The Present Through the Past: Polish Presidents and the Post-Communist Debate, 1989–2010

Abstract

I argue that the category of post-communism, though fuzzy in meaning and theoretically unrefined, did mark an essential point of dispute (albeit symbolic) in the democratization period of the Polish political system between 1989–2010. The dispute over post-communism in Poland was initially conditioned mainly by ideological divisions (first half of the 1990s) and later by a ‘competition of power’ (especially from 2000). The specific role played by the presidents in the debate over the communist past and post-communist reality of Poland resulted from his insufficiently defined position in the political system, as well as from the fact that up to 2010 the presidency was held by key actors on the political scene. The results of the 2010 presidential elections as well as the progress of democratization showed that the potential for debating about post-communism was being exhausted. The elections can therefore be seen as a symbolic break, marking the end of post-communism.