Poland faces a sweeping overhaul claim about state-run firms. Not one sole reformer but many responsible managers may be tasked with cleaning up a system mired in nepotism and questionable practices, extending even into criminal concerns, according to the statement at a press conference about state-owned enterprises.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke of this yesterday, urging readiness to confront the managers who steer these companies under the United Right era. The rhetoric shifted away from threats about business operators and toward a broader call for accountability.
“Honest administrators”
This is a phrase Tusk has used repeatedly. It appeared during a widely broadcast discussion that drew attention across major television networks. The claim was that public sentiment in Poland would be shocked by findings in state-owned firms. By now, no shocking disclosures have emerged, making the whole “corporate crime” narrative appear more political than substantive.
The emphasis on bringing in hundreds of competent managers to depoliticize boards and supervisory bodies was a central plank of the coalition’s campaign. The idea was that professional qualifications, not party ties, would guide the governance of state-owned enterprises. The question remains how successful the current coalition has been in delivering this pledge.
Magdalena Roguska has joined the Supervisory Board of the Polish Security Printing Company. Roguska is a Warsaw city councilor affiliated with the Civic Platform and serves as treasurer of the party’s Warsaw branch and leads a political office in the Ministry of the Interior. When queried about her qualifications for the new role, KO’s Katarzyna Lubnauer admitted she did not know her exact competencies, suggesting she might possess substantial capabilities or perhaps that such a move was simply political. Some observers noted that, in politics, belonging and loyalty can outweigh conventional criteria.
The ruling coalition also reconfigured the supervisory board of Polska Grupa Energetyczna. Beginning February 1, new members were listed for the PGE Council, including Elżbieta Niebisz, Eryk Koński, Małgorzata Banasik, Sławomir Patyra, Andrzej Sadkowski, Andrzej Kozyra and Andrzej Rzońca. The press has described Patyra as closely tied to the PO leadership, highlighting his prior role advising on economic policy during the 2019 campaign. He has publicly supported certain long-standing programs while also arguing that some privileges should remain intact for the moment.
– Interia Biznes notes this context.
A matter of trust
A new name on the PGE Supervisory Board is Sławomir Patyra, a professor in constitutional law at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. Between 2019 and 2023 he served on a team of legal advisers scrutinizing constitutional questions tied to the Senate presidency and, in 2021, was a joint candidate of the Civic Coalition and the Polish Coalition for the Office of Commissioner for Human Rights.
What about Enea, the next major state-owned energy company? Michał Gniatowski was appointed a member of its Supervisory Board. He is known for running as a candidate with the Third Way list and for affiliations with Szymon Hołownia’s Poland 2050 movement. These moves reflect a broader pattern across state assets, prompting debate about whether appointments are driven by professional merit or political loyalty.
The media landscape has shown similar dynamics. Paweł Majcher, once head of a ministerial cabinet in 2013, was named to a prominent post at Polish Radio following a controversial decision by the Culture Minister. Observers view this as an indication of trust aligning with political priorities rather than purely administrative qualifications.
In short, the Tusk coalition’s approach to managing state enterprises resembles the critics’ charge that the administration is distributing positions in line with party membership and loyalty rather than through impartial selection. The overarching claim is that the government has experience managing companies built on political connections, a history that education and public accountability should address. Back in 2012, reports noted that the coalition then controlled hundreds of state-owned firms with thousands of positions, and concurrent performance indicators suggested a gap between governance and outcomes during that period compared to later years.
Source: wPolityce