Tusk’s party would unlock some extra funding from Brussels, while the ruling party would beef up defence spending, and free up cash for higher pensions and child benefits. Other than that, not a great deal divides them.
Whatever happens in the election, therefore, it won’t stop the stunning rise of the Polish economy. Poland has been the one real economic success in Europe over the last two decades. When it broke away from Soviet control in the early 1990s, it was in a terrible state.
The communist planners had made shipbuilding and mining its main industries, which as anyone in Glasgow or Newcastle will tell you is hardly a great combination.
And yet, with a mix of low taxes, a skilled workforce, relatively light regulation, and plenty of inward investment, it has grown at a stunning pace. From 2010 to 2020, output expanded by 38pc.
It is not hard to work out why. The corporate tax rate is just 19pc, low by European standards, and far less than the UK now levies, while personal taxes are levied at two rates, 12pc and 32pc, again far less than across most of Europe.
Debt is relatively low, with a debt to GDP ratio of just 46pc, while GDP per capita has surged. And it has achieved all that despite a massive brain drain, not least to the UK (hundreds of thousands of Poles moved here).
With far fewer young people leaving to make more money elsewhere, its growth can only accelerate.
Sure, it is slowing down this year. The Polish economy is expected to expand by only 0.7pc over 2023, which is poor by recent standards. But it has been dragged down by the weakness of Germany, its main investor and trading partner.
In the medium-term, however, even that may well turn into a strength. Poland is rapidly hollowing out Germany’s industry with lower taxes and cheaper energy.
The country has just started building a new generation of nuclear reactors, locking in lower power prices, while the German Greens still refuse to allow any new plants to be built.
Source link
credite