Polish Central Banker Slams Politicians for ‘Unjustified’ Probe

Agnieszka Barteczko, Natalia Ojewska and Wojciech Moskwa
·3-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Poland’s central bank Governor Adam Glapinski criticized a political investigation into his actions, saying it’s “unjustified,” breaches monetary independence and could weaken the zloty.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Glapinski commented in a video released on Thursday, just hours after lawmakers in Warsaw vowed to carry on with their probe.

“This is an unprecedented action, unique on a global scale, which will have a strong negative impact on the perception of Poland’s relations with foreign countries,” Glapinski said. It hits “the central bank’s credibility and independence and the value of the Polish currency.”

The zloty — one of this year’s best performing emerging-market currencies — showed no reaction to the escalating conflict, trading 0.1% stronger against the euro on Thursday. Investors have largely ignored the row as politicians from the ruling coalition are unlikely to be able to oust Glapinski, whose second and last term runs out in 2028.

Poland’s government has accused Glapinski, an ally of the nationalist Law & Justice party that lost power late last year, of politicizing central bank policy and irregularities in its bond-buying program. The governor and his Monetary Policy Council slashed interest rates in the run up to last year’s election but turned hawkish since the new cabinet took power.

Glapinski, who has repeatedly said he’s done nothing illegal, appealed to politicians to “act with careful consideration and prudence and abandon purely political, unjustified and harmful actions.”

‘Deeply Politicized’

The escalation comes after the lawmaker in charge of the parliamentary committee running the investigation said on Thursday that he planned to take testimony from more than 50 people, including Glapinski.

Justice Minister Adam Bodnar told Bloomberg that while legal obstacles remain on the path of putting Glapinski in front of a special tribunal, the Constitutional Court’s ruling from Aug. 20 — which said a probe would be illegal — wasn’t one of them.

“The Constitutional Court has been deeply politicized so there might be doubts about the validity of its rulings,” Bodnar said in an interview. “This is a consistent view from representatives of the ruling coalition.”

The minister pointed to errors in the appointments of its chief as well as other judges. The European Union’s tribunal has also questioned its impartiality. Furthermore, its ruling flies directly in the face of the Constitution, which specifically lists the central bank governor among officials considered “accountable” before the special panel, Bodnar said.

Nevertheless, Glapinski and Law & Justice officials — including their allied President Andrzej Duda — adhere to the tribunal’s judgments, which Bodnar said had created “dual legal systems” in the country.

In Glapinski’s case, there are also other potential hurdles, such as a leading role in the investigation by the head of the Supreme Court, another panel whose legality has been challenged by the EU as well as Poland’s government following repeated revamps by its predecessors.

Law & Justice representatives walked out of the committee meeting on Thursday, with lawmaker Krzysztof Szczucki saying that its actions are “lawless” following the Polish tribunal’s ruling.

The parliamentary committee, which will ultimately decide whether Glapinski’s actions require putting him in front of the State Tribunal, plans to gather several times a month as it rolls out its investigation, according to Zbigniew Gawlik, the ruling-party lawmaker who heads it.

“The governor should be interrogated as one of the last witnesses,” he told reporters in parliament. It will act fully within the law, he said.

(Updates with central bank comments from the first paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Latest stories