SOCIALIST PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY: THE LIMITS OF THE GOVERNMENT
AGREEMENT IN 1989
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adiunkt w Instytucie Nauk Politycznych Uniwersytetu
Warszawskiego
Publication date: 2020-01-27
Studia Politologiczne 2009;15
ABSTRACT
The article describes the problem of political system agreement which was drawn
up between communist government and opposition during ‘Round Table’ sessions
without any demand of resignation from socialist system. The agreement described
in article recognizes that socialist parliamentary democracy will be a system which
is based on values and principles such as: evolutionary character of transformation;
departure from Marxist ideology as system of values in exercised power; leading
role of PUWP is kept (the leadership is in the hands of president as a new-created office); political pluralism – freedom to form associations (but not multi-partial
system); keeping all previous international alliances etc. New system of leading
state bodies is created – the office of president is re-established as well as Senate
as a second chamber, but Sejm kept its leading position. The socialist parliamentary
democracy was practically only a short – term structure: the December amendment
in 1989 terminated its functioning.