Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms
The Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms (Bezpartyjny Blok Wspierania Reform), abbreviated BBWR, was an officially nonpartisan organization (but, in fact, a political party) affiliated with Lech Wałęsa. It was established in 1993 and in 1997 became part of Solidarity Electoral Action.
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Warsaw, Poland |
| Political position | Big tent |
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It was founded to continue the traditions of Józef Piłsudski's pre-war Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem), which likewise had been known by the same initials, BBWR.
After electoral losses in 1994, Wałęsa issued a statement that invoked comparisons with Piłsudski, who had become dictator of Poland: "When the time comes to introduce a dictatorship, the people will force me to accept this role, and I shall not refuse."[1]
Notes
- Visions of the Past Are Competing for Votes in Poland. New York Times, September 12, 1993. "The kind of distant chauvinism Mr. Havel talked about is evident in symbols chosen by President Lech Walesa, the former Solidarity leader, who formed a new party two months ago to contest the elections and is calling it the "non-party movement for reform." Its acronym, BBWR, duplicates the initials of a "non-party party" led by Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, who seized dictatorial powers in a 1926 coup."