Mazowiecki and Solidarity most significant in fall of communism
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
14.05.2014 14:45
Twenty five years after the fall of communism, a new poll finds that Poles see the late Tadeusz Mazowiecki as the greatest hero of the period and Solidarity as the main catalyst of the transformation.
photo - flickr.com/platformaobywatelskarp
The poll by CBOS found that half of respondents thought that the Solidarity trade union movement was the main cause of communism's collapse, though 40 percent thought John Paul II's role was decisive.
Twenty three percent said that the regime fell under the weight of a crumbling economy.
While 76 percent thought Lech Walesa, Solidarity leader and first president of post-communist democratic Poland, was the most significant figure in the revolution, 79 percent of respondents mentioned Tadeusz Mazowiecki, prime minister of Poland after the historic elections of June 1989 who died last year.
Thirty six percent told the pollster that the biggest mistake of the period was too rapid and far-reaching privatisation, while 29 percent said that the vetting of former communist collaborators was not rigorous enough.
US president Barack Obama will be attending ceremonies in Poland on 4 June marking the 25th anniversary of the 1989 June elections, which saw a landslide for Solidarity candidates. (pg)
source: IAR