Walesa Urges 2 Parties to Join Solidarity in Coalition

WARSAW — Solidarity leader Lech Walesa on Monday urged allies of the Communist Party to switch their allegiance to his independent movement and join Solidarity in creating a non-Communist government.

Walesa made the appeal in a statement reiterating his opposition to any government led by the newly elected premier, Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak.

“The only political solution in the present situation is the creation of a Council of Ministers based on a coalition of Solidarity, the ZSL (United Peasants’ Party) and the SD (Democratic Party),” Walesa said. “And for this I shall strive.”

Without the partnership of those minor parties, the Communists do not form a majority in Parliament.

“For 45 years, power in Poland has been monopolized by a single party. . . . Recent decision concerning the designation of the new premier prove that the existing monopoly is to be maintained,” Walesa’s statement said.

‘Crisis of Confidence’

“This has exacerbated the crisis of confidence and has reaffirmed society’s fears that essentially nothing has changed, that hope for the future is non-existent. In view of this, I categorically oppose the formation of a new government by Gen. Czeslaw Kiszczak.”

Walesa issued the statement from Solidarity headquarters in Gdansk to Western news agencies in Warsaw.

Kiszczak, the longtime interior minister, Wednesday was elected by a vote of 237-173 with 10 abstentions in the Sejm, the lower house of the National Assembly.

Since then he has held talks with at least six members of the Solidarity parliamentary caucus, seeking to enlist them in a coalition government with the Communists. All have refused.

On the day of his election, Kiszczak asked the National Assembly for up to two weeks to form the government and said he would not give up the idea of a “grand coalition” with Solidarity.

No Power to Make Policy

Solidarity is reluctant to enter a Communist-dominated government as a junior partner because it fears it would be forced to share responsibility for an economic austerity program without having the power to determine policy.

Walesa’s statement indicates that Solidarity’s 161 deputies in the Sejm will continue to vote against any Cabinet selected by Kiszczak and work for a partnership with the Peasants and Democrats.

The Peasant and Democratic parties used to be virtual rubber stamps for the Communist Party, acknowledging its right to carry out the “leading role” in society.

But in Poland’s changing political environment, with fully free elections promised in four years, the allied parties have started demonstrating greater independence.