Polish PM vows to promote national economy
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has appealed to Polish entrepreneurs to help the government build a strong, national economy with preference for local contractors.
Tusk outlined the government's policy shift at the European Forum for New Ideas in Warsaw on Tuesday.
"This modern economic nationalism, taking matters in our strong hands so that no one interferes with us or snatches up what is owed to us, Polish businesses, Polish entrepreneurs, is going be a very serious confrontation," he said.
Tusk's declaration constitutes a major policy change for Poland's centrist government, which until now steered clear of nationalism in economic matters. However, the recent rise of protectionism around the globe, particularly in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught, could have contributed to the change of heart.
Tusk said that 2025 would be a breakthrough year for Poland in terms of investment, protection and development of Polish firms and deregulation.
He said the time had come for the 're-Polonisation' of the national economy, markets and capital.
"It's the basic, perhaps the most important dimension of Polish patriotism today," he said.
"The era of naive globalisation is coming to an end," Tusk said. "If we want to achieve economic success, build a secure state, we must say clearly to ourselves and others that in this increasingly ruthless competition of egoists on global markets and war fronts, Poland is not going to be a naive partner."
When it comes to state-controlled companies, they will have to report to the government "on how the policy of Polish capital and Polish entrepreneurs is being pursued," he said. (PAP)
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