Democratic Politics

In Poland, in Europe, there was dictatorship of one political party i.e., the Polish United Workers Party. No other party was allowed to contest the elections. In 1980, a communist government backed by USSR (or Russia) was ruling there. All the big factories and properties in Poland were owned by the government and as such no body had the right to strike. But forced by circumstances, sometimes the workers were forced to resort to strike. Such an incident happened in Gdansk, when on the question of unjustly dismissing a woman crane operator, the workers went on strike on 14th August, 1980. Soon Lech Walesa, another dismissed worker (an electrician) led this strike. The workers demanded the release of all political prisoners, taking back the dismissed workers, end of censorship and the right to form independent Trade Unions. The strike was so successful that the Government had to give in and almost all the demand of the workers were accepted.
As a result of the Gdansk agreement, the workers formed a new Trade Union called ‘Solidarity’. The government, however, was not ready to allow people the freedom to organise, protest and express opinion quit freely so Martial Law was imposed in the country. Another wave of strikes began and ultimately upto 1988, the new Trade Union Solidarity became very powerful and successful in establishing true democracy in Poland. The reasons for the success and popularity of Solidarity are not too far to seek :
1. The first reason for the popularity of this Trade Union was this that it was the first independent Union which was formed in any of the communist countries.
2. This Trade Union fought against the widespread corruption and mismanagement within the Polish government.
3. The members of this Trade Union made many sacrifices. At last this Union proved successful and when the right to free election was given to the people, this union won 99 out of 100 seats and its leader Lech Walesa became the first popularly elected President of Poland in 1989.