Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski swore in a new government yesterday that has pledged to cut debt and speed up structural reforms aimed at bolstering the European Union’s largest eastern economy at a time of financial crisis.
“I’m convinced that the coming four years will be the time of greatest challenge and we will try to get through it as best we can,” Tusk said after being sworn in.
The parliament, where Tusk’s centre-right, pro-business Civic Platform (PO) and its small agrarian coalition partner the Peasants’ Party (PSL) have an overall majority, is due to approve the new government in a vote of confidence today.
Tusk’s new team includes a number of ministers from his previous cabinet, including Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, seen by investors as a safe pair of hands after he helped Poland to avoid recession during the 2008-09 global crisis.
Tusk and Rostowski are under pressure to take bolder action to rein in a budget deficit expected to come in at more than 5% of national output this year, down from last year’s 7.9% but still well above the EU’s 3% ceiling.
Poland’s economy was the only one in the 27-nation EU to keep growing during the global financial crisis and is expected to expand by about 4% this year but the deepening crisis in the eurozone virtually ensures a slowdown in 2012.
Source: Reuters/Warsaw