WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said today that Poland’s economy is a model of small government and free enterprise that other nations should emulate, an unspoken criticism of President Barack Obama’s policies in the wake of the worst recession in decades.

Wrapping up an overseas trip, the former Massachusetts governor said that “rather than heeding the false promise” of a government-dominated economy, Poland sought to stimulate innovation, attract investment, expand trade and “live within its means” after the Communist era.

He made his remarks as he neared the end of a week-long trip marred by his own stumbles on the world stage.

Before departing Europe to resume his campaign in the United States, Romney also laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Warsaw and was paying tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Poles who died in a World War II ghetto uprising against the Nazis. Both are traditional stops for dignitaries visiting Poland.

His speech seemed an attempt to link his overseas trip to the campaign at home.

He said that in his talks on Monday, one unnamed Polish leader “shared with me an economic truth that has been lost on much of the world. ‘It is simple. You don’t borrow what you cannot pay back,’” said Romney, who frequently criticizes Obama at home for the growth of the U.S. debt over the past four years.

“The world should pay close attention to the transformation of Poland’s economy,” Romney said. “A march toward economic liberty and smaller government has meant a march toward higher living standards, a strong military that defends liberty at home and abroad, and an important and growing role on the international stage.”

While holding Poland up as an economic example, Romney did not mention that the nation’s unemployment is measured at 12.4 percent. That is roughly half again as big as the rate of 8.2 percent in the United States.

Romney did not mention Obama by name during his speech, but he frequently accuses the president of failing to understand the importance of the private economy and favoring government solutions to the nation’s problems.

Romney resumes his campaign at home with appearances Thursday in Colorado, and already, his aides were eager to turn the voters’ attention back to the race against Obama.

The campaign issued an announcement from its headquarters in Boston noting that the announcement of Romney’s selection of a vice presidential running mate is getting closer. It unveiled an app for smart phones that it said would “serve as the campaign’s first official distribution channel” for the news.

Controversy accompanied the former Massachusetts governor in Poland as in previous stops in Britain and Israel, and comments he made earlier in the trip drew criticism from China.

Xinhua News Agency said Romney’s “hawkish remarks” made in Jerusalem could worsen an already tense Mideast situation, or even re-ignite a war between Palestinians and Israelis.

Earlier this week, he declared Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, even though U.S. policy holds that the city’s designation is a matter for negotiations between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. He also sparked a charge of racism from Palestinians when he told donors that the strength of Israel’s economy was due in part to the country’s culture.