Lech Wałęsa on June 4 election: I had to constantly think how to achieve more

On the eve of the 35th anniversary of Poland's first partially free elections, the former president and former chairman of the Solidarity trade union was asked by Monika Olejnik if he liked the date June 4. He replied, "Not really."

"I led this movement (Solidarity.) I had to constantly think about the future. And after these elections (of June 4, 1989), I also had to think: well, what now?" - he said, adding that Solidarity had won 35 percent of votes.

Wałęsa said that, at the time, it would have been enough for General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the de facto leader of Poland, to simply announce victory. "So I had to think at that moment, how to break the general. How to steal Malinowski (Roman Malinowski, Chairman of the United People's Party) and Jóźwiak (Jerzy Jóźwiak, Chairman of the Alliance of Democrats) from him. And it worked," he said.

"I couldn't ask my colleagues. Do you think they would have allowed me to do that? If I said that I was negotiating with Jóźwiak, with Malinowski, they would have kicked me out of the union," he added.

Olejnik noted that the communists had been shocked by losing the partially free elections, to which Wałęsa replied: "But they didn't need to be shocked. They had 65 percent. They said: dear democrats, please, nominate a prime minister and we will too. ... I was thinking, what now, how to break this, how to achieve more," the former president said.

On August 17, 1989, Wałęsa, Malinowski, and Jóźwiak signed an agreement on the coalition of Solidarity, United People's Party, and Alliance of Democrats, which led to the formation of the government of Tadeusz Mazowiecki. It was supposed to be a "government of national agreement."

Jaruzelski relieved Czesław Kiszczak of the mission of forming the government.

Before the elections on June 4, as part of the campaign, opposition candidates were hanging photos of them together with Lech Wałęsa.

"The problem was that we weren't really known. I was the only one very well known, probably because of August '80. So, how to promote these people who are not known, that they are with me? It was an endorsement message of sorts, because otherwise they would have lost. Kowalski with Wałęsa? Oh, that's good, let's choose him. It was a very good move," he explained.

Speaking about Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Wałęsa said that "we have a great leader."

"Only he didn't maintain such unity (of the ruling camp) as I did. That's why I fought so hard and was suspected of wanting to be a dictator," he said.

"I would forcefully maintain unity in his place," he said.

The elections of June 4, 1989, were the result of an agreement reached during the Round Table talks between the communist authorities, some members of the opposition, and the Catholic Church.

The turnout in the first round (June 4) was high - 62 percent. The result was a success for Solidarity - 60 percent voted for candidates put forward by the Solidarity Citizens' Committee. Out of 161 parliamentary seats then designated for the opposition, Solidarity won 160 in the first round, as well as 92 out of 100 seats in the Senate.

In the second round, the Solidarity Citizens' Committee won the last vacant parliamentary seat. In the Senate elections, Solidarity won a total of 99 out of 100 seats.