Solidarity congress elects a new chairman and abandons political ambitions

The Solidarity trade union has elected a new chairman, Janusz Sniadek. Marian Krzaklewski, who had headed the union for the past 11 years announced at the Solidarity congress, "I would like to work in the union however, I have decided not to run again in the leadership election," Krzaklewski said. Stepping down was not his original intention. He was booed by the congress when said he would continue to run for the post after he was defeated in the first rounds of the election. Krzaklewski had two strong rivals, Jozef Niemiec and Kazimierz Grajcarek. It quickly transpired that each candidate received about one third of the votes, resulting in a hung vote. Many rounds of voting then ensued, but the stalemate was only broken after political horse-trading. On Friday Janusz Sniadek was eventually elected as the new chairman with 69% of the votes. "What the union needs is to change its image and withdraw from its political roles," he said. Following his victory said he believes that Krzaklewski could easily find a new role in the structures of the international trade union organizations. (Rzeczpospolita, Sept. 28-29, p. A1-A3; Gazeta Wyborcza, Sept. 28-29, p. 1) A.Z.