Kandydat PSL „Wyzwolenie” pierwszym prezydentem Polski, czyli wielka gra Stanisława Thugutta w grudniu 1922 roku

Abstract

In December 1922, the first presidential election in history took place in Poland. Voting was not universal because the National Assembly made their choice. One of the candidates for the office of president was proposed by Stanislaw Thugutt. He was the leader of the Polish People’s Party “Wyzwolenie/Liberation”. PPP “Wyzwolenie/Liberation” was one of the largest peasant parties in interwar Poland. In comparison with the largest peasant party in the Second Polish Republic – the Polish People’s Party “Piast” was a leftist party. On December 9,1922, both parties supported the same candidate in a decisive vote. It was Gabriel Narutowicz, who was then the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he was a well-known civil engineering engineer in Europe, in particular hydroelectric power plants. It should be emphasized that Narutowicz was not a member of PSL. Unexpectedly, Narutowicz won the election and became the first president in Polish history. In the decisive fifth vote, he defeated the right-wing party candidate. It was a great success for Thugutt, who proved to be a foresight politician. Unfortunately, a week after the election, Gabriel Narutowicz was murdered by a right-wing fanatic. However, this did not change the fact that the first president in Polish history was the candidate proposed by the people’s party.