Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
12
ŁukaszTomczak
Teyear1989hasbeenadoptedasthestartingdateofthepoliticaltransforma-
tion,democratisationandassociatedtransitionsinthepartysystem.Asaresultof
anagreementbetweenthegovernmentandthelargerpartoftheopposition,and
ofthesettlementmadeattheRoundTable,partlyfreeelectionstookplaceon4
June1989.Forthedevelopmentofthepartysystem,theywereofan“opening”or
“founding”character[Wojtasik2012:149].Intheseelections,adivisionintotwo
mainpoliticalpowerswasintroduced;oneofthemincludedthegoverningparties,
ledbyPUWP;theotherwastherecreatedTradeUnion“Solidarność”
.Tevoting
methodusedintheseelectionsdidnotallowafullconfrontationbetweenthelarg-
estpoliticalpowers.TeelectionsforthelowerhouseoftheParliament(theSejm),
whichincludes460representatives,wasdividedinadvanceintotwoballots,leaving
only35%(161)ofseatsfortheoppositiontofightfor.Teelectionsfortheupper
houseoftheParliament(theSenate),werefullyfree.Asaresultoftheseelections,
thecandidatesrepresenting“Solidarność”won99outof100seatsintheSenateand
allavailableonesintheSejm.
Aferthe1989elections,thedivisionofpowerwasnotbasedonthetraditional
classificationintothelefandtheright,andpoliticalpartiesusuallyincludedmem-
berswithvariousviewpoints.TisfeaturewasparticularlyevidentintheParliament,
wherenewpoliticalformationswithoutelectorallegitimizationappearedspontane-
ously.In1989,theSejmincludedsevenformationsrepresentingpartiesorsocial
groups,whileintheautumnof1991,therewerealreadyfourteenformationsinthe
Sejm[Antoszewski,Herbut,andJednaka1993:47].
Inthefirstphaseofthepoliticaltransformationanddemocratization,twopro-
cessesareevident.Oneofthemisreorganizationandideologicalreorientationof
thecommunistpartyanditsallies;theotheroneisdisintegrationanddivisionin
theanti-communistformations,mainlyin“Solidarność”[Antoszewski2004:167].
TefirstonewaslinkedtothePUWP’sfailureintheelectionsandestablishingthe
governmentledbyTadeuszMazowiecki,arepresentativeof“Solidarność”
.
InJanuary1990,PUWPwasdissolvedandanumberofitsmembersestab-
lishedpoliticalformationsofasocialdemocraticcharacter:SocialDemocracyof
theRepublicofPoland(SocjaldemokracjaRzeczypospolitejPolskiej,SdRP)andthe
PolishSocialDemocraticUnion(PolskaUniaSocjaldemokratyczna,PUS).Te
UnitedPeople’sPartywastransformedintoPolishPeople’sParty(PolskieStronnictwo
Ludowe,PSL),usingthehistoricalnameofthepartyandrepresentinginterestsofthe
citizenslivinginthecountryside.Ontheothersideofthepoliticalscene,agradual
disintegrationoftheCivicParliamentaryGroup(ObywatelskiKlubParlamentarny)
constitutedby“Solidarność”andnewformationsgrowingoutofittookplace.It
wasbelievedthatadivisionof“Solidarność”intoseveralnewpoliticalpartiesmay
weakenit.Itsoonturnedout,however,thatattemptingtopreservetheunityofan
organizationthatwasnotideologicallymonolithicwasunnaturalandimpossible.
