RIP Tadeusz Mazowiecki - Poland's first prime minister after the fall of communism

jon357 73 | 23112

28 Oct 2013 / #1

Opinions differ about his legacy, however his heart was in the right place and he did more for his vision of Poland than most..

Poland's first prime minister after the fall of communism, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, has died aged 86, Polish media report. He was one of the architects of the "Round Table" talks, between communist leaders and opposition, paving the way for elections in 1989. The Solidarity party victory set a precedent for the toppling of communist governments across Eastern Europe. Mr Mazowiecki held office until 1990, and was a strong advocate of Poland joining the European Union. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski paid tribute to the country's former leader, describing him as "one of the fathers of Polish liberty and independence".

bbc/news/world-europe-24700801

Looker

30 May 2014 / #2

He was great Pole and great European. I wonder why so many posts about Jaruzeski legacy on PF, and absolutely no memory about this prominent man...

Tlum 12 | 259

31 May 2014 / #3

Good point - one of the reasons could be that Jaruzelski lived longer than one might have expected. Still, there is no point to talk bad about those who left this world; it's ok to discuss their achievements or failures in the context of their professional activities, but there must be some higher standards when it comes to discussing their personal lives.

Dougpol1 29 | 2497

31 May 2014 / #4

He was great Pole and great European. I wonder why so many posts about Jaruzeski legacy on PF, and absolutely no memory about this prominent man...

Mmm - a very religious man who would have been better served nailing them commies. IMO.

RIP indeed.

OP jon357 73 | 23112

31 May 2014 / #5

He was great Pole and great European.

Yes - he actually did some positive things and was good at maintaining the balance between left and right in politics.

nailing them commies

So you favour political witch hunts then?

Dougpol1 29 | 2497

31 May 2014 / #6

So you favour political witch hunts then?

Nope, it was never a question of a witch hunt, but Mazowiecki's holier than thou "forgiveness" of state sponsored criminality was a bit galling.

OP jon357 73 | 23112

31 May 2014 / #7

a bit galling

Really? In South Africa the forgiveness to some perpetrators of far worse crimes than ever happened in the PRL was universally praised. In Poland, a Truth Commission where people admit what they did and then were forgiven wouldn't have worked. There were unspoken understandings about drawing a line under past sins as well as a desire to move forward and an understanding (General Jaruzelski is a prime example of this) that not everything was black and white.

Also, a large chunk of the electorate wanted some of the same people to remain in offices of state - we had an SLD government only a relatively short time after Premier Mazowiecki's term of office.