Missed out

Solidarity should be remembered for its heroic opposition to communism but also corruption scandals and economic mismanagement that has led to 16% unemployment.

   Solidarity Election Action (AWS) blew it. Created on June 8, 1996, as a political party and trade union coalition, AWS was the strongest center-right force on the Polish political scene. Now it won’t have a single seat in the Sejm.

   As the founder and driving force of AWS, the Solidarity Trade Union has some deep soul-searching to do. In the overall historical scheme, Solidarity should be remembered for its heroic opposition to communism and central role in Poland’s transition to democracy and capitalism. But the party’s leaders have managed to taint that legacy through corruption scandals and economic mismanagement that has led to 16% unemployment, potential fiscal disaster and half-baked privatizations – and the voters’ decision to toss the bums out.

   The potential fallout on the European Union (EU) front is also considerable. AWS enjoyed a wide political consensus for quick EU accession – the main opposition party was openly pro-EU. Yet during negotiations Poland made less progress than any other candidate country, squandering a golden opportunity. Yes, yes, Poland has a much bigger population and a much bigger economy than Slovenia, Cyprus and the others, so where these little countries have a little problem big Poland has a big problem. (And now with the budget in such a mess, it will be even more difficult to come up with the funds to meet the challenge of these big problems.) But Poland, with more exports and more consumers, also has a lot to gain.

   More important for the medium term, AWS pitched the negotiations as a fight that had to be won, making it difficult to agree on necessary compromises and, crucially, making it easier for populists to rant against EU integration. Now the new government will have to deal with a more acid environment in the Sejm, as two fresh parties are certain to introduce a new anti-EU element into the accession debate. The AWS has already set the terms for the debate and Poles are certain to wonder why they are losing battles that AWS said they must win – especially when Self Defense or League of Polish Families politicians are jumping up and down telling the country how bad the EU is. Come referendum time, this could have a significant impact.

   Part of the blame also lies with the EU, a ponderous organization resistant to quick integration and often slow to present its position on important issues. The EU has a habit of poorly explaining itself to its current and potential citizens.

   On the positive side, EU officials have some soothing words about Poland’s prospects and seem to acknowledge that the historical window for enlargement will not stay open forever. And in Poland, EU issues were not a driving force in the election. While planks in a platform, the anti-EU rhetoric of the new opposition was not the main reason the parties received so many votes.

   So now it is up to SLD to move the process ahead. The party appears to have an intelligent outlook on the negotiation process. Hopefully the ex-communist party will be able to move the process forward steadily. But it won’t move forward with the AWS stamp. Here, where Solidarity started the push toward the West, it failed to complete it.