Myth is a particularly efficient political tool as it imposes an undisputedly defined way of thinking, develops patterns of social behaviours and creates the language of the ruling class and the people. Thus, politicians willingly resort to the use of myths in political discourse. The article is an attempt to present the functions that the myths play and the types of myths that can be encountered in politics. It focuses on the myths of the leaders of the Polish People’s Republic. The myth of a hero was used in the propaganda of the Polish People’s Republic to rebuild the image of the First Secretary – the hero with a revolutionary origin. As a rule, a negative myth of the former head of the party was developed to make the newly created cult seem even more impressive. One can see here the myths of the end and the myths of revival. The negative myth was connected with the myth of the end and the positive myth was associated with the myth of revival. Sometimes the revival myth connected with the First Secretary developed independently, spontaneously, in a bottom-up fashion, as in the case of the myth of Gomułka who was depicted as a good leader persecuted by the supporters of Stalinism. Contemporarily, the myth of “the good host” and patriot E. Gierek is celebrating its revival. Myths usually appear in the time of crisis and longing for the lost memories that idealise the former reality. Each new ruling party used to build the personal prestige of the new leader who should achieve a particular level of charisma after some time, the phenomenon was known as the cult of the First Secretaries. Simultaneously, each new party promised that they would rule in a better fashion, in accordance with the present programme of the party. In the time of the Polish People’s Republic, the magic formula, which could be identified with the myth of the beginning, was the slogan connected with “going back to the origins of Marxism and Leninism.” The cult of the First Secretaries combined with the idea of going back to the origins of Marxism and Leninism was to give a new impulse to the society and the government, was to authenticate the new leader and his programme connected with the Polish United Workers’ Party (Polska Partia Robotnicza). Despite doubled propaganda effort, each subsequent political crisis (1956, 1968, 1970, 1980, 1981) caused that the society had less trust in the political power. Finally, in 1989, the society decided to grand its trust to the opposition. And thus, in 1989 a new political power, with its new myth of the beginning, new saviour, and an old negative myth of the end, started to govern.
The article aims at presenting the personality of two political leaders – Wałęsa and Mazowiecki. It was they who created the Polish Third Republic - the political reality after the real socialism. Each of them performed a different role in the political system, and at the same time they complemented each other. The first one was a destructor, the second – a creator. Lecha Wałęsa, as a strong personality, was a perfect leader for the times of our “refolution”. On the one hand he drives most of the society to destroy the old system in order for the new one to rise – here he can be seen as a fanatic. And he was – a rational fanatic. When there was a need to destroy, he destroyed, when he needed to stand down – he stood down, while always retaining the chances for a “victory negotiation”. He could use his strong image for the realisation of the common goal of “Solidarity” and the society – taking down the authoritarian regime of the real socialism. The situation changed when he became the president of Poland – that was a time of building a new system, and Wałęsa wanted to creat a system fit for him – presidential democracy – but the expectations of the society and politics were different. He lost the presidential elections of 1995. Today he is a symbol, an icon of Polish political and social transformation and a good ambassador in the world. He is the only Polish politician to become a renown leader, who gained international praise. Tadeusz Mazowiecki was a creator of a new country – a democratic country. He gave rise to the contemporary democratic political, social and economic systems, accepted by the majority of the population. This is why Tadeusz Mazowiecki should be seen as a national leader. What is good for the citizen has to be good for the nation. He wanted the democratic rules to become a habit. Mazowiecki has always been the man who “sewed”, searched compromise, against using violence or force. He was an ideal decider for the times of building a new political, social and economic systems, where the new authority needs to be “stitched” to the society, Poland needs to be stitched to its neighbours (Germany), to Europe, to the West, which will mean opening Poland to the West.
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