Barbara Kaczor picked up the disruption caused by the Covid-19 plague in her travels. But the 41-year-old from Czestochowa in southern Poland has found it difficult to cope with the rising cost of living.
“When you go shopping, you spend a lot of money so you don’t know what you are spending. I understand that prices are changing, but what is happening here is just crazy, ”he said, noting the high cost of everything from butter and tomatoes to gas. “Believe it or not, last year with the start of Covid was easy.”
Kaczor is one of the millions of Poles in Poland. The annual decline reached 7.8 percent last month, the highest level in 20 years, and the fourth highest in the EU. With electricity tariffs due to a 20 percent rise and more than 50 percent gas prices next year, consumers expect a lot of pain and the head has run into a political policy.
Many of the developed world are struggling with a similar pattern. But for the ruling Law and Justice Party of Poland (PiS), rising inflation is a major problem. The patriotic government has been under attack at home and abroad for the deterioration of democracy. But despite these fights, it remained a very popular party because of its success in guiding the Poor Poles.
“PiS has won voters with a simple promise: you will be fine; your wealth will rise. The rise in prices makes it very difficult to keep that promise, and that is why it is so dangerous for this government, “said Marcin Duma, IBRiS chief executive officer in Warsaw.
“Inflation is especially painful for people who have seen their wealth grow over the last five or six years. They can go on vacation to buy things they could not afford. And now, suddenly, their debt goes up and they can no longer afford the things they used to do.”
Tadeusz Koscinski, Poland’s finance minister, says rising prices are “something that needs to be addressed but not feared” © Thierry Monasse / Getty
For Kaczor, who works for a company that does research and teach foreign languages, jumping prices have meant more hours to earn a living and less vacations and more trips to the movie. He says: “Sometimes you have to decide what is really important. “Above all, you have to pay bills.”
Businesses are also affected. Marcin Nowacki, deputy director general of ZPP employers, said while not all companies are still affected, rising prices and “significant risks for next year” will be difficult, and we will all feel it, Poles and businesses. “
Polish protesters have tried to seize the title, criticizing PiS for adding to the problem by spending money recklessly. This month, it showed “PiS = high prices” to the ruling party headquarters in Warsaw. Opposition lawmakers pulled out a poster with the same message during a parliamentary session.
Officials at PiS say – as in Europe – inflation is driven by external factors such as electricity prices and the effects of the epidemic.
The government has announced a 10bn zlotys ($ 2.5bn) package for a temporary reduction in taxes on electricity and fuel, and plans to cut VAT on food. It has also called for a change in EU emission systems: air prices have doubled this year.
However, experts say that external factors are also a factor. High electricity prices have been added by Polish aging, a strong coal system, which is making the country more affected by the high cost of carbon emissions. In addition, the fiscal and fiscal policy has remained stable, although the economy has grown by about 5 percent in recent years and the decline in labor has led to higher wages. The decline in Poland prices was among the highest in the EU earlier this year.
“We. Polityka Insight in Warsaw.
“There are a lot of social ills, and there are also skills differences: not that there are not enough workers, but we do not have the necessary skills to fill the gaps in the market.”
The high inflation rates were “something that needs to be addressed but not terrified”, said Tadeusz Koscinski, Poland’s finance minister. “The most important thing for us as a government is to control our emotions and to make sure that people do not think this is permanent.”
However, to stem the tide of the epidemic, economists are skeptical that inflation will return to 2.5 percent which is being monitored by the Polish central bank in the near future. “The inflation rate is above 4 percent and power, so you should expect inflation to remain above 7 percent next year,” Cichy said. “It is unlikely that it will return to the central bank in 2023.”
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