Eastern Europe to test the market system

The global economic crisis has hit central and eastern Europe hard, but it has not broken the region’s faith in the market economy – at least not yet, writes Stefan Wagstyl.

While governments have come under intense financial pressure, none has diverted radically from the road of market-oriented reforms that they have followed since the collapse of communism 20 years ago.

But, with unemployment and bankruptcies growing, the real test is still to come. 2010 will see a string of elections, including parliamentary polls in Hungary and the Czech Republic and presidential elections in Poland. This will hamper any significant economic reform.