Beefing up Poland’s armed forces

Poland’s incomingPSNATOGDP (NATO’s coalition government will want to be seen by the rest of Europe as marking a fresh start. But in one respect it is unlikely to diverge far from the policies of its populist predecessor, i (the Law and Justice party). In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour Ukraine in February last year, the then government embarked on a mission that the defence minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, described as providing Poland with “the most powerful land forces in Europe” by acquiring massive firepower and more than doubling the size of its armed forces.There is a strong Polish consensus on the need for such a plan. According to opinion research by , 80% of Poles favour maintaining or increasing defence spending. In March 2022 parliament voted almost unanimously for the Homeland Defence Act that raised the annual military budget to 3% of well above call for 2%) and set up an extra “off budget” fund for military modernisation worth about $9.5bn this year and next.