POLAND'S FIRST 'democrati" elections saw most voters abstain, and the rest reject all parties linked to the previous government.
With only 40% of the population voting. and no party winning more than 13% of the vote, the elections have resuited in a political vacuum. No political force can claim a popular mandate.
Communist front
But parties that called for a slowdown on privatisation plans did remarkably well. The Allance of the Democratic Left, an electoral front for the Communist Party, got around 10% The elections were particularty disastrous for ex-Prime Minister Mazowiecki. His Democratic Union. the Centre Allance and the Liberal Democrats had all been campaigning for six months of more.
Nonetheless, the three parties -which are all within the Solidarity framework, and associated with the govemment - only mustered 28% between them. On the other hand, parties that had opposed wit "marketisation in 500 days' policies of Finance Minister Leszek Bar cerowicz generally did well.
Thus the Confederation for an Independer: Pound KPNi. which had F01: member of the Warsaw-based Current of the Revolutionary Left. com mented 'They did well for two reasons: first, they are very anti-Balcerowicz and have been active in strikes; second, they aren't tainted by invotrement in government over the last couple of years.
Socialists' had little input into the elections. Labour Solidarity, a left alliance dominated by social democrats, but supported by figures such as Josef Pinior and Karol Moczelewski, got only 2.3%.
Unfortunately it was largely figures on the right of the coalition, such as Bugaj, a member of the ParFamentary Budget Committee, that stood.
Socialist input
Some left-wingers did stand on a local level, however. in Krakow, a centre of Poland's steel industry.
leader Andrzej Szewczuwianiec challenged the eght wing norm. A prominent strike leader and chairperson of Solidarity was the only answer to Poland's economic crisis.
But the only real winner in the elections was President Lech Walesa. Jan Sylwestrowicz commented Walesa has been looking for an excuse to take over and now he's got it. I wont be difficult for him to discredit this parliament.
Walesa has been threatening to rule by decree for some time. If the 18 parties now elected to parliament can't form a govemment and agree a budget inside three months - a constitutional obligation - Walesa has the perfect excuse for a gover ment of national salvation, with himself as Prime Minister (and who knows what else).
Little enthusiasm
However, some of Walesa's past supporters have shown little enthusiasm for this idea.
Sylwestrowicz argues that the left's response should be a front in defence of democratic rights.
He also points out that, in one sense at least, the elections mark a step forward for Poland's workers movement. 'At least now Walesa has lost the argument that economic and political problems were all the fault of the system.
Whatever government is formed, they will have to take responsibilty for the situation. It will be much easier to direct strikes at the goverment, as opposed to the fragmentaton we had before."