‘Is the worst behind us’ – asks the frontpage headline in POLSKA, prompted by more optimistic news from the Warsaw Stock Exchange where the main index gained over 12 percent in the last four days. The Polish currency also gained in value, which, according to POLSKA, is another sign that the Polish economy has not succumbed entirely to the crisis.

Press reviewed by Michal Kubicki.

In the same daily, a prominent economist and former deputy finance minister, Stanislaw Gomulka, argues that eurozone entry will enhance Poland’s credibility. DZIENNIK says that even though the country’s finances are in a fairly good shape, an economic slow-down cannot be avoided. This was made clear by the Monetary Policy Council. According to its predictions, next year’s GDP growth could  range from 1.7 to 3.5 percent, far less than expected in the government’s 2009 Budget draft.

Poland’s credibility – in the political sense – is the central theme of two press interviews by defense minister Bogdan Klich. He told the FAKT tabloid that the Polish mission in Afghanistan is of great importance as a test of Poland’s credibility in NATO. In an interview with RZECZPOSPOLITA, he said that Poland is drawing conclusions from the Russian military operation in Georgia, stressing that, for the first time since the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty, Russia has posed a real threat to a neighbouring country. He expressed the conviction, however, that Polish-Russian relations will gradually normalize. It is not in Moscow’s interest, he added, to antagonize NATO, an organization in which Poland’s voice is becoming increasingly strong.

Setting the scene for a visit to Warsaw by the Dalai Lama, GAZETA WYBORCZA writes about a flurry of activity by officials in the Chinese Embassy. They contacted the Warsaw City Council, which invited the Dalai Lama,  asking for a meeting to discuss Polish-Chinese relations. Inquired why the embassy wants to talk about politics to city councilors, they are reported to have said: ‘because one Chinese is coming here.’

The Salt Mine in Wieliczka near Krakow is a must-visit for all tourists in Poland. It dates back to the Middle Ages, is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List and last year attracted 1.2 million tourists. In a supplement on southern Poland, GAZETA WYBORCZA writes that the salt mine in Bochnia, not far from Wieliczka, is also doing its best to attract visitors. It claims that it is 760 years old, and therefore slightly older than Wieliczka, and that, as a tourist destination, it is no less spectacular. More than that, it is soon to offer something that Wieliczka does not have: an underground boat trip.