apr 15, 1989 - Solidarity legalised

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Poland was in another economic crisis. Strikes were common and food prices had risen by 40%.
Solidarity was legalised again and were finding candidates for the upcoming election. They won every seat, with Walsea becoming president. This was the first non-communist government Poland of the post-war era.

WHY WAS SOLIDARITY SIGNIFICANT?
-Showed that communism had failed to provide a good standard of living -> they had to introduce rationing as they could not produce enough food for their people. This wasn't making life better for the working class as it had promised.
-Showed the corruption of the communist system -> communism was meant to be about equal rights for everyone however, workers and lower class people clearly had a worse standard of living with low pay and harsher punishments.
-It showed how the communist party was possible to resist and that the Soviet Union had once again failed to create any GENUINE IDEOLOGICAL COMMITMENT -> 9.4 million people joined solidarity with over a million members of the communist party. 90% of an opinion poll trusted Solidarity whereas >10% trusted the communist party. Even though the government banned Solidarity, they did not stop many workers from striking showing how they actually had very little control of the Polish people.

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