Non-partisan government cooperation unit

The May coup of 1926, which returned Jozef Pilsudski to power, was carried out under the slogans of the struggle against "party membership and seismic rule." The political elite of 1922-1926, mainly from the right-wing conservative, was accused of corruption. Parties as such were seen as cliques pursuing narrow group selfish interests, parliament as a structure of “cuts” of the state budget. To all this, Pilsudski and his supporters opposed the idea of ​​a “true Commonwealth,” social justice and solidarity, the unity of the people with a leader - the legendary Commandant.

In present-day Poland, where people make major deals with conscience, frantically clutching at a floating ministerial chair, this proud, but just as modest, simple person, indifferent to titles and honors, should impress, should arouse sympathy and trust ^[1] .

It is characteristic that Pilsudski, despite his own political origin, defiantly rejected the support of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) (not to mention the Communists who initially supported the May coup).

The conditions were such that I, laughing at you all, might not let you into the hall of the national assembly, but I decided to try whether it is still possible to rule in Poland without a whip. I’m not going to exert pressure, but I warn that the Sejm and Senate are the most hated institutions in society ... I gave a guarantee of a free president and I keep my word, but I warn you, don’t conclude party agreements with the presidential candidate ... Otherwise, I won’t defend the Sejm and the Senate, when the street comes to power ... I declared war on villains, bastards, murderers and thieves, and I will not give up in this fight. The Sejm and the Senate have too many privileges, and government members need more rights. Parliament must rest. Let members of the government take responsibility for what they do. Let the president form a government, but without party pressure.
Jozef Pilsudski at a meeting with deputies of the Sejm from the PPP, May 29, 1926 ^[2]

Pilsudski’s support was a group of old associates who had passed PPS fighting squads , the First Brigade of the Polish Legions and the Polish Military Organization . Its most prominent representatives were Valery Slavek , Alexander Priestor , Jozef Beck , Bronislav Peratsky , Jendzhey Morachevsky , Raimund Yavorovsky . All of them had a common socialist and military-terrorist origin. In addition, they were united by fanatical devotion to the leader, personifying the common struggle and victory - the conquest of Polish independence. This group possessed the features of an informal secret organization of the clan - mafia type.

A non-party bloc of cooperation with the government was established in November 1927 at the initiative of Slavek, who carried out the Pilsudski assignment. Initially, the basis of the Bloc was made up of relatively small parties, usually left-wing and center-left, as well as organizations of national minorities. Thus, the main structures of the "party" were cut off and isolated: the left PPS, the right-wing conservative endemic , the peasant and clerical-Catholic parties - although some of their representatives joined the Bloc. Subsequently, the organizational and personnel backbone was recruited from the state apparatus and public organizations that supported Pilsudsky.

Key Political Principles

The bloc was purposefully formed from carriers of different and hardly compatible political views. He was united solely by the support of the ruling regime and personally by Jozef Pilsudski. The program, announced on January 19, 1928 , was based on the following points:

• all-round support of Marshal Pilsudski, reaching the political cult

• constitutional reform, limiting the powers of the Sejm and strengthening presidential power (the head of state was formally a veteran of the teaching staff of Ignacy Moscitsky , completely controlled by Pilsudsky)

• restriction of the role of political parties

• solidarity trends in socio-economic policy.

Organizational System

The structure of the Non-Party bloc included:

• Great Council - the governing body of the organization

• asset from civil servants who implemented Pilsudski policy at all levels of administration

• grassroots structures of working committees pursuing a regime policy at the level of primary territorial and production units

• parliamentary deputy clubs

Block Political Groups

In the non-partisan bloc of cooperation with the government, several influential trends took shape:

• the dominant “ group of colonels ” - Pilsudsky’s closest associates, led by Slavek (also included Priestor, Beck, Peratsky, Adam Kots , Leon Kozlovsky ) - reinforced the authoritarian beginnings of the regime, but retained the social bias of politics and was interested in Mussolini’s corporate experience

• the liberal group of Kazimierz Barthel tried to adhere to the legal principles of the 1921 democratic constitution as far as possible

• Prince Radzville's conservative group lobbied for the interests of the bourgeois land-land elite

• the socialist group of Yavorovsky and Morachevsky (“Socialists of the Non-Party Bloc”, BBS ), representing the PPS-Former Revolutionary Faction and the Central Association of Class Trade Unions (later also the Union of Trade Unions ) in the Bloc, expressed the populist traditions of the times of fighting squads

From this listing, we can conclude that the BBWR was able to consolidate various - even the opposite - political and social forces.

At the same time, an ever increasing specific gravity remained for the so-called. “The fourth brigade”, “conjuncturists” - who joined the ruling circles in search of high status and material wealth.

