WUI (Writing under the influence)

Solidarity is the only workers' union I've ever supported. But then, I support anything that opposes Communism.

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Today is a special anniversary worth some contemplating:

On August 31, 1980 the ruling Communists signed an agreement with the protesting workers in Gdansk. That summer the Solidarity movement was created as a result of the nation's solidarity towards the common oppression. But at that time -- only ten years after a tragedy in Gdansk when several protesters were killed by the secret service -- no one was sure if the Communist regime would refrain from using violence against the people.

The rest is history, as they say.

I've been somewhat disappointed that after the fall of Communism people have voted ex-Communists back into power. But this is changing. This fall could be a very important turning point in Polish history when Communists are forever separated from power:

Some 15 years after the anti-communist revolution, Poles are turning to the right. This year is politically the most important in the new history of this young democracy.

Poland's future depends on the next coalition of parties in power. But only one significant party seems to understand a free-market economy. This is the PO - Citizenship Platform (www.platforma.org), whose leadership includes free-market liberals from Gdansk.

I found this article especially interesting because it explained to me how wrong my father is. He is very involved in local politics as the president of a chapter of the League of Polish Families (LPR) that, although Euroskeptic, is anti-capitalist.

I have to talk to my father about it again. But from the few conversations we've already had, it's clear to me that he believes in high taxes and dislikes private business owners because their motives are purely economical. What my father doesn't seem to understand is that self-interest is what makes the US such an economic power. The only positive attribute of LPR is that the same values that make it anti-capitalist also make it very socially conservative. Those values, of course, come from the teachings of the Catholic Church, which in Poland is still very strong. Those same teachings are also responsible for the fall of Communism. The Warsaw Voice says as much in this article (registration required):

World leaders coming to Gdansk to remember Solidarity

Warsaw, Poland August 31, 2005

Poland is in the midst of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Solidarity labor movement, which set off a chain of events that toppled communism throughout the Soviet Block.

Among the events scheduled are a mass at the Gdansk shipyard, where leader Lech Walesa and fellow workers created Solidarity. Foreign leaders due to attend include EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso and German President Horst Koehler.

Solidarity was officially recognized on August 31, 1980 and was the first free trade union in the former Soviet Bloc. Within months of its establishment, Solidarity became a national political movement with 10 million members. Nine turbulent years later, Solidarity leaders negotiated the end of communism and a few months later, the Berlin Wall fell.

An open-air mass at the gate of the Gdansk shipyard will be the highlight of three days of celebrations. Up to 20 heads of state are expected to join Solidarity members and former activists at the ceremony on Wednesday morning, to be led by the Archbishop of Krakow.

The mass marks the role played by the Roman Catholic Church in toppling communism, particularly that of Poland's Karol Wojtyla, then newly elected as Pope John Paul II.

Other celebrations will include street fairs and concerts throughout Poland.

So if LPR manages to win substantial numbers of votes it could play an important role in the new coalition, which, I hope, will have PO as the majority party with PiS following as the (distant?) second.