Poland Parliament to Vote on Bank Chief

Poland's parliament was to vote Wednesday on whether to install an associate of President Lech Kaczynski as head of the central bank amid opposition allegations of "cronyism."

Slawomir Skrzypek, 43, is a U.S.-trained economist with a background in public administration and auditing who most recently served as acting president of a major state-dominated bank, PKO BP.

He had no background in monetary policy or banking before his appointment as PKO BP deputy president in December 2005. He was promoted to acting president in September 2006.

But Skrzypek is a trusted and longtime colleague of President Kaczynski, serving under him in parliament in the mid-1990s and at Warsaw city hall from 2002-2005 when Kaczynski was mayor. Kaczynski nominated him for the central bank post on Jan. 3.

Announcing the nomination, Kaczynski's office said Skrzypek was an anti-communist activist who was interned and sentenced under martial law, introduced in 1981. It gave no details of the court sentence.

Skrzypek's limited experience and ties to the government have triggered complaints he may be more easily influenced by politicians, limiting the National Bank of Poland's independence.

"The limits of incompetence have been exceeded," said Stefan Niesiolowski, a senator with the main opposition Civic Platform, which plans to vote against Skrzypek. "We see this as a case of cronyism."

Two other opposition parties _ the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish Peasants' Party _ have also pledged to vote against Skrzypek.

The three-party government led by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the president's twin brother, is slightly short of the 231-vote majority in the 460-seat lower house of parliament needed to approve Skrzypek in the vote scheduled for Wednesday evening. However, they can count on support from minor groupings that should allow Skrzypek to be confirmed.

If approved by parliament, Skrzypek would succeed Leszek Balcerowicz, whose six-year term expires Wednesday. Balcerowicz appealed Tuesday to his successor to continue his free market policies, which have guided Poland's inflation rate to about 1.4 percent, among the lowest in the European Union.

In a recent statement, Skrzypek vowed to "protect the value of Poland's money" and respect transparency if he becomes chief banker.

"I am for a stable and credible money policy. I am an opponent of abrupt changes," he said.

Balcerowicz advocated a quick adoption of the euro, a stance that has put him at odds with the current leadership. Skrzypek has said he believes the euro should be adopted at a time most convenient for Poland.

Source:chron.com