Poles have finally developed a more positive outlook on life, writes Wprost.

Weekly press reviewed by Krystyna Kolosowska

Wprost reports that during the past few years Poles have joined the group of Europe’s biggest optimists and in terms of growth in the number of optimists Poland is in the lead. The majority of Poles are convinced that their incomes will be increasing, while jobs will be even easier to find than now. Like Winston Churchill, Poles believe it does not seem too much use being anything else than an optimist. As many as 55 percent of Polish people surveyed by Eurobarometer say that things are going in the right direction in Poland. Apparently there is no reason not be optimist when they are earning more, the zloty is getting stronger, they have stable job prospects and freedom to choose a way of life, economic analysts point out. Seventy-seven percent of Poles see benefits stemming from EU membership – this is the highest rate, next to Ireland. We have never been so happy before. According to the latest CBOS survey 95 percent of Poles are satisfied with their life. Only four percent complain.

The days when Poles had to wait in breadlines are a thing of the past, writes the Warsaw Business Journal. Growing affluence and a record-strong zloty mean today’s Poles can now travel to the high streets of London, Paris and New York to buy top-brand goods not found in Poland. The country’s wealthiest citizens are going even further, hiring their own private planes for weekend shopping jaunts. In the not so distant past, Poles would get their shopping done at local markets and bazaars. A few years ago, malls started mushrooming in cities like Warsaw, offering local products as well as luxury goods from overseas. Now Poles want to live at the same standard as their EU neighbours. The  ease and affordability of modern transportation have made the world seem smaller and have given a growing number of Poles the possibility to live like their Western counterparts. While it will certainly take time for Poland to reach the same standard of living enjoyed in Switzerland or the United States, it is on the right path, claims the Warsaw Business Journal.

Gazeta Polska – on the contrary, says it has no good news for its readers. In the coming months we should expect prices of food, fuel, electricity and gas to increase, rising inflation and in effect a slow down in economic growth. The treasury minister has admitted that growing oil prices are threatening Polish and world economy. He believes that the government’s decisions, like cutting VAT and the excise tax will not bring any result for the Polish market. All Poles will feel the impact of growing food prices, while according to the Main Statistical Office, enterprises are signaling a slower growth of the orders portfolio, which will be affecting small firms most painfully. Bad news is also that the value of resources managed by Open Pension Funds, which collect a part of pension contributions from Poles, decreased last June for the fourth month in a row.

Polityka claims that Poles prefer Europe to America today. The traditional Polish love for America has declined by 20 percent over the past four years. The weekly says this decline stems largely from a misunderstanding connected with the war in Iraq. Poles, hungry for success and praise, believed that the Polish contingent played an important role in Iraq, so Washington should reward Poland. In American eyes, the Polish contribution was negligible. With more than 4,000 American killed in Iraq, ordinary US citizens have the right to be unaware about Polish sacrifices, especially as no one reminded them of that. Already in 2007, a CBOS survey showed a revolutionary change. Asked which international organizations or states had the most positive impact on world developments, 70 percent of Poles pointed to the European Union. Only 38 percent chose the United States, which marked a decline by 24 percent compared with previous polls. Sociologists point also to the fact that almost all states lifted visa requirements for Poles, the US did not. 

Solidarnosc, a weekly of the Solidarity trade union, says that the collapse of Polish shipyards would be a catastrophe for Poland’s economy and the labor market. Determination of the trade unionists in the defense of the Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin shipyards create hope that the government as well as the European Commission will find a good way out of the situation at last. The weekly is worried, however, that there are many forces, acting under the motto of fair competition in the EU, which would like to curb the growth of the Polish shipyard industry, divide and take over its assets. Let’s recall that the EC gave Poland time until fall to privatise and restructure its shipyards, otherwise they will have to receive state aid they received after Poland’s entry into the EU.

Friends say she is a female Indiana Jones, writes Newsweek introducing Karina Schwerzler, a volunteer campaigning for animal rights. Karina has many successful actions during which she saved animals from cruel treatment. The most spectacular perhaps was at Bialka in mid-northern Poland last year. Rumors circulated that people running the local dog shelter had been producing lard from stray dogs. First they were stunned and then skinned alive. The practice was common knowledge in the area. But no one reacted. People came to the village from afar to buy a jar of dog lard, which was said to have medicinal properties. Karina dressed as a pregnant woman came to the shelter with a camera hidden under her dress. She had marked money with which she paid for the lard and recorded everything. Thanks to her the people involved in this hideous trade stood trial and were sentenced. She is now campaigning for the adoption of a 19 point program to improve the state of animals in Poland, which includes the creation of the post of a spokesperson for animal rights. The plan attracted the interest of the President’s Office, where the appointment of such a person is being considered.