Polish Military spending 4,2% of GDP IS INSANE! | Ukrainian War Update

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Poland may struggle to fund its multibillion-dollar plan to buy a record number of weapons in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, experts have warned.

Most Nato countries have beefed up their military spending as a result of Vladimir Putin’s war, a seismic event that prompted Germany to proclaim its own Zeitenwende, Finland to join the military alliance and France to pledge meeting the Nato spending target sooner. But Warsaw stands out as it is on track to spend more on defence than any other Nato ally, relative to its gross domestic product.

The rightwing government of premier Mateusz Morawiecki plans to spend 4 per cent of GDP on defence this year, double the alliance’s target. While in absolute terms the Polish spending pales in comparison with the US or UK, the decision has prompted questions over how Warsaw will fund the change, including what areas of public spending might be cut to compensate.

Ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn, Poland’s government has told voters that only big military purchases can keep them safe. With Russia’s aggression increasing the nationalist rhetoric within the country, opposition parties have not attacked this argument but instead criticised the government for brushing aside the cost of buying weapons.

After high yields forced Poland to scrap a bond sale in October, former defence minister and opposition politician Tomasz Siemoniak wrote on Twitter that “the defence ministry is buying without a plan and apparently without money”.

Last year Poland was already proportionally Nato’s third-highest spender, after Greece and the US. In contrast, Germany and France are still struggling to meet Nato’s 2 per cent spending target, despite pledges to significantly increase their defence budgets."...