2025-11-02 18:00
publication
2025-11-02 18:00
Poland is characterized by economic growth, courage and digitalization – everything that Germany lacks – writes the Swiss daily “Neue Zuercher Zeitung” on Saturday. The German economy sees Poland as a role model, but Germans' self-esteem suffers, the newspaper adds.
“The time for haughtiness is over. For years, Germany looked at its neighbor Poland – both politically and economically – with a bit of arrogance. On the one hand, a European growth engine, on the other, a post-communist poor man. German self-awareness was based on this opposition long after the fall of the Eastern Bloc,” says the largest Swiss opinion-forming daily.
The fact that Poland began to “rediscover itself” escaped the attention of the Germans for a long time. Currently, the German growth engine has stalled, and the former “poor guy” is catching up with his competitors – emphasizes “NZZ”, adding that more and more Poles are turning their backs on Germany and returning to the country.
“Germany's economic situation is dramatic.” An economist doesn't beat around the bush
If serious reforms are not introduced, the German economy will face further declines, warned the head of the Institute for Economic Research (IFO), Clemens Fuest. He considered the current economic situation in Germany to be dramatic.
Poles are becoming more and more confident in their contacts with Germans. On the political level, this sometimes leads to tensions, as in the case of reparation claims, but in the economy, relations are pragmatic – “NZZ” quotes the opinion of a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dresden.
The author of the commentary recalled that the economic growth rate in Poland has been above the EU average for two years, and this year it is expected to amount to 3.3%. Referring to the recent economic forum in Berlin, “NZZ” writes that humility was visible on the German side. “We need more Warsaw in Berlin,” said Philipp Hausmann, deputy head of the Commission for the Eastern German Economy, and German Minister of Economy Katherina Reiche said that Poles embody features that Germans lack. The implementation of projects created from scratch is much less complicated in Poland than in Germany. “Whoever cooperates with the authorities makes quick progress,” said Daniel Kiefer from Thost Projektmanagement.
“NZZ” positively assessed the Polish mObywatel application, which shortens administrative processes. It is also used by entrepreneurs who can conclude contracts online. The application is used by over 10 million citizens, which puts Poland at the forefront in Europe.
As the daily writes, the price of dynamic development is the increasing competition for specialists and an increase in wages. In 2009, wages in Poland accounted for 9%. the average German wage, today they are 39 percent.
Despite Poland's advancement, the differences between it and Germany remain significant. GDP per capita in Poland is approximately 45%. Germany's GDP, and after taking into account purchasing power – 70 percent. Moreover, Germany has enormous engineering knowledge and capital. The revival of the German economy is in Poland's interest due to the close connections between the two countries – emphasizes “NZZ”. (PAP)
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