World Notes POLAND

Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa have shadowboxed for months over the pace and direction of political and economic reform. Now they will battle openly as the two main candidates in an election on Nov. 25 that will produce Poland's first popularly chosen President.

The election was called when General Wojciech Jaruzelski decided last month to cut short his six-year term as President. Walesa, 47, who has long made no secret of his ambitions, immediately declared his intention to run. Mazowiecki, 63, once one of Walesa's main advisers, entered the race last week. Mazowiecki's announcement ended speculation that he might cede the presidency to Walesa in the hope of halting the country's growing political polarization. In the end, Mazowiecki was swayed by the argument that Walesa, who forced Jaruzelski to resign, should not be allowed simply to steamroller his way into power. No matter what the outcome, the fight between Walesa, the former shipyard electrician, and Mazowiecki, the former newspaper editor, ends the alliance between workers and intellectuals that helped topple communism in Poland.