Przemysław POWIERZA
tax advisor, Tax Partner at RSM Poland
Head of German Desk

We Poles are somewhat schizophrenic: on the one hand, (almost) each and every one of us is an expert on all sorts of things, including current political issues; on the other hand, we show some characteristics of a fledgling democracy, which is clearly reflected in a surprisingly low turnout of voters. Generally, however, we do not really care about the political turmoil unless its impact on the current condition of the economy becomes noticeable. Our western neighbors are less composed in this regard. We can feel it recently that their reactions to the first moves of the new government are rather nervous. Increases in currency exchange rates and declines in the Warsaw Stock Exchange seem to confirm their fears. Perhaps, from their perspective, we are still not as economically immune to politics as the more experienced western democracies? Close relationships between our advisors and customers indicate, however, that we prefer to focus on business: We neither expect much from politicians, nor do we think that they will be able to spoil too much. The key issue is that business relationships between Warsaw and Berlin should run smoothly. Still, not so long ago there was no need for discussing political issues in the context of running business in Poland. It seems, however, that we are forced to use these competencies within the German Desk as well...