"I am fine" is not something Poles say. According to Jacek Purchla, head of the International Cultural Institute in Krakow, around 80% of Poles have gained from their country's recent transformation; the rest, such as former employees of defunct state-owned enterprises, are worse off than under communism. "But if you ask Poles, you get the impression it's the other way round," says Mr Purchla. History has taught Poles to be pessimistic and full of self-doubt. For the half-millennium, whenever their country was enjoying a peaceful, prosperous period it soon seemed to come to a brutal end, often through foreign invasion. Now Poland is prospering once again: since 1989 it has achieved unprecedented levels of income and quality of life and its economy has grown faster than that of any other country in Europe. It has also gained an important role in European diplomacy. Can its good fortune last?
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