On current form, Poles will soon be richer than us. They are already close. National income per head measured in purchasing power will reach $50,000 (£38,000) this year, against (if we are lucky) $60,000 for Britain. That catch-up reflects Poland’s almost uninterrupted decades-long boom, fuelled by floods of foreign investment and a strong work ethic. Its economy is more than nine times bigger than in 1989, when I covered the collapse of the communist regime that had crippled the country.
The 38.5 million Poles are better defended too. We struggle to spend even 2 per cent of GDP on our armed forces (and a lot of that is wasted). Poland will spend 5 per cent next year. It already has the third-largest armed forces in
Source link : https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/while-us-dithers-poland-leads-the-way-628sqqk00
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Publish date : 2024-10-06 23:01:00
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