FROM THE ORIGINS OF THE BBWR (NON-PARTY BLOC OF COOPERATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT): CONTROVERSIES ABOUT THE POLITICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PILSUDSKIITE CAMP PRIOR TO THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS OF 1928 (Z genezy BBWR...)

• Authors: Duber Pawel
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

In the wake of the May 1926 coup d'etat members of the Pilsudskiite camp faced the following dilemmas: should they disband the existing Sejm and announce new parliamentary elections, or wait until the end of the term in office of the heretofore legislative chambers? Having closely examined this issue, they concluded that an eventual election would bring victory for the communists and national minorities; consequently, it was decided to opt for the second solution. In order to win the coming election, to be held in 1928, it was necessary to create a political group. First secret talks were conducted already in the spring of 1927, but their intensification, associated with attempts at winning over the cooperation of political groups up to then not connected with the Marshal, took place in the autumn of that year. Initially, the conception of the so-called Government Intermediaries planned to set up leftist and conservative election lists, within whose range it was decided to attempt to concentrate numerous social activists, self-governments, etc. The first practical test of this notion was the election to the Warsaw Municipal Council in May 1927, when Kazimierz Switalski, Director of the Political Department at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, questioned the division of the candidates into two groups and launched the idea of placing socialist and moderate activists on a single list. This politician also became, next to Walery Slawek, who initially did not support the idea, the prime organiser of an election campaign conducted by the ruling camp. His undertakings encountered the opposition of the then Vice-Premier, Kazimierz Bartel, incapable of proposing an alternative conception that would ensure victory in the coming elections. Ultimately, the 'sanacja' camp, with few exceptions, took part in the election as a bloc within a single list, and won a much greater success than was originally anticipated. As a result, Switalski became, alongside Walery Slawek, the most important collaborator of Marshal Pilsudski.

Keywords

EN

'SANACJA' CAMP.; BBWR; PILSUDSKIITE CAMP; POLITICAL GROUPS; SEJM

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla PAN w Warszawie
• Journal: Dzieje Najnowsze
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 133-144
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Duber Pawel

• Pawel Duber, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Instytut Historyczny, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA063918