Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 25, 1990 TAG: 9003252169
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: O. ALAN WELTZIEN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A recent issue contained articles on Polish fears of German reunification, Prime Minister Mazowiecki's visit with Margaret Thatcher, Poland's restored diplomatic relations with Israel, anti-Soviet demonstrations in Cracow, Polish agricultural troubles and alcoholism.
Maybe the most important story, "Empty Purses and Optimism," defines a paradox that characterizes the country now.
Just a few months into the brave new world of Deputy Prime Minister Balcerowicz's economic program, Poles are much worse off. There's a recession and unemployment is on the rise. A lot of people think the situation will disintegrate further. Yet more believe the standard of living will improve over the next three years.
The political climate softens the economic blow. Taxes are higher than ever before, and many new or marginally profitable businesses are sinking. But the Mazowiecki government remains popular. He always looks so tired on television. Most Poles believe he and his team work very hard trying to pull Poland out of its morass.
Along with Western loans will come, presumably, increasing numbers of Western tourists. Poland has Orbis, its state-run travel agency and hotel chain that must learn to cut out the inconsistencies. We Americans expect standards, and Orbis does not always deliver.
Beside Orbis, restaurants must learn to pass out more than one menu per table. And banks must learn that travelers' checks are a global currency.
Not many banks are equipped to cash travelers' checks, it seems. After many months, we've located one in Gdansk, and some time ago my wife spent several hours there trying to cash a $20 check. When she saw a 25 percent service charge applied to the check of a Canadian in front of her, she left in disgust. Maybe that was a fluke.
The manual typewriters, triplicate forms and small pieces of carbon paper characteristic of Polish banks make for slow lines. Plan on staying awhile when you visit a Polish bank.
When you go to a public bathroom, on the other hand, don't linger. Too often it smells. There's probably no toilet paper, hot water or soap. And, when you're finished, you'll have to dig in your pocket for 50 or 100 zlotych. Never mind that this is the equivalent of a penny or less. It's the idea of paying anything for using such ill-equiped facilities that riles Westerners. Poland could take lessons from its partner in the vanguard of reform - Hungary. We've spent several days and nights in Hungary this winter and shall spend another week there in April.
So far we have explored East Germany, Hungary, Yugoslavia and a bit of Czechoslovakia. All are eager for American dollars and the tour is worthwhile - if you can spare the time in various embassies filling out forms that aren't in English. But the personnel are reasonably friendly, at least when compared with border guards.
Eastern Europe is thawing rapidly, but you wouldn't necessarily feel the warmth at any of the borders, except, perhaps, at those of Yugoslavia. These laid-back folks know what American dollars mean and they issue visas in a matter of minutes. But dealing with the young Prussians "defending" their East German republic is a different matter.
Czechoslovakia now has a playwright for a president, but his humanism hasn't reached its borders. I rank the Czech guards only slightly better than East Germans. In late January we waited an hour and a half to enter Czechoslovakia. Hungarian border guards, on the other hand, are more hospitable.
Hungary is a nice little country, used to German and Austrian tourists. Since Germans and Austrians expect standards approaching their own, Hungary offers many nice touches.
It looks as if years of gradual conversion to a free-market economy have paid off. Poland is trying to quit the socialist model cold turkey and convert quickly to the West, and right now it's hurting. I would guess that in Hungary, one never hears from a shopkeeper the Hungarian equivalent of "Nie mam"("I don't have"), a Polish refrain that does not wear well over time.
Judging from what we've seen, Hungarian store shelves and window displays teem with goods. Such a country makes one ponder the relation between excellence of cuisine and apparent economic health. One travel book proclaims Hungary's fare the best in Eastern Europe, and I'm not about to disagree. Paprika replaces ground pepper on tables, and whatever spicy entree you are enjoying can be washed down with a bottle of Tokaj or Bull's Blood of Eger, the country's famous white and red wines, respectively.
The towns and countryside look clean and lack the pollution that clogs too much of East Germany. Roads and road signs are excellent.
Hungary looks good. It sports a more prosperous appearance than any county bordering it, except Austria.
We saw signs of poverty in Yugoslavia, particularly away from its celebrated coast, but sometimes there as well. Yugoslavians appear to laugh and smile more than do the Poles, and many people lead a more casual daily life. On the other hand, the confederation known as Yugoslavia is experiencing unprecedented centrifugal pressures these days: Slovenia, the wealthiest, northernmost republic, wants out.
Polish hands are joined, for the most part, in common cause. It will succeed if Poles will just cast off the past 45 years and all start working hard in their jobs, some say.
One friend points out that because of the recession people are drinking less, which is good, and driving less, which may not be. Rising prices, falling production and declining consumption too easily form a vicious cycle.
An electrician-contractor friend sounded pretty discouraged when he talked a couple of weeks ago. He makes good money, usually. Now, though, he is giving serious thought to leaving his family and joining his brother in West Germany for a short while. Lots of Deutschmarks. That's the classic Polish pattern - that or emigration.
Poland desperately hopes the pattern will change as soon as inflationary and tax pressures ease. But not even Balcerowicz knows exactly when that will be.
by CNB