Poland's Tusk says he won't do anything to destabilise central bank

Poland's incoming government will not do anything that would destabilise the central bank, likely next prime minister Donald Tusk said on Friday, raising a question over whether his political coalition would follow through on a threat to put the bank's governor before a state tribunal. The liberal Civic Coalition (KO) grouping, which now looks poised to take power, vowed before an election in October to hold National Bank of Poland (NBP) Governor Adam Glapinski to account after it alleged that he tailored monetary policy to help the government, hampering the fight against inflation.

Poland's incoming government will not do anything that would destabilise the central bank, likely next prime minister Donald Tusk said on Friday, raising a question over whether his political coalition would follow through on a threat to put the bank's governor before a state tribunal.

The liberal Civic Coalition (KO) grouping, which now looks poised to take power, vowed before an election in October to hold National Bank of Poland (NBP) Governor Adam Glapinski to account after it alleged that he tailored monetary policy to help the government, hampering the fight against inflation. The central bank has warned that putting Glapinski before a tribunal would damage the economy. Glapinski denies the allegations, pointing to a sharp fall in inflation this year, which the monetary authority cited when it slashed borrowing costs in September.

"We won't do anything would disturb the stability or damage the reputation of the Polish state institutions in Europe or abroad, please rest assured," KO leader Tusk told reporters. He said the central bank was an institution that required "extreme care and attention". The comments marked a considerable softening of tone by Tusk, who had said before the election that he would remove Glapinski from his post.

In a set of promises for their first 100 days in office published before the election, KO said it would put Glapinski before the tribunal for "destroying the independence of the National Bank of Poland and failing to implement the basic task of the NBP, which is to fight against inflation". If Glapinski was required to appear before a state tribunal, his deputy would take over.

In a statement published on Friday, six out of nine members of Poland's rate setting Monetary Policy council (MPC) said that the speculation surrounding the central bank could damage the economy and undermine investor confidence. "Political intentions cannot be a justification for actions which would have negative consequences for the interests of the Republic of Poland," the statement said.

Meanwhile, a group of lawmakers from the PiS party that is set to lose power asked the Constitutional Tribunal on Friday to review the law on forming a state tribunal, in what some commentators said could be an attempt to shield Glapinski.

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