Word: polished
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Minister and the chief architect of Poland's post-communist reforms, says the country is living through "its best period in 300 years." The economy is growing, and the country's alliances with Europe and the U.S. are strong. Not since 1989, according to one recent survey, have the Polish people felt so optimistic about the direction their country is taking...
Tusk's election last October, moreover, may mark a new consolidation of Polish democracy. Where once 20 political parties vied for space in the Sejm (the Polish parliament), now a manageable four hold the floor. For the first time since the end of communism, voters reaffirmed the ascendancy of Poland's economic conservatives. The post-communist left has now failed to win in two successive votes. Yet Tusk, 50, is keenly aware of the challenges ahead. His party has no experience in power, and he has been criticized by the opposition for being a "media star" without substance...
Tusk showed some on his early March visit to the U.S., when he told President George W. Bush that Poland's security interests would be harmed, not helped, by a U.S. plan to erect a missile shield on Polish territory. He said that Poland would reject the installation, which the U.S. says is aimed at deterring Iranian and North Korean missiles, unless Washington comes with concrete commitments to help Poland upgrade its own defense systems. He is also vehemently opposing Russia's latest demand that it be allowed to permanently station its officers on Polish soil to monitor the antimissile...
Tusk's line on the missiles was a particularly sharp departure from his predecessor, but not the only one. The previous government, led by Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, whose identical twin Lech is still Polish President, was so plagued by in-fighting, scandal and sour relations with Poland's neighbors that Tusk's victory in last October's election can be partly ascribed to the relatively competent impression he makes. But Tusk's success also represents Poland's growing acceptance of free-market ideas. In 1993, an economically liberal forerunner to the party that Tusk co-founded in 2001 drew...
...discourage early retirement; nearly three in four Poles stop work by the time they are 55, more than anywhere else in Europe. By increasing pay and promoting retraining, says Boni, Poland could save up to $13 billion in premature retirement benefits over the next 12 years. To lure younger Polish talent home, the government also wants to lower barriers to starting a business, and provide better science and technical education. "Some of this can seem tedious," says Tusk. "But for Poland there is no other...