A Mad Biker's Ongoing Tale

Friday, April 30, 2004

THE MARKET SQUARE

Poland is about to join Europe. We don’t wish to startle, but we thought you should know.

It’s been a long time coming. On May 1st, the eyes of the world will be upon us. Hyperbole? Watch the financial markets and see if we exaggerate. This grand political and social experiment called the European Union, harbinger of the New World Order, is unprecedented in the annals of history - and Poland’s about to join the club.

East vs. West

You’d have to be living in a water closet to not know how contentious our joining the EU is. On both sides of the former Iron Curtain multitudes have gathered and marched in protest of what they see as doom for their way of life, raising salient points that cannot be ignored.

Small farms and businesses will fail, and prices and taxes (most immediately, VAT) will rise. Conversely, joining the EU brotherhood will bring both cash and a major house-cleaning to our beleaguered government - but how much of that will filter down to the common man? Impoverished Poles fear that the palaces of power will expand and leave even less for the little guy than he’s already getting.

“It’s a cliche, isn’t it,” retorts entrepreneur Agata Nieczerzk, “but such is the price of progress. Look around - 20% unemployment, dilapidated infrastructure, a grossly incompetent bureaucracy, too many people selling shoelaces on streetcorners. Poland needs to cultivate strong friendships and raise itself to international standards. Perhaps our greatest problem has been the stubborn belief we’re still under the Communist thumb.”

It’s precisely this state of affairs that strikes so much fear into Western Europeans: that we’ll siphon money, products and talent from their coffers – the resignation of Miller and his cabinet are the case-in-point. Brussels doesn’t see us as a source of stability. Perhaps the most flagrant sign of homeland troubles is the battle-line drawn by the Warsaw District Court against Poland Monthly, Rzeczpospolita and Wprost. The old order is fighting hard to retain its power.

Debate now rages at home on lowering the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) this year to attract foreign investors, and lowering the Personal Income Tax (PIT) next year to attract expats - which is, naturally, a further type of foreign investment. Hopefully it will also keep domestic job-seekers within our borders. Competition for monies and loyalties will be keen.

Redemption Song

Curiously, this great Modern European Republic still has no constitution. In one of contemporary history’s supreme ironies, the country, which has most hampered this process - is Poland. “Don’t be too quick to judge,” notes teacher Jolanta Kruszek. “Poland had the very first democratic constitution in Europe. So who would know better when something’s amiss? Who better to challenge the bully? The voice of Poland saved the day.” Indeed. Perhaps the long war of attrition waged by Poland’s bloated bureaucracy against its pure-hearted citizens is about to end.

Of course even while Poland was rapping on the EU chamber-doors, they and America were openly wooing each other. Despite threats from France to revoke our application if we didn’t desist from this “irresponsible act”, Poland stood firm, and now has a wealth of contracts with American firms. Oh... and up-to-our-waists involvement in “nation-building.”

Yet the EU isn’t the only game in town. The Vysegrad Group was formed within Central Europe in 1992 as a response to the European Union, with Poland as a charter member. But the EU is much more formidable, so today Vysegrad isn’t seriously pursued by anyone. Says IT consultant Adam Nowak: “As soon as the Communists left we opened up markets and dismantled state controls. Can you believe, in mere months there was a real feeling Poland was competing with the global economy! You still see it in small towns and villages today, tiny mom-and-pop stores selling everything from toothpaste to bicycle repair. Entrepreneurial spirit was everywhere.”

Where do we go from here?

Given Europe’s fractious history, it’s no exaggeration to say this polygamous EU marriage, ideal in theory and obstreperous in practice, has been forged from the fires of Hell. But from Hell march the most battle-worn, most tenacious, most idealistic of soldiers. Perhaps famed Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski said it best: “The market square of the word with all of its dangers is finally a more appropriate place.... than the king's court.” Give us open borders and free trade and in return we’ll give you the fiery Polish soul. In the end, that’s not a bad deal.

posted by mark 7:09 PM