Editing History of Poland (section)

===Systemic transition===

[[File:Okrągły Stół Pałac Prezydencki 2019.jpg|thumb|right|The reconstructed [[Polish Round Table Agreement|Polish Round Table]] in the [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] where an agreement between the communists and the opposition was signed on 4 April 1989]]

The [[Polish Round Table Agreement]] of April 1989 called for local self-government, policies of [[job guarantee]]s, legalization of independent trade unions and many wide-ranging reforms.<ref name="Stelmachowski 99–113">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=99–113}}.</ref> The current [[Sejm]] promptly implemented the deal and agreed to [[1989 Polish legislative election|National Assembly elections]] that were set for 4 June and 18 June.<ref name="Stelmachowski 115–123">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=115–123}}.</ref> Only 35% of the seats in the Sejm (national legislature's lower house) and all of the [[Senate of Poland|Senate]] seats were freely contested; the remaining Sejm seats (65%) were guaranteed for the communists and their allies.<ref name="Poland under Communism 391-427">{{Harvnb|Kemp-Welch|2008|pp=391–427}}.</ref>

The failure of the communists at the polls (almost all of the contested seats were won by the opposition) resulted in a political crisis. The new [[April Novelization]] to the constitution called for re-establishment of the Polish presidency and on 19 July the [[Contract Sejm|National Assembly]] [[1989 Polish presidential election|elected the communist leader]], General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], to that office. His election, seen at the time as politically necessary, was barely accomplished with tacit support from some Solidarity deputies, and the new president's position was not strong. Moreover, the unexpected definitiveness of the parliamentary election results created new political dynamics and attempts by the communists to form a government failed.<ref name="Stelmachowski 115–123"/><ref name="Poland under Communism 391-427"/><ref name="Historia polityczna 42-51">{{Harvnb|Dudek|2007|pp=42–51}}.</ref>

On 19 August, President Jaruzelski asked journalist and Solidarity activist [[Tadeusz Mazowiecki]] to form a government; on 12 September, the Sejm voted approval of Prime Minister Mazowiecki and his cabinet. Mazowiecki decided to leave the economic reform entirely in the hands of [[economic liberalism|economic liberals]] led by the new Deputy Prime Minister [[Leszek Balcerowicz]],<ref name="Stelmachowski 115–123"/> who proceeded with the design and implementation of his "[[Shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]" policy. For the first time in post-war history, Poland had a government led by non-communists, setting a precedent soon to be followed by other [[Eastern Bloc]] nations in a phenomenon known as the [[Revolutions of 1989]].<ref name="Poland under Communism 391-427"/> Mazowiecki's acceptance of the "[[thick line]]" formula meant that there would be no "[[Witch-hunt#Figurative use of the term|witch-hunt]]", i.e., an absence of revenge seeking or exclusion from politics in regard to former communist officials.<ref name="Stelmachowski 115–123"/>

In part because of the attempted [[indexation]] of wages, [[inflation]] reached 900% by the end of 1989, but was soon dealt with by means of radical methods. In December 1989, the Sejm approved the [[Balcerowicz Plan]] to transform the Polish economy rapidly from a centrally planned one to a [[free market]] economy.<ref name="Stelmachowski 125–130">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=125–130}}.</ref>{{Ref label|v|v|none}} The [[Constitution of the Polish People's Republic]] was amended to eliminate references to the "leading role" of the communist party and the country was renamed the "Republic of Poland". The communist [[Polish United Workers' Party]] dissolved itself in January 1990. In its place, a new party, [[Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland]], was created.<ref name="playground II xxiii"/> "[[Local government|Territorial self-government]]", abolished in 1950, was legislated back in March 1990, to be led by locally elected officials; its fundamental unit was the administratively independent [[gmina]].<ref name="Stelmachowski 133–134">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=133–134}}.</ref>{{Ref label|q|q|none}}

In October 1990, the constitution was amended to curtail the term of President Jaruzelski. In November 1990, the [[German–Polish Border Treaty (1990)|German–Polish Border Treaty]], with [[German reunification|unified]] [[Germany]], was signed.<ref name="Stelmachowski 138">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|p=138}}.</ref>

In November 1990, Lech Wałęsa [[1990 Polish presidential election|was elected president]] for a five-year term; in December, he became the first popularly elected [[president of Poland]]. Poland's [[1991 Polish parliamentary election|first free parliamentary election]] was held in October 1991. 18 parties entered the new Sejm, but the largest representation received only 12% of the total vote.<ref name="Stelmachowski 136–143">{{Harvnb|Stelmachowski|2011|pp=136–143}}.</ref>