THE DILEMMAS OF RE-ORGANIZING THE BUREAUCRACY IN POLAND DURING THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION

During the democratic transformations in post-communist states, one of the key issues has been the formation of a politically neutral civil service. Poland made some limited steps in this direction during the pre-transition stage of the 1980s, but the formation of a civil service remained one of the tasks of the new democratic regime, Although several reforms were blueprinted by the last Solidarity-based cabinet of Hanna Suchocka, the Cabinet did not last long enough to have them passed through parliament. After the defeat of the post-Solidarity parties in the parliamentary election of September, 1993, the new governing coalition was divided on the issue of a politically neutral administration, with the Union of the Democratic Left (SLD) adopting a more reformist position than the Polish Peasant Party (PSL). This experience demonstrates the importance of political will in reforming public administration in the post-communist states.