beyondbrics

Marek Belka’s parliamentary confirmation as Poland’s new central bank governor this afternoon is likely to stabilise the zloty – pummelled in recent weeks by risk-averse investors – as well as reduce traditional tensions with the finance ministry.

Mr Belka was the surprise nominee of Bronislaw Komorowski, the country’s acting president and candidate for the ruling Civic Platform party in the June 20th presidential elections. There were few doubts about Mr Belka’s qualifications – he is a former finance minister, prime minister and the European director of the IMF – but opposition parties had questioned the timing of putting forward Mr Belka before the election.

Mr Komorowski argued that there was an overriding need to put in a properly elected central bank head after the April 10 death of Slawomir Skrzyepk, killed alongside president Lech Kaczynski and many other senior officials in the crash of the government airline near Smolensk, Russia. The right-wing Law and Justice party, as well as the government’s smaller coalition partner, the Polish People’s Party, disagreed, saying the central bank chief should have been nominated by a properly elected president.

Mr Belka ended up getting crucial support from his former party, the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance, which was also uncomfortable about the nomination, but felt it was impolitic not to vote for Mr Belka.

Mr Belka is a respected economist and something of an non-ideological pragmatist, and his new position appears to have helped the zloty Thursday, which rose by about 1 per cent against the euro and by 2 per cent against the dollar.

The happiest at Mr Belka’s new job is arguably Jacek Rostowski, Poland’s finance minister, whose office lies across the street from Mr Belka’s new digs in central Warsaw.  Mr Rostowski, a professor of economics like Belka, had a difficult relationship with Mr Skrzypek, a controversial choice as governor. Their last fight was over whether Poland should re-apply for a $20.6bn flexible credit line from the IMF which helped stabilise the zloty during last year’s economic crisis. Mr Skrzypek was opposed, as was his deputy, Piotr Wiesiolek, who temporarily took over the bank after Mr Skrzypek’s death.

Speaking after the vote, Mr Rostowski said resolving the issue of the FCL will “be much easier” with his new counterpart.

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Marek Belka tapped to be Poland’s new central bank governor, FT beyondbrics