Rapprochement with capital and land ownership

Initially, in the ideology of the Non-Party Bloc, radical leftist motives were reflected, reflecting the political origin of its creators. However, they were quickly muffled. Right endemic remained the main political opponent of the pilots , but Pilsudski took steps to meet the conservative bourgeois and landowning elite.

Financial-industrial and land tycoons were interested in socio-political stability and strong authoritarian power. Symbolic reconciliation occurred at a meeting in Nesvizh Castle on October 25, 1926 . The Lewiatan big capital association and the Landowners' Union ( ZZ ) reconciled with the Pilsudski regime and began to cooperate with it. Prince Janusz Franciszek Radziwill , a political representative of the titled aristocracy, became a prominent figure in the Non-Party Bloc.

1928 Elections and Strengthening the Colonels

The first years of “Redevelopment” fell on the economic boom, which most of Polish society attributed to Pilsudski. The March elections of 1928 brought Blok relative success (130 seats in the Seimas out of 444, 46 seats in the Senate out of 111), but did not allow the creation of a parliamentary majority. The chairman of the Sejm was elected opposition leader PPS Ignacy Dashinsky .

The government was formed by the representative of the Bloc, Professor Kazimierz Barthel . Already in April 1929, he was replaced by Kazimierz Svitalsky , a member of the "colonel group" Slavek. Less than a year later, in March 1930, Slavek was appointed Prime Minister. These changes reflected the increasing authorization of the regime and the concentration of power in the hands of the “colonel group”, which was especially closely associated with Pilsudsky.

The appointment of tough politician Slavek as head of government provoked opposition from the opposition. Several opposition parties - PPS, Christian Democrats, the peasant party, the national labor party - united in the coalition of the Centroles . The opposition announced its intention to fight the ruling regime "until the dictatorship is eliminated, until the return of respect for the law" ^[3] .

On June 29, 1930 , a massive anti-government demonstration took place in Krakow . Authorities responded with repression. On August 25, 1930, the government was personally headed by Pilsudski. On September 9, the Sejm was dissolved and the leaders of Centrolev were arrested. Opposition politicians were imprisoned in the Brest Fortress, where they were subjected to physical attack.

December elections in 1930 were called "Brest" ^[4] . In the conditions of severe suppression of the opposition, the non-partisan bloc received an absolute majority in both houses of parliament: 249 seats in the Sejm and 75 in the Senate. The government was again led by Slavek, soon replaced by Alexander Priestor, then Leon Kozlovsky.

By that time, Poland was seriously affected by the global economic crisis . The government expanded the public sector, mobilized funds for the organization of public works. To enhance the competitiveness of national production, the working week was lengthened, and social payments were cut. At the same time, on the basis of solidarity ideological principles, the authorities increased taxes on large property, cut the salaries of officials, forbade lockouts and lowering workers' wages ^[5] .

At the same time, the political regime has been tightened. State control was established over universities and schools, the possibilities of political associations and assemblies were limited. By order of Pilsudski, a “pacification” campaign was conducted to suppress the Ukrainian national movement in Galicia . Political life was gradually monopolized by the non-partisan bloc. An atmosphere of intolerance and bitterness, a cult of the leader, the state and military force was instilled in society. Belonging to the opposition began to be equated with national treason.

Blocking the legal opposition brought to the fore the terrorist resistance of the OUN . On June 15, 1934, Bandera gunman Grigory Matseyko shot and killed Minister of the Interior Peratsky. The authorities responded with a new wave of repression and the creation of the Beryoze-Kartuzskaya concentration camp .

On April 23, 1935, a new authoritarian constitution came into force that consolidated the rule of the elite - the so-called. “Legion of the Honored” - expanding the powers of the president and the senate, actually abolishing political freedoms, sharply narrowing civil and social rights. The document was frankly compiled under the sole dictatorship of the First Marshal and assigned the role of his political instrument to the Non-Party Bloc.

The situation was abruptly changed by the death of Jozef Pilsudski on May 12, 1935 . On October 30, 1935, a non-partisan bloc of cooperation with the government was dissolved by order of Slavek. However, BBWR political technologies were used to create the National Association Camp , the political structure of the authoritarian-militaristic regime of 1937-1939.

The non-partisan bloc of cooperation with the government in the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a typical example of a "nation-wide front" focused on supporting the ruling group, which claims monopoly power. The Polish feature was the rapid evolution of the BBWR from a populist structure to an elitist-bureaucratic organization.

In mid-1993, President of Poland Lech Walesa established the Non-Party Reform Support Unit - Bezpartyjny Blok Wspierania Reform , BBWR ^[6] . At the same time, there was a conscious reminiscence, the creation of associations between the two BBWRs and, accordingly, between Walesa and Pilsudski. However, the Walesa Bloc received modest support in the elections - only 5.41% of the vote. Formally, the organization existed until 1997 .