Poles Warned of Price of Reform

WARSAW — Polish Prime Minister Mieczyslaw Rakowski unveiled a government with a new team of economic reformers today but warned that factory shutdowns and unemployment would be the price of reform.

Announcing his 23-member Cabinet in Parliament, Rakowski said he wants to implement market-oriented reforms drafted by the Communist Party. He wondered, however, whether Poles are ready for the consequences. “To be consistent in rebuilding our economy means in effect that enterprises will go under, that thousands of people will face the necessity of changing their work place or even of a temporary job hunt,” Rakowski said. “Will we get public approval for that, for men seeking jobs and not jobs seeking men?”