Historic Congress

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He said that he -was opposed to the compromise not because of the formal errors but because he bought it was misleading the movement. The question had been made a priorty for Solidarnosc. : Rulewski also attacked the negotiators for changIng tactics by introducing the call for a referendum on relf-management - and offering to organise one if he government refused.

In some of the factories if the 'network' , workers vere already voting on whether or not to have selfnanagement.

Another Bydgoszcz delerate argued that the 'comromise was completely in ine with the policy of the kalinist party's ninth plenim. It offered the workers' ouncils no independent ower - just as the Party lad wanted.

After we had left the fongress, a vote was taken b reject the 'compromise' But we should say that nat limitation of the call or workers' control is that ¡is a spontaneous reaction • the economic chaos. It is pt part of a programme for iking political power into ae hands of the working LaSs.

Endorsing

You could see this limitaon from the fact that iater n there was discussion on he problem of big loans to bland from the imperialist overnments and bankers.

The radical supporters of jorkers' control turned out • be the most favourable to ccepting still more IMF ›ans, and even endorsing бе IMF. They had no perspective for workers', controi " over these links between the bureaucracy and the imperialist leaders.

• What did you see of the role of the Church?

We were told several times that it is only in the Gdansk area that there is a direct influence from the Church on the leadership of Solidarnosc.

This was shown by Walesa, who all the time had a priest by his side - a priest from the church closest to the Lenin shipyard.

But when a vote was taken at the beginning of the Congress on whether or not to make morning mass obligatory to delegates, it was voted down — and only some 20 or 25 per cent of delegates were present for mass each day.

Attempts

The role of the Church is somewhat different in Poland. It has no influence on such things as family planning or the practical side of life. Its attempts to reinforce the values of the family have not stopped most women working outside the home.

And while it is a force for moderation and for nationalism, all its appeals for moderation in the class struggle have been ignored by the movement.

The Church's influence has weakened as Solidarnosc has grown in strength and the fight for workers' control has strengthened workers politically.

• How do you assess the nationalist tendencies withSolidarnosc?

At the Congress there was a retired General from the Polish army. He boasted that he had fought three wars against Russia: World War 1; 1921, when he helped beat back Bolshevik armies that came to the assistance of Polish strikers; and World War 2.

He was allowed to address the Congress, and drew loud applause and a standing ovation.

But the nationalism also has another dimension. Of course nationalism in a capitalist country, even in a backward capitalist country, will be - if it is limited to a nationalist view -linked up with an alliance to parts of the capitalist class, or led by the petty bourgeoisie.

But the fact is that there is no national bourgeoisie for Polish nationalists to link up with. They are not tied to capitalism in that way Within Poland there is no serious element seeking a restoration of capitalism. But nationalism does have dangerous political consequences for the movement.

There you can see the differences between the two wings of Solidarnosc. Both are nationalist, but that is scarcely surprising. The Stalinist bureaucracy has held dictatorial power for 35 years - and crushed any traditions of proletarian internationalism, just as it has crushed any genuine Marxist understanding of imperialism or the degenerated workers' state, the Soviet Union.

We should also remember that Poland has been dominated throughout its history by different outside forces which have combined to create a spirit of nationalism.

The two wings of Solidarnose, while they are both nationalist, have different attitudes to the Soviet Union and imperialism.

The radical wing tends to be more anti-Russian - not seeing any danger from the imperialists or recognising the need for socialist revolution in the capitalist countries.

Adapts

But the moderate wing tends more to start off from the 'reality' of Soviet dominance over Poland, and adapts to this by seeking compromise with the Stalinist bureaucracy in This is what again points to the necessity of building a Trotskyist revolutionary party in Poland.

Each of the two wings of Solidarnosc has its strong sides and its weaknesses: now there is a tendency towards, a confrontation between these two wings within the movement.

The problem can only be resolved by developing a revolutionary programme and party to tear these issues open and link up the strengths of the movement.

A party is needed which sees the developments in Poland as part of an international struggle of the working class and not simply a national issue.

Trotskyism is the only current which has fought both Stalinism and imperialism from the standpoint of the working class:

Now only Trotskyists can resolve the problems of leadership in Poland.

• • Did you see any signs of receptiveness to Trotskyism in Poland?

It was interesting to note that some of those most open to Trotskyism are not in independent formations, but students attached to the Stalinist party.

We saw that they had translated some material by Mandel and were working on a Polish edition of Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed.

In contradiction to this, other currents of radical students were printing pictures of the reactionary Polish General Pilsudski.

The fact is that there is a ferment of ideas and discussion in the new Polish workers' movement. Trotskyists must intervene in that struggle and seize the opportunity to take the movement forward to political revolution.

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WORKERS SOCIALIST Thursday 1981 JOHN HARRIS • LEIGHE