ABSTRACT
The ruling Polish United Workers' Party seems uncertain as to how to cope with the situation and Edward Gierek is fighting for his political life. Despite the signs that the roots of the crisis reach beyond specific policies into the heart of the economic system, the Gierek regime has stubbornly resisted introducing into it any basic changes. Indeed, during Gierek's conspicuous absence from public performances for a good part of the autumn of 1978, apparently due to ill health, rumors about his impending resignation were flying in Warsaw. Gierek's visit to the Vatican marked a new relaxation in state-church relations in Poland. The Soviet Union is unlikely to accept, as some of the Polish opposition groups have demanded, Poland's assertion of sovereignty and adoption of democracy. The Committee demonstrated that there is room in contemporary Poland for successful political action.
