Surging prices imperil Polish govt ahead of vote next year

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prices are surging in Poland, making it among the European Union nations with the highest inflation rates. The state statistics office registered inflation of 17.5% in November compared with the previous year. It is a painful situation for people in a country like Poland, which has seen dramatic economic transformation but which still has not reached a Western level of wealth. A large majority of Poles say that inflation has harmed their quality of life, making inflation perhaps the greatest challenge to date to the ruling conservative party, which has governed since 2015, as it heads into elections next fall.