The institution of the president in the concepts put forward in Poland in the 1980s

Abstract

The text attempts to answer what concepts of the office of president were presented in the 1980s as part of the ongoing discussion on the direction of reforming the state, and what were their similarities and differences between them. For this purpose, the concept was classified according to three criteria: the powers of the president, the type of political system in which the creation of this office was envisaged, and according to the functions it was supposed to perform. Taking into account the first criterion, a strong presidency can be distinguished (such concepts prevailed) and a weak presidency; from the point of view of the second, the position of the president in the existing system, in the transitional system and in the future (democratic) system; according to this division the text was constructed. The second classification is superimposed on the division according to the functions expected from this office – legitimation of the system, guardian of the system, a more or less important part of the democratic system. The analysis of documents, the comparative method, elements of the historical method were used.