RPP's Rosati criticises Kolodko's silence as detrimental for markets and budget

Dariusz Rosati, a member of the Monetary Policy Council (RPP), harshly criticised the silence of the newly appointed Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko. Speaking in an interview with Radio Zet, Rosati pointed out that a lack of public statement led not only to weakening of the zloty (by about 4% to the US dollar and the euro since the resignation of Marek Belka last week), which would be shortly reflected in prices of oil and other raw materials, but also raised, by some 0.5 pps, the cost of servicing the Treasury's debt. In Rosati's opinion, the silence of Kolodko was irresponsible, as it proved that Kolodko had either nothing to say and needed time for preparation, or that what he intended to say was so controversial that he was still looking for the best way to break it to the public without causing panic. In the meantime, President Aleksander Kwasniewski said in an interview with Radio 3 that he suggested Kolodko should refrain from any public statements. In Kwasniewski's opinion, Kolodko still has one month to think over his possible future proposals. We do not agree with this opinion, because of Kolodko's controversial ideas that he had presented before his appointment as a Finance Minister - Kolodko called for devaluation of the zloty by 15% and pegging it to the euro. Kolodko's silence has already caused chaos on financial markets and raised international concerns about Poland's future currency policy. We think Kolodko should distance himself from his previous programme and calm the markets. On the other hand, we also believe that weakening the zloty is exactly what the government had been waiting for over the last few months and it is possible that Kolodko's silence is intentional. kp,bb