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Polish pm resigns after eu enlargement Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a8at6URN_BcQ&refer=europehttp://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a8at6URN_BcQ&refer=europe
Polish PM Miller Resigns Day After EU Enlargement (Update1)
May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller stepped down, the day after Poland joined the European Union, bowing to pressure from disgruntled lawmakers in his party and opposition leaders.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski has named former Finance Minister Marek Belka to replace Miller. Belka and his cabinet will be sworn in by the president at 4 p.m. in Warsaw. Parliament must vote whether to accept the new government within two weeks.
Miller struggled for more than a year to hold power after a coalition partner quit, lawmakers in his party challenged a 54 billion-zloty ($13.5 billion) spending-cut plan and opposition parties, such has Citizens' Platform, pushed for early elections.
``The government, led by Miller, certainly has reasons for a great satisfaction, considering Poland's entry to the EU, economic recovery and avoiding a possible financial crisis,'' Kwasniewski said in a statement after Miller's resignation. Still, the nation ``wants to be free of weaknesses such as neglecting interests of society.''
Support for Miller slumped to below 10 percent from 50 percent in October 2001, when he took power, as economic recovery failed to create new jobs.
More than 3 million Poles have been without work longer than three years, while the jobless rate has hovered near a record high of 20.7 percent set in February last year.
Poland's $210 billion economy, the largest among the 10 new nations in the European Union, probably expanded 6.4 percent in the first quarter, with full-year growth seen higher than 5 percent, according to the government's estimates.
The economy grew 3.7 percent last year, the fastest pace in three years after slowing to 1 percent in 2001.
The Polish zloty shed 2 percent in April, its third monthly decline in four months, amid concern legislators won't back Prime Minister-designate Belka. The currency slid to 4.82 against the euro on Friday, a two-month low, from 4.77 the day before.
The country's benchmark five-year bond due May 2009 had its biggest drop last month in five months, pushing yields to their highest since February. The bond yielded 7.37 percent on Friday.
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