Solidarity leaders were stunned. In the run-up to the vote, Walesa had said: "None of us want these elections. They're the terrible terrible price we have to pay to get our union back." Leaders were equally surprised that their victory was upheld on the same day as they watched tanks roll into Tiananmen Square, China.

At the first post-election meeting, Solidarity changed its name to the Citizens' Parliamentary Club, or OKP. Lech Walesa himself insisted the party name reflect Poland's moves towards democracy and independence.

But behind closed doors, Solidarity was worried that too much change too fast would unsettle their progress. The party backed General Jaruzelski for president. He won by just one vote.

Negotiations over the balance of a coalition government ran through the summer. Deadlocked, Mieczyslaw Rakowski, the new Polish prime minister, telephoned Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev for advice. In a 40-minute conversation the Russian president tells Rakowski to give up power and join the coalition.