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Gursztyn, Piotr
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Don't kill the Polish provinces
Poland is considering closing down several hundred police stations in small towns to stay below the country's legally fixed debt ceiling of 55 percent of GDP. The conservative daily Rzeczpospolita complains that cuts always hit rural Poland: "Yet another institution [after many post offices] is making the move from the boondocks to the big city. ... Poland is becoming a country comprised of no more than Warsaw, which is artificially bloated with loans, as well well as the larger cities of Wrocław and Krakau, which somehow manage to make ends meet. The provinces, meanwhile, are dying out. ... When someone from the government comes along and says that this is a development plan, it's just hot air. It's an exercise in liquidating rural offices. And the best offices to close are those of people whose protests aren't heard. Because those who protest are weak. Who cares in Warsaw about protests in some far-off district or some other place in the sticks? Because these people are doomed any way you look at it."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Poland
Ruling party internally divided
After two years in government the Civic Platform (PO) is still not an efficiently functioning party, the daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna complains, writing that this could tarnish its great success to date: "The Civic Platform has simply wasted two years of its term of office because it missed the opportunity to turn itself into an efficient organism similar to the Western European parties. It remains a political movement which is only active during the election campaign. Its leader [Prime Minister Donald Tusk] and its success in the polls are the only things that hold it together. Nowadays the diagnosis of the PO's condition is a list of contradictions. On the one hand the internal condition of the party appears to be disastrous - full of people who feud with each other and hate each other. … On the other the Platform is a giant on Poland's political stage which has already won the upcoming presidential elections, the local elections and very likely also the parliamentary elections - at least that's the way it looks at the moment."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Poland
It's all about gas from Russia
Writing for the daily Dziennik Piotr Gursztyn criticises the Eastern Partnership and says the West is only interested in Russian gas and no longer cares about Poland's stance: "Poor Partnership for the East!, it may well be pointed out. True, everyone talks highly of it, but the list of those who are not taking part in the EU summit in Prague shows that the number of those who want to save it is dwindling. This is probably the main reason why [Polish President] Lech Kaczynski will not attend. Nor will Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk be present. … Of course, one could say that the prime minister didn't go because he didn't want to bump into the president. … The countries on the western side of the continent are not in the least interested in our opinions nowadays. And all because they want to be able to buy gas from the Russians."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Poland
Surprising consensus on euro referendum
The daily Dziennik expresses surprise at the consensus between the Polish government and the opposition on the question of holding a referendum on the introduction of the euro. "At last the [ruling] Civic Platform (PO) and the oppositional PiS have found some common ground. ... It is highly likely that the PO and PiS will be able to agree on a date too. One possibility would be June 7, when the Euro-elections take place. Naturally the whole issue is still uncertain. A lot can change between now and then. ... The PiS supports the idea of a referendum, but it will be a pretty risky business for the party. The party of [former head of government Jaroslaw] Kaczynski has to be a little for and a little against it because its voters are not a homogenous group. ... The unambiguous views of the PO on this issue are a source of comfort for that party. But according to the most recent surveys the crisis has scared the Poles and it is possible that they could vote against the introduction of the euro."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Poland, » Europe
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