POLAND PPS-RD document on the elections IN ITS LEAFLET for May Day, the PPS-RD explained Its attitude toward the new elections provided for in the round-table agreement: Since the establishment of the state framework of the People's Republic, the elections to parliament and the National Councils have served to legitimize the Communist Party's monopoly of power. The SD, the ZSL and PAX, along with the CHSS and the PZKS [legally recognized parties supposedly representing non-Communist sectors allied with the CP], are no more than a decoration designed to give the impression of democracy.
As a result of the accords at the round-table, some opposition groups will be participating in the coming elections. They have agreed to do this, despite the fact that the function of the elections has remained the same. The opposition's role will be to help the Communists' regime acquire a new legitimacy. The function of the new parliamentary groups, which will be kept in a minority of 35 per cent, will be even more limited because their members, for obvious reasons, will represent a range of views, while the so-called Coalition the CP and its satellites] will vote as a bloc on the important questions.
The Polish Socialist Party-Democratic Revolution calls for boycotting the elections to the Diet and the Senate for the following reasons:
1. You cannot have democracy by percentages. Either it exists, and in that case we elect a Diet that represents us, or it does not, and in that case the only response is a boycott. Thirty-five percent opposition in the Diet is enough to legitimize the electoral farce but too little to influence the fate of the country.
2. The creation of a Senate whose powers are too limited and too poorly defined will not change the parliamentary relationship of forces. In that case, we will be faced with an archaic construction, less and less common in modern constitutional systems. Instead of a Senate, we demand a return to the program of the Self-Managed Republic and the creation of a Self-Management House that would directly represent the workers' interests.
3. The establishment of the office of president guarantees the continuity of the present system. The president will be elected by the parliament controlled by the PZPR [United Polish Workers Party, the CP] and not the voters. This institution makes it possible to make arbitrary decisions such as dissolving parliament, imposing martial law and changing laws.
The struggle for free elections continues!
Warsaw, April 10, 1989 — General Council of the PPS-RD
### ZLOTYCH dence. We are neither right nor left, neither too linked to the Church nor insensitive to its advice. We are simply something different. But we know that without the help of the Church we would not have managed to fight on and resist for so many years. Polish society as a whole might have given in, if it had not been guided by the words of the Pope and his bishops. At certain times, I can assure you, the round-table resembled a boxing ring. The Church played the role of referee, a referee who proved capable of assuring victory for both of the contending parties. • Do you think that the great political reform outlined in these last days in Warsaw is irreversible?
That is precisely our concern. But I must tell you right away that the answer to that depends on both of us, on the Poles as well as you in the West. We must not fail, we must not betray the spirit and the letter of the social pact that we have signed. That would be a catastrophe. But for the moment, I cannot see the conditions for this. It is you, the great Western democracies, that have to understand that an unparalleled historic opportunity has been created in Poland.
I will strive to explain to the Italian political leaders and unions that it is not up to us to guarantee the final victory, because we have won it, regardless. The problem is to shorten the road that has to be travelled, to reduce the number of obstacles, to manage a smooth transition from a system that recognizes its bankruptcy to a freer and more just Poland closer to Europe. It is to achieve this end that we need aid, both economic and political, but also advice about how to make a democracy work. • Do you think that the Polish turn would have come about without Gorbachev and Gorbachevism? If you went to Moscow to meet the 7 Kremlin chief, what would you tell
POLAND • BRAZIL him?
It is hard to answer that question because our entire bloc urgently needs to reform itself, and it is not yet clear whether Gorbachev is the product of this urgent need or vice-versa. It can be said with certainty that if the conservatives still had the upper hand in the Soviet Union, the struggle in Poland would be even harder. But, as I told you, the final outcome is historically inevitable, and it is not, and has never been in doubt.
What would I say to Gorbachev? I would tell him what Jaruzelski told me, that is that people sooner or later have to meet and come to an understanding. I would tell him also that he came late, and that if he had been in power instead of Brezhnev in 1980-81, things would probably have happened differently. • The social pact will impose economic sacrifices on the population. Do you think that the Poles are ready to endure these without protesting?
Sacrifices will undoubtedly have to be made. The society can confront them in two ways — either by considering that the system is unreformable and therefore looking to revolution; or by thinking, as I do, that there is a possibility of evolution without revolution, and therefore agreeing to pay the price of the reforms. It will be difficult to convince people, to overcome apathy, to regain enthusiasm. But, if you aid us, if together we provide the necessary guarantees, then 1 am sure that we can succeed. • How do you judge the behavior of Miodowicz and the official unions? Is there a serious danger that the more conservative groups in the party will obstruct application of the accords?
I don't think that is a real danger. There is a current in the party that is relying on demagogy, and something similar also exists in Solidarnosc.
But demagogy won't get very far in our country or in yours. It is necessary to work in such a way that the enemies of the reform will not be justified in the end and we will not suffer a failure that would wipe out the hopes for evolution and leave only the revolutionary alternative. • What democratic gains did you fail to obtain at the round-table that you intend continuing to fight for?
There are many, in every sector of social life. It is inevitable that we have only been able to take the first step. Our objective is a truly free and democratic Poland, like Italy.
That has always been our dream, both yesterday in clandestinity and today in our new role. The difference is that the dream has become concrete, and is now a real hope. * International Viewpoint #163 • May 15, 1989