After Sikorski

After Polish Premier Wladyslaw Sikorski met death in a plane crash (TIME, July 12), Soviet Russia's official Izvestia had good things to say of him. The late Polish Premier and Commander in Chief "understood and appreciated the full significance of the struggle of the Soviet Union against Germany, for the common cause of all freedom-loving peoples." It was to be regretted that Sikorski's "desire for a strengthening of the friendship and collaboration between Russia and Poland was frustrated."

In London, the Polish Government in Exile had to replace the almost irreplaceable General Sikorski. Formation of the new Government became a matter of political intrigue. Cabled New York Timesman Raymond Daniell: "General Sikorski's death . . . has precipitated a political feud that might have lain dormant until the Polish Government had returned home after the Allied victory. It is the old struggle between the Left and Right, latent in the political alignments of almost all refugee Governments here."

The new Government was expected to include more socialistic elements. But the power was not altogether within the Government: there are rightist Poles in London without official status who pull influential strings, and the rightists in the Government have in the past exercised strength out of proportion to their number. Most visible representative of this group is President Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz.

Maneuvers. These Russia-distrusting Poles gave Sikorski no support in his efforts to heal the break with Russia. They tried to make General Kazimierz Sosnkowski Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces. He was a collaborator of Dictator Pilsudski, is backed by undemocratic officers in the Polish Army; he resigned from the Polish Government when Sikorski signed a pact with Russia.

Acting Premier Stanislaw Mikolajczyk, well aware that future Poland must have Russia's good will and equally well aware that Sosnkowski's appointment would be a new irritation to Russia, handed his resignation to President Raczkiewicz. The British Foreign Office, working overtime to bring Poland and Russia into agreement again, may have voiced displeasure at the prospect of Sosnkowski. Whatever did happen offstage, at week's end it seemed clear that Acting Premier Mikolajczyk, leader of the democratic Peasant Party, would be made permanent Premier. General Sosnkowski was to resign as Deputy President, be appointed Commander of Poland's Armed Forces, promise to stay out of politics.

The Door Is Open. This was a compromise; it would probably not satisfy anyone outside the Polish Government in Exile, least of all Russia. Since its army in Britain and the Near East is Poland's greatest military and political force until Polish soil is reconquered, Sosnkowski's political influence will probably exceed that of the Premier. The Russians have been frank in their distrust of Sosnkowski.

Last week Russia opened the door to a rapprochement. Said an editorial in Izvestia: "The Soviet Union continues to share the view that after Hitler's defeat a strong and independent Poland must exist in Europe."

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