Word: walesa
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
That has sent Walesa hurrying to mend fences with Mazowiecki, who resigned as Prime Minister one day after his humiliating third-place finish. Mazowiecki fell victim to voter despair over the nation's economic chaos. Poland is undergoing the most radical conversion to private enterprise of any East European country. But Poles are furious over the attendant disruptions, including a 200% annual inflation rate and an increase in unemployment from almost nothing to more than 1 million of the nation's 18 million workers. In their frustration, many sought scapegoats for their plight: former Communists, Jews and even the leaders...
...Both Walesa and Tyminski promised to make things better but never specified how they would accomplish that goal. Walesa called vaguely for "acceleration" of the transition toward free markets, decontrolled prices and private property. To that end, he vowed to be "a President with an ax," one who would force change through the Polish legislature and even rule by decree if necessary. But when he talked specifics, he tended to offer pierogi- in-the-sky proposals like his short-lived promise to give every worker 100 million zlotys, about $10,000, in government bonds...
...Walesa also played on the anti-Semitism that popped up repeatedly in the campaign. Though Poland's Jewish community numbers about 5,000, accusations that Jews are behind the nation's travails are common. When Walesa supporters complained that Jews in high places were hiding their ancestry, he made a winking reply about the need for "clarity." Mazowiecki was one of those rumored to be part Jewish. In one of the campaign's most dismal moments, the bishop of Mazowiecki's hometown of Plock felt called upon to affirm the Prime Minister's Catholic ancestry all the way back...
...Walesa is still the favorite in next week's vote, but a victory could turn out to be a mixed blessing for him and for Poland. "Walesa can't produce an economic miracle, and that's exactly what the people expect," says Stanislaw Stomma, a member of the Polish Senate. "Tadeusz got used up, and now it's Walesa's turn." Some fear that the difficulty of delivering on people's hopes for economic revival will eventually prompt Walesa to abuse the undefined presidential powers in the new constitution, which is still being drafted. During the campaign Walesa hinted...
After Solidarity candidates swept last year's parliamentary elections, it was Walesa who chose Mazowiecki, then a close adviser, to serve as Prime Minister. Walesa expected to be a power behind the throne, but Mazowiecki kept his old colleague at arm's length. Walesa brought his resentment onto the campaign trail, complaining at one rally that though he had a special phone line installed at his Gdansk headquarters to connect him with Mazowiecki's office, "it never rang." With his hearty manner and working-class accent, Walesa derided Mazowiecki as an intellectual out of touch with ordinary Poles...