Euro Zealots Want to Sabotage Me, Polish Central Bank Chief Says
(Bloomberg) -- Euro enthusiasts bent on pushing Poland to ditch the zloty and join Europe’s single currency area are probably behind reports linking the central bank with a corruption scandal, according to the head of the National Bank of Poland.
In an interview with pro-government weekly Sieci published Monday, Governor Adam Glapinski said he received “various signals” suggesting opposition politicians, with possible backing from abroad, were behind media reports aimed at “discrediting” him following the resignation of his close colleague who ran the banking regulator.
The departure and ensuing arrest of Marek Chrzanowski for allegedly soliciting a bribe from a bank owner has rocked the financial establishment and is undermining government support before elections next year. Glapinski’s comments are the first suggesting the scandal is part of a conspiracy aimed at pushing Poland’s $525 billion economy into the euro region, which already buys more than half of its exports.
“This is about undermining my authority and prestige, so that in a year’s time -- after a potential election victory -- they can try to get rid of me,” Glapinski said. “Without changing the central bank governor and the Monetary Policy Council, such a march toward euro membership won’t be easy, simple or fast. In fact, it may not be possible at all.”
Glapinski’s spokesman wasn’t immediately available for further comment.
Franco-German Initiative?
Glapinski said euro adoption would “radically limit” Poland’s “economic sovereignty,” leaving authorities with “marginal competences,” a weaker competitive position and slowing growth. On the other hand, euro heavyweights Germany and France want a political success to help neutralize the bloc’s continued crises -- and, according to the governor, none would be bigger than absorbing Poland into the single-currency region.
It’s “no coincidence” that Polish opposition parties have recently also made euro entry a major policy initiative, Glapinski said. Ditching the Polish currency would primarily benefit “big banks and institutions, which are largely foreign-owned,” he said.
Glapinski, who called Chrzanowski “impeccably honest, straightforward, patriotic, and professional to the highest degree” after the scandal broke, sought to distance himself from his colleague in the interview. He said that even though they worked at the same university, they were from “slightly different worlds.”
Their close ties were on display, however, when Glapinski surprisingly attended Chrzanowski’s first meeting with journalists after becoming the financial watchdog in 2016. Both men talked up plans to merge the regulator with the central bank.
The governor has asked a Polish court to remove online media reports suggesting he played a role in the incident. He told Sieci that he’s not aiming to limit media freedom but wants to “defend the National Bank of Poland from detrimental and unjustified accusations.”
Knowing that euro adoption will be difficult on his watch, the opposition, if it wins power, may seek to link the zloty to the euro in a system similar to that seen in Denmark or Bulgaria, which would also have “fatal” consequences for Poland.
“Everything is possible, even something that could be seen as a financial coup d’etat.”
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