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WARSAW The Specter of Reform

Like many other Eastern Bloc countries, Poland is plagued by hidebound Communist bureaucrats intent on preserving their own power and privilege against the tide of progress and reform. Now strongman General Wojciech Jaruzelski has decreed what amounts to a wholesale housecleaning, to be announced officially at a Central Committee plenum in late November. His proposals will be backed up by a referendum that will ask for approval of a severe reduction of the number of government ministries. Jaruzelski is said to have strong support for his reforms from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The general has also appealed to thousands of former Communist Party members who left the Party after the declaration of martial law at the height of the Solidarity crisis. “Come back, your place is in the ranks,” he said in a televised speech, adding that it was not true that martial law had had a damaging effect on the country. In fact, however, Poland today is in more economic trouble than ever before. Its export figures are below those for imports, it has a smaller share of world trade (0.6 per cent) than any other European country except Albania, and its foreign debt hovers around $38 billion.

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WARSAW The Specter of Reform

Like many other Eastern Bloc countries, Poland is plagued by hidebound Communist bureaucrats intent on preserving their own power and privilege against the tide of progress and reform. Now strongman General Wojciech Jaruzelski has decreed what amounts to a wholesale housecleaning, to be announced officially at a Central Committee plenum in late November. His proposals will be backed up by a referendum that will ask for approval of a severe reduction of the number of government ministries. Jaruzelski is said to have strong support for his reforms from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The general has also appealed to thousands of former Communist Party members who left the Party after the declaration of martial law at the height of the Solidarity crisis. “Come back, your place is in the ranks,” he said in a televised speech, adding that it was not true that martial law had had a damaging effect on the country. In fact, however, Poland today is in more economic trouble than ever before. Its export figures are below those for imports, it has a smaller share of world trade (0.6 per cent) than any other European country except Albania, and its foreign debt hovers around $38 billion.