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Solidarity at the Crossroads
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18431 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1990 |
2,741 Words |
| Author
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Janusz Bugajski
Janusz Bugajski is a research associate at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He is
coauthoring a forthcoming book, East European Fault Lines:
Dissent, Opposition, and Social Activism. |
Ten years after its dramatic birth in August 1980 in the shipyards, steelyards, and coal mines of Poland's communist wasteland, Solidarity has reached a critical historical juncture. After surviving the repression of martial law and persistent official attempts to divide and discredit the union, Solidarity itself was thrust into government last year when the Communists were pressured into a new power sharing arrangement to avert a popular revolution. This Polish breakthrough in turn acted as a catalyst for the democratic revolutions that swept across Eastern Europe last fall and that continue to shake the continent's political landscape.
But with the defeat of the common enemy of communism, Solidarity has reached an important turning point. It can no longer continue as a mass movement of opposition, and its leaders and advisers cannot confine themselves simply to trade union work, as they are needed in the arising political institutions. On the other hand, Solidarity does not possess a singular political profile as it combines activists with widely diverging backgrounds, ideologies, and programs. Their long-subdued differences have now erupted to the surface; in the after-math of Marxist-Leninist uniformity, Polish politics have inevitably started to splinter and diversify.
SOLIDARITY DIVIDES
The divisions within Solidarity are not simply programmatic and ideological, but are based on strategic, tactical, and personal disputes within the emerging political elite. In the absence of entrenched democratic institutions, fully legitimate governing bodies, or mass-based political parties, Poland's young democracy will continue to be racked by power struggles and policy disputes until the next national elections. The parliamentary ballot in June 1989 was essentially a referendum against the communist system rather than a distinct choice between specific political platforms. The formation of parties, coalitions, and programs will now accelerate; but the process will not be smooth given the grave economic climate and the profound alienation and cynicism of much of the population.
Tadeusz Mazowiecki's government is preoccupied with balancing economic reform with social tranquility. Conflicts could easily erupt from fast-rising unemployment, increasing material inequalities, and falling living standards. These in turn could be manipulated by radical groups as witnessed during the Slupsk railway strike in May. Renewed turmoil could paralyze government programs and even degenerate into chaos and public revolt. It remains to be seen
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