News /
Polish-German Reconcilliation Seminar [491]
@Atch
The LG factory will open in 2019. JP Morgan is already taking applications for the 2,500-3k jobs in Warsaw. The JP Morgan deal was done between the bank and PiS -
You're absolutely right - its' the bottom dollar that counts. A company will go with whoever offers them the most incentives for opening a factory, office, etc. Companies don't give a crap about all that stuff - unless it impacts their bottom dollar of course which in some cases it absolutely does and they must adjust if they wish to conduct business there. For example, Mobil can't go into Saudi Arabia and send a bunch of female engineers without making them aware of the cultural norms.
Ultimately though, it's up to Poles to decide how they want to leverage their country's economy and business interests. PO was more in favor of selling whatever to whoever, PiS was in favor of promoting partnerships with non-traditional partners while retaining some strategic industries and companies in Polish hands as well as increasing the percentage of Polish capital within Polish banks.
do you think it was a fair appraisal of official Polish-German relations as they appeared to the outside world and apparently to Poland and Germany at that time?
Yes and no. While trade was and remains strong between the two countries, Poles are generally distrustful of Germans and tend not to like them at the personal and societal level. It doesn't mean they won't do business with them. It's like a poll was done in Azerbaijan asking whether they believe Armenians should marry Azeri women. Most (majority) Azeris said no. Another question was should Azeris and Armenians do business together? Most answered yes. It's kind of like that with Germany and Poland. Middle/upper middle class Poles desire to put a Audi, BMW or Mercedes in their driveway but generally Poles don't really like Germans. It's a historical and cultural thing that goes back hundreds of years and has been used in propaganda by both sides for decades if not centuries.
Nonetheless, Poles generally do want good economic relations with Germany and vice versa. A lot of Poles travel to Germany to work - especially from around Wroclaw. It was common for young people in high school and college to go to Germany during the summer to work on farms to help with the harvest. Even now Poles who work in blue collar jobs like construction, welding, plumbing, etc will often go to Germany for like a week or two, work, then come back to Poland for the weekend or a week and spend their money.
