Poland now close to beating inflation, says ruling party leader

BLOOMBERG

Poland is close to overcoming inflation pressures and has done so without overreacting in a way that could have damaged the economy for years, said ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Polish policy has been aimed at protecting the nation’s labour market, Kaczynski said in Janow Lubelski in the nation’s east. An overresponse to the sudden price increases following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 could have suppressed the nation’s growth for as long as six years, he added.
For the most part, Poles have been shielded from the jump in prices by fast-rising wages, tax cuts and different subsidies, Kaczynski said. “With inflation expected to fall each month from now, we are close to saying that our well-thought-out plan has succeeded,” he said.
Kaczynski’s right-wing Law & Justice party, in power since 2015, leads in the polls as it seek another win in general elections this year.
It faces criticism from the opposition that lavish social spending only accelerated inflation, driving Poles into a cost-of-living crisis.
The opposition also said the Polish central bank was too slow in raising official interest rates, which are now at 6.75%.
Kaczynski, 73, has resumed public appearances after a pause due to health issues. At the meeting, which was focused on investing in local infrastructure, he set tune for the Law & Justice campaign, saying his party kept most of its election promises as the first government after collapse of communism in Poland in 1989.
Law & Justice hasn’t outlined any new major spending plans for next four years. Instead, Kaczynski pledged that public debt will tick down slightly, to 48% of gross domestic product by the end of 2023 from over 49% last year.