Poland between the Virus and choice: The PiS is harmful to my country

"went up in 1989 When communism, I was one of the beneficiaries." The entrepreneur Wojciech has a good laugh. He sits with his wife, Marie, who comes from Germany, in front of his house on the outskirts of Krakow, and looking in the large garden. The house stands on an ancient piece of Land that already belonged to Wojciechs family. Those who live this way, to fear the pandemic barely. Wojciech power to create rather his hip surgery, he has a new joint use.

Gerhard Gnauck

Political correspondent for Poland, the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, based in Warsaw.

The Pole is Vintage 1963, and when communism went under, he was able to start. At the time, he was studying sociology. He took advantage of the in Western Europe, the newly-created scholarships for citizens of the former Eastern bloc – "I have to thank the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to" – and completed a Business course in Scotland. But before he had always acted with anything or in West Germany worked seasonally.

work abroad was formative

"Three things have shaped me," says Wojciech, "my parents' house, the boy scouts and working abroad." With two fellow students he founded later a company that operates today in three divisions: buying and refurbished real estate (that is, distributes Wojciechs domain), and Xerox waits-copy devices, and runs a small rehab clinic. Volunteer Wojciech in Krakow in ZNAK ("The sign") is active, the largest Catholic book publishing company in the country.

private has done from 1989, a lot. At that time, Wojciech got to know one of the few Germans at that time in Poland, studied, Marie von Spee and the two married. Today, her four children are studying in Krakow, Cologne, Bern and Maastricht. The fifth child is killed in an accident recently deadly.

Wojciech has economic idea. The more sceptical he looks at the economic policies of the government and the President in Poland. Not because of the bureaucracy, which, unfortunately, contained no government ("A construction project through fills today, 20 times more Files than 20 years ago."). But because of the growing state involvement in the economy. Thus, the state also depends on strong lobby groups, such as in Poland, is very important for coal production and power generation. And the completed Transfer of large state-owned banks reduces competition in the financial sector.

"ruling have sown discord"

a reproach: "The Ruling would have been able to take advantage of the good international economic activity since 2015, in order to create reserves. We would have used in the Corona-crisis urgently.“ Wojciech distrusted the populism of the party, PiS.