DON SURBER: The Polish Plumber for the Win.

For the past two decades, Brits and other Western Europeans have mocked the big dumb Polish Plumber who migrated to the more prosperous countries in Europe once Poland joined the EU. While there was some resentment about the Poles taking jobs by working cheaper, they were jobs most Westerners would rather not have because no one wants to work with toilets and underground pipes. Those putting plumbers down pursued college degrees. . . .

Nearly a decade later, British media now fears that Poland will overtake England.

The Sunday Telegraph reported on Coronation Day, “Poland will be wealthier than Britain by 2030 — it’s time we took notice.”

What a way to greet the crowning of King Charles III by announcing the kingdom is going broke.

The story said, “After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Poles were the first former Soviet country to restore democracy, free markets and the rule of law. Yet they still had a mountain to climb. In 1989, Polish workers had a GDP per capita that was just a tenth of their German counterparts.

“Three decades of steady growth has wrought a miracle. The economic disparities have narrowed dramatically. Adjusted for purchasing parity, GDP per head in Poland is now £28,200 compared with £35,000 in the UK, £34,200 in France and £39,800 in Germany. At its current trajectory rate, Poland will overtake the UK by 2030.

“Since the millennium, Poland’s real GDP per capita has more than doubled; by contrast, GDP per capita in Britain, France and Germany grew between 15% and 24% over the same period.

“The truth is that living standards in places like Warsaw or Wrocław are already comparable to those in Berlin, Paris and London.

“Indeed, the quality of life for young families is undoubtedly higher.”

This should encourage some self-examination, but probably won’t.