A political thought of the United Peasants’ Party in 1988-1989

Abstract

The referendum of 29 November, 1987 was a particularly significant moment for the Polish People's Republic's political system functioning. The second in the history of the Polish People’s Republic referendum coincided with the campaign before the 10"’, stated as historical. Congress of the United Peasants’ Party (UPP). Its actual output was not imposing, however, it coincided chronologically with the appearing end of some political era in the history of the communist Poland. At that time a new social and political situation started to be moulded, which consequently brought to changes of system character.The article attempts to present real aspirations of some activists of the UPP guiding to modernizing the political system that functioned in years 1988-89. The author tries to show promoted at that time and more concrete conceptions of the system changes in order to make it, as it was defined, equivalent for all the subjects appearing in it, i.e. the Polish United Workers’ Party, the United Peasants’ Party and the Democratic Party.Much attention was also paid to the standpoint the UPP’s representatives held during the debates of the “Round Table” and their attitude towards the most essential issues discussed there. It turned out that politicians representing the party possessed neither definite nor analysed earlier political plan. The participation of the UPP’s representatives in the negotiations was of secondary importance. They did not present more developed conceptions concerning system, political, union or economic issues, but only the problems of the country and agriculture which traditionally are the most essential ones for the party.