For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's WBJ's endorsement for this weekend's presidential election:

A critical decision lies before Poles this weekend. The choice they make during Sunday’s election – whether the final vote turns out to be this weekend or in a runoff two weeks later – will have profound, far-reaching repercussions for society, the economy, the business environment and the level of prosperity.

There are 10 presidential candidates vying for Poles’ votes, but only two have a chance of making it to a second round – Speaker of the Sejm and Acting President Bronisław Komorowski of Civic Platform (PO) and Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the Law and Justice (PiS) party.

If Poles want to improve upon the relative economic stability and prosperity they have enjoyed over the past two years – a period of strife between the government and president – then Mr Komorowski is the clear choice.

Candidate Komorowski – positives and negatives

Mr Komorowski is not without fault. During a recent trip to London he blundered by stating that Poland didn’t need investments in shale-gas extraction – investments that could potentially give a massive boost to the country’s energy security – and confused its environmental risks with those of open-pit coal mining.

He has demonstrated a sometimes tenuous grasp of economics, and recently said that Poland should not demand that the US lift its visa requirement for Poles. That’s not a position that is likely to endear him to voters.

While Mr Kaczyński’s campaign has been disciplined and visible, Mr Komorowski’s has stumbled at times. He has visibly struggled to campaign effectively while discharging the duties of both Sejm speaker and acting president, although the latter role offered easy press during the recent floods.

In the eyes of WBJ’s editorial board, these drawbacks illustrate that the newspaper was right to have endorsed his opponent in the Civic Platform primary – Radosław Sikorski, whose education and international experience trump those of Mr Komorowski. Such drawbacks do not, however, make the other candidates in the election more attractive.
Mr Komorowski has plenty of upside. His choice to lead Poland’s central bank, former Prime Minister Marek Belka, was superb. He assumed the office of acting president under difficult circumstances, but with poise. He has quietly signed important legislation and has worked well together with Prime Minister Tusk to handle difficult issues – not least of which has been the recent flooding.

If these past two and a half months are anything to judge by, Mr Komorowski should make a competent president.

Candidate Kaczyński – toned down, but unchanged

His main opponent, Mr Kaczyński, has smartly moved towards the center despite the emotionally charged political environment. He is roundly panned by much of the media, but his patriotism is unquestioned. Mr Kaczyński’s heartfelt desire to deal with historical wrongs and his passion for snuffing out corruption are admirable and desirable traits in a president. He is widely credited as the brains behind Law and Justice’s rise to power, a master of the political scene (although typically from behind the scenes) and a strong leader.

But Mr Kaczyński’s record tells a less flattering story. The 2005-2007 Law and Justice government, which he led and served as prime minister of for the majority of its rule, courted controversy with reckless abandon. Mr Kaczyński’s crusade to root out former communist collaborators turned into a witch hunt, and the country gained an international reputation for being stubborn, uncooperative and prickly.

When it came to business, the record was also negative. Personal income tax cuts passed at the end of its term were beneficial, as Law and Justice MP Paweł Poncyljusz points out in our interview this week (see p. 9). But the economic growth that Poland underwent during those years – which Mr Poncyljusz also points to as a positive – came about despite the PiS government, not because of it.

There was a worldwide economic boom at that time: how much stronger would Poland’s growth have been if PiS officials hadn’t been discouraging foreign investment (as when Finance Minister Teresa Lubińska said that investments from firms such as Tesco were not welcome), or impeding business processes (such as Pekao’s takeover of BPH, which was drawn out for months in order to find a solution that would keep state-owned PKO as Poland’s biggest lender)?

In opposition, the record is also ugly. Law and Justice has looked to impede the government at every turn – and has opposed pro-business and pro-reform legislation. Fair enough, that is an opposition party’s prerogative. But it would have done the country a much greater service by offering viable solutions in return.

Remove PO’s excuse

The current government is slow on the uptake and many of its goals are left unachieved or, indeed, forgotten. But it has delivered on its two most important promises: it has improved Poland’s international image and it has steadfastly promoted economic growth.

Until recently, though, it cited an obstructionist president as its primary excuse for not doing more. Now is the time to remove that excuse, forcing Civic Platform to make good on promises to implement economic reforms, slim the state and improve the business environment. Either the party delivers on these promises, laying the groundwork for future prosperity and gaining international clout in the process, or it does not, giving the electorate a great reason to vote it out of power.

For those with Poland’s economic future in mind, a Komorowski win is the best-case scenario. For better or worse, there is no alternative.