Lech Walesa Versus the Radicals

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THE second part of Solidopened in Gdansk September.

Before the 900 delegates lies the ironing out political programme.

A fight can be expected

break between more moderate and macca tendencies within the union over many the formulatons of the draft political programme. Unclear and imprecise references to economic relorms (by whom and for whom?), elections (local ones are approved but what about to Parliament?) WIll GOUDI openly debated out.

Already the Congress has

seen a sharp exchange on the question of workers' control. But it has not only been within the Congress that this exploded. Several days earlier the Sejm (Polish Parliament) witnessed a ventabe Tevoli by MPs belonging to the Democratic Peasant, Neo-Znak Pax alu two camole vroups Although these MPs exist in Parliament, only thanks to the tolerance of the Stalinist PUWP BILS attempt ›rovide the illusion political pluralism, for the use me me memory Iney have violently defied he government.

The government of Jaruzelski wanted to basically renege on a recently arrivedat compromise with the union on the election of factory managers - and revert to previous proposals more favourable to the PUWP.

But it the government was getting a rought ride in the Sejm - many observers have called it the most "significant Parliamentary event since 1947' and "Solidarnoso's parliamentary debut" - the moderates around Walesa have been getting a rough ride from the more radical tendencies at the Congress.

For even the compromese, which the government wants to renege on allows tremendous privileges and power to the PUWP, which previously held the unquestioned perogative of nominating its lackeys.

The union negotiators agreed that not all nominations for factory managers are to be made by the workers' committees in the enterprises and in return the government has agreed that a

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list of factories whose managers could be nominated only by the government/ Party would be negotiable.

Radicals

Walesa in supporting this compromise attacked the radicals by saying:

"It's not difficult to avoid taking a decision.

What's difficult is to make such a decision even when it is unpopular. Would you like to take over the management of the entire country? Well, let's be honest - we won't get there."

After references likening workers' control to a small infant which had to be gradually nurtured until it came of age, Walesa threw down a challenge to the Congress: if they rejected the workers control compromise "After all this, we would be more totalitarian than the party"

The response of Parliament to the government's attempt to renege, stemmed from the threat that they felt such a hardened attitude would pose to initiatives for ¡a "National Front" of some sort.

Nation Given increasing isolation of the Party in the nation as a whole, even previous hard-line Politbureau members like Stefan Olszowski (one of the prime supporters in the ruling circles of the Katowice Forum hardliners who presented their challenge to Kania's "sell-out" politics with Russian backing last June) has publicly proposed on TV some kind of Front including the PUWP, Solidarnosc and the Church.

"The time has come," he said, "to cease this fratricidal struggle for and against the state. sy neiping out the constitutional authority we orotect the continued existence of the nation.' These proposals for a lational political front even CLA