “keeping the lights on”. Otherwise, we will never be able to close the development gap between Poland and countries that were lucky enough not to have lost more than 40 years under socialism. It is also important that entrepreneurs are not treated with hostility because they are too important a part of the economic ecosystem. Some members of my profession have contributed to tarnishing the image of the entrepreneur, but a few black sheep should not be used as a justification for rejecting the partnership between business and politics that lead to the development of companies, the improvement of the situation of workers and, consequently, GDP growth.
The Economic Freedom Foundation, which I founded, supports a number of non-governmental initiatives that prepare concrete legislative solutions, as well as work on civic education and the transformation of long-term thinking, creating a better climate of ideas for a free vision of development.
In 2023, we defended liberal democracy in Poland. This would not have been possible without Donald Tusk’s return to national politics, which saved us from the threatening announcement of “Budapest in Warsaw”. The political change in the country is an opportunity that should be seized, and I urge the Prime Minister, the government and all reasonable people in the opposition to do so, because many important reforms for Poland and future generations require cooperation across party lines.
It’s time to present a vision of development in which privatization, deregulation, a responsible approach to demographics or the start of a discussion about the Euro in Poland can serve as new forces for growth and protect our country from the return of extreme populists to power. I realize that this may sound risky to some. After all, the Law and Justice Party and other populist forces have been trying for years to make all these issues anathema to us. As an entrepreneur, I know that sometimes risks are necessary to reap much greater rewards later, and experienced politicians should be able to manage these risks responsibly. Moreover, it is liberalism, not an enlarged state, that is the better safeguard against populism.
Today, leaders in Germany, France, or the United Kingdom face local problems and declining support. In this situation, with its strengths and a new political opening, Poland should seize the moment and, as in 1989, become a leader in bold reforms nationally and across the EU. Over the past eight years, we have missed many opportunities for real and good economic change. Ambitious reforms will make up for this lost time.
Arkadiusz Muś, entrepreneur, owner of Press Glass Holding, founder of the Economic Freedom Foundation
