Polish daily tips euro sceptic for central bank

A eurosceptic adviser to Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has emerged as a leading candidate to be next governor of the country's central bank, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Heavyweight daily Rzeczpospolita said the government was seriously considering Edmund Pietrzak, professor of economics at Gdansk University, to replace Leszek Balcerowicz, whose term as bank chief ends on January 10.

The paper said Pietrzak confirmed he was a possible candidate: "I do not rule out such a possibility," it quoted Pietrzak as saying.

Pietrzak was not available for immediate comment.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said on Friday he was considering two possible candidates for the post of central bank governor after his first nominee withdrew.

The president's office stunned financial markets on Thursday by announcing that 61-year-old economics professor Jan Sulmicki, who had been a surprise nominee earlier in the week, had withdrawn for personal reasons.

The head of the president's office, Aleksander Szczyglo, has said new candidates will be chosen "at the latest by Christmas".

Polish media have produced a series of possible names for Sulmicki's replacement but to date there has been no clear front-runner.

The zloty currency has been gradually strengthening against the euro and was just below a nine-month high on Friday afternoon at around 3.79 to the single currency, apparently untroubled by the withdrawal of Sulmicki.

EURO SCEPTIC

One possible central bank candidate touted earlier this month was Warsaw School of Economics professor Urszula Grzelonska. But Rzeczpospolita quoted her on Saturday as saying she was not a candidate.

Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska also appears to have ruled herself out. On Friday, she told reporters she knew nothing about a proposal to move her to the central bank.

"I have not received an offer and I am not particularly interested," she said.

Rzeczpospolita said Pietrzak was favoured as a candidate by President Lech Kaczynski, the prime minister's twin brother, because he had expressed scepticism over the merits of early entry to the euro zone.

"On balance, for (Polish) companies the most advantageous would be the latest possible euro-zone entry," it quoted him as saying in a recent interview.

The ruling Law and Justice party has criticised Balcerowicz and his focus on monetary discipline in fighting inflation.

Both Kaczynskis promised in their campaigns last year to replace Balcerowicz with someone who would do more to boost growth and create jobs. Pietrzak would fit the bill, it said.

"He fulfils the criteria, which according to our information the president is being guided by in his search for a candidate."

Before Sulmicki's nomination, media had touted Warsaw University professor Zbigniew Hockuba and the chief executive of state-owned Bank BGK Wojciech Kurylek.

Rzeczpospolita said three other names had been canvassed: Andrzej Slawinski and Andrzej Wojtyna, both members of the central bank's monetary policy committee, and Zbigniew Polanski, professor of monetary policy at the Warsaw School of Economics.

Source:za.today.reuters.com