Polska Stasiak. A history of politics before difficult times. A new book by Wiktor Świetlik

Władysław Stasiak is mainly remembered for the head of the law firm Lech Kaczyński. However, Wiktor Świetlik in “Stasiak’s Poland” reveals much more – from the youthful struggle with communism, on preventing arms smuggling, to secret international conversations about the fate of Iraq and the security of Europe.

For Minister Stasiak, history was not an opportunity to show his erudition, but only a call to learn practical lessons: to avoid a repetition of the evil that our community has experienced more than once.

– wrote Professor Andrzej Nowak in the introduction to the book. “Polska Stasiak” by Wiktor Świetlik is a biography of one of the most interesting and talented Polish politicians active after 1989.

It is not only a fascinating political life story, but also reflections on what is missing in Polish public life today

– says the author of the book.

Together with him, we follow the hero’s biography from the time of Wrocław, high school and student opposition in the last period of the Polish People’s Republic. Then we will traverse the corridors of the High Court and find ourselves in the chambers of inspectors fighting corruption, gun smuggling and Esbek ties. We will look at the fight against crime in Warsaw and the closure of an illegal club with the participation of former Grom soldiers. We will finally find ourselves in the world of world politics. In the corridors of the White House, international missions, strategic meetings at the headquarters of the Polish National Security Bureau and then in Lech Kaczyński’s office, where Władysław Stasiak was treated as the future leader of the Polish right.

In 2010, it seemed to everyone that this was the beginning of a great political career. Future Right-wing Leader and President

– says Wiktor Świetlik.

So how would the further fate of his hero develop? The logic of events and the history of the second decade of the 21st century would indicate that a presidential career seems the most likely. This hope was dashed by the tragedy of Smolensk, in which the hero of the book died aboard the presidential plane.

Wiktor Świetlik not only presents the profile and biography of Władysław Stasiak, but also addresses the main problems faced by Poland in 1989 and seeks solutions to them, precisely in the actions of the protagonist of his book. The book, like the profile of the main character, became particularly topical in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the intelligence, knowledge and determination of the book’s hero would certainly be useful to Poland. Fortunately, we have his intellectual legacy and achievements that we can draw on and that can make us feel more secure.
Wiktor Świetlik, “Stasiak’s Poland”, Unitas, 2022