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Ignacy Daszyński
Ignacy Daszyński (1866–1936), a Polish socialist politician
in Galicia, a long-time member of the Austrian Reichsrat
(parliament) from the Polish Social Democratic Party
of Galicia and Cieszyn Silesia (PPSD), Prime Minister
of the government formed in Lublin in November 1918,
a Polish Socialist Party (PPS) deputy to the Polish Sejm
of successive terms (from 1919), Speaker of the Sejm
in 1928–1930.
Daszyński came from a large noble family from Galicia.
In his youth he was arrested on multiple occasions and
deprived of the right to continue education; he remained
under the strong influence of his older brother, Feliks, who
was a socialist. After his brother’s death, from the 1890s he
started his own socialist career as a columnist for Praca
(Labour), author of political brochures and editor-in-chief
of the socialist daily newspaper Naprzód (Forward). Above
all, he was an activist of the legally operating Educational
and Poverty-Relief Association Siła (Strength) and
the Social Democratic Workers’ Party of Austria. In 1891,
he led a delegation of Polish socialists to the Congress
of the Second International and in 1892 co-founded the
Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia and Cieszyn
Silesia within the party of the Austrian socialists. As one
of the PPSD leaders, he wanted it to be a party based
on nationality and not country. From 1897 to 1911 he
represented Polish socialists in the Austrian Reichsrat,
gaining substantial authority as an excellent orator, and
was actively involved in legislative work promoting,
among others, democratisation of the electoral system of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire and opposing censorship.
After the 1905 revolution, Daszyński moved closer
to the camp surrounding Józef Piłsudski. In 1912,
PPSD – together with Piłsudski’s Polish Socialist
Party-Revolutionary Faction – joined the Provisional
Commission of Confederated Independence Parties. After
the outbreak of World War I, as a member of the Executive
Department of the Supreme National Committee he came
out in favour of forming the Polish Legions, predicting that the Polish cause could be solved with the support of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1917, he voted in the Austrian
parliament in favour of the motion of the Polish People’s Party
“Piast” (PSL-Piast), stating that “the only desire of the Polish
nation is to regain an independent and united Poland”. On
7 November 1918, Daszyński, who was politically associated
with the emerging camp of Piłsudski, headed the government
formed in Lublin and then, acting upon the Chief of State’s
motion, tried unsuccessfully to form a central government
in Warsaw. Since he was one of the leaders of the Polish
socialists, he contributed to the unification of socialist parties
from the three partitions. From 1919, after being elected as
MP and leader of PPS in the Legislative Sejm of the Second
Polish Republic, he remained an MP almost till the end of
his life (to 1931, when his health deteriorated). He served
as Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government of
Wincenty Witos (1920–1921) during the Polish-Soviet War.
Before the May Coup in 1926, PPS was unable to form any
permanent parliamentary majority, therefore Daszyński
became more critical of the centre-right cabinets formed
under an agreement between the Popular National Union
with PSL-Piast. The fact that he was a doctrinaire did not
help to strike an alliance with the Polish People’s Party.
He supported workers’ strikes and in his programme he
spoke in favour of the development of the cooperative
movement. However, at the same time he could
not back the peasants’ demands to strengthen land
ownership by the Polish peasantry who were not
interested in socialist experiments. In 1926, he lent
his support to the coup, hoping that Piłsudski’s
camp would carry out the reforms compliant with
the socialist programme. He was swiftly disappointed
with the Sanacja (Sanation government) after
the military allowed the conservatives to rise to power.
As a Speaker of the Sejm in 1928–1930 he became one
of the leaders of the anti-Sanation opposition and one
of the founders of the centre-left (Centrolew), who
defended the parliamentary system. He was president
of the General Council of PPS and from 1923 headed
the Board of Directors of the Society of the Workers’
University.
He remained in conflict with Piłsudski’s followers till
the end of his life. Like many others from the rebellious
generation, he did not make a personal fortune, serving
his homeland all his life.
Prof. Jan Żaryn