Polish Communists Open Party Debate : Political Battle to Select New Party Leader and Premier Begins

Poland’s Communist Party leadership opened a two-day debate Friday aimed at choosing a new party leader and nominating a premier to form the country’s next government.

Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski, the party leader, is expected to step down from his post today, and the inside political battle to replace him and select a new premier opened with sharp attacks on the economic policies of outgoing Premier Mieczyslaw F. Rakowski.

One of the leading voices in the criticism was Wladislaw Baka, who resigned his post as the party Politburo’s chief economic policy maker.

Sharp Criticism

The resignation and the sharp economic criticism of Rakowski’s policies were significant because Rakowski has been regarded as the leading candidate to replace Jaruzelski. Party observers said the criticism reflected serious opposition to Rakowski’s candidacy from within the Central Committee.

“Wladislaw Baka resigned,” said a party spokesman, “because he said that an inflationary policy is one that cannot work. And he said when he assumed his post as the party’s economic policy adviser that he would not stay in the job if his policies could not be made to work.”

According to some economists, inflation is running at an annual rate approaching 200%. In addition, market shortages are widespread, ranging from basic foodstuffs such as meat, flour and sugar to matches and razor blades.

Baka has been considered the leading candidate for the post of premier. Party spokesmen said they could not say if Baka’s resignation as economic policy chief also meant his definitive withdrawal from the competition for premier.

Adding yet another name to the list of jockeying candidates, district party leaders from around the country met Thursday night and put forward the candidacy of Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak, the interior minister.

The Kiszczak candidacy could be an attractive alternative. Kiszczak led the government side in the round-table negotiations with Solidarity, and some Solidarity leaders, including Lech Walesa, would have preferred him over Jaruzelski as president.

The competition for party leader appeared Friday to center on Rakowski and party ideologist Marian Orzechowski.

Orzechowski is regarded as one of the architects of the party’s reform efforts, but his liberal ideas are suspect to much of the party’s entrenched apparatus.

He pressed his reform theme Friday to the 230-member Central Committee, according to the state news agency PAP.

“Most of society has had enough of the party as it has been,” Orzechowski said. “Secondly, a significant part of the party grass roots has had enough of the style and ways of functioning of the party leadership.”

Party Hard-Liners

Rakowski, on the other hand, seems to have been appealing to party hard-liners, most of whom believe the party has no future with continued liberal policies and its only hope of survival is to resist surrendering further power.

However, no one at the opening day of the Central Committee meeting spoke out against the party’s overall move toward political and economic reform, and only Ireneusz Sekula, Rakowski’s deputy, spoke out in defense of his policies.

Rakowski has been in office for 10 months, during which Poland’s economic condition has continued to deteriorate and Rakowski’s popularity with the general public appears to have eroded steadily.

Some party observers said that if a deadlock develops over the party leadership issue, the Central Committee might turn to a shared-leadership formula, and then resolve the question at a full party congress expected this autumn.