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Perhaps many of you may know who
Lech Wałęsa is. For those who don't: he is the former chairman of Solidarity, independent trade union which was one of the major players on the Polish scene in the 80s. He was the informal leader of opposition side during 1989 Round Table talks, which caused first semi-free elections in Poland after the Second World War and - indirectly - was one of the causes of the Soviet Union's dissolution. He also became the president of Poland from 1990-1995 (when most of the transformation to free-market economy took place) and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. So, basically... a hero, right?
Well, after losing elections in 1995 (mostly because of painful transformation and the fact that he kept insulting his main opponent), he left active politics. Mainstream media, however, treated him as an authority figure - blunt and boorish, but noble. He gained some popularity with criticizing (then terribly unpopular) president, Lech Kaczyński.
The first shock came several months ago. See, Solidarity still exists, but its reputation during these years was slightly tarnished because of stagnation and tendency of the individual chairmans to support religious right. Its new leader, however, tried to return to its roots. When the current liberal government were passing the reform, which will extend retirement from to 67 years, it was this particular union which protested the most. When Sejm (the House) approved the act, Solidarity activists surrounded the building and for two hours didn't let anyone out.
It was mostly received positively by most parts of the Polish society, because hating current government is a long tradition in this country. The deputies, however, were outraged and many journalists seemed to be dissatisfied that the police didn't react. Then, during an interview, Wałęsa outran them all when he expressed his opinion that the protesters should have been beaten up. He used the word "pałować", which in Polish means specifically "beat up with police batons". Yeah, we have a separate word for that.
It caused a minor consternation, because even the most ardent supporters of the current government couldn't grok the former Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate urging the police to beat up mostly peaceful protesters. He wasn't invited for some time, but today I heard him on the radio again.
I almost choked with coffee when he expressed his opinion that problems in Russia are caused by demonstrations. Because, you know, when there are demonstrations