Mieczysław Rakowski i opozycja przed Sierpniem 1980 roku

Przeperski, Michał (1986– )

doi:2450-8357

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Title: Mieczysław Rakowski i opozycja przed Sierpniem 1980 roku

Abstract:

Mieczysław F. Rakowski was not a typical Polish communist. On the one hand, for many years he was well stuck in the structures of the system and was a beneficiary of its existence, while on the other he did not match the image of a party’s apparatchik. His activity in 1958–1980 was quite frequently termed as intra-systemic opposition. Rakowski liked to declare himself a separate person, at the same time faithful to the principles of the system and seeking its most possible liberalisation. An analysis of his relations with the political opposition emerging in Poland before Augusts of 1980 reveals that his attitude was a result of many factors. Personal ambitions, likes and dislikes, defence of his own social and political status at various times took the upper hand of him. And although Rakowski’s stance fits within the “internal opposition”, it was certainly far from the opposition represented by communities of democratic political opposition (such as, for example, the Workers’ Defence Committee – KOR). At meetings with students he could present himself as “liberal”, but at other times he could be seen as hardshell. Rakowski’s flexibility, which could be termed as timeserving, for a long time made it possible for him on the one hand to maintain the confidence of the readers of the weekly Polityka (Politics) of which he was editor-in-chief, while on the other hand to have a certain importance within the system of power. A skilful political game allowed him to endure successive political crises in Poland, such as the December of 1970, June of 1976 and August 1980. After the August, however, it turned out that it was impossible to play such games anymore. A study of the relationship between Rakowski and the political opposition in Poland reveals the complexity of public functioning within the communist system. Political actors functioned within it on many planes of dependence which contributed to the fact that many of them had to develop in themselves conformism and opportunism in order to be able to function in the public sphere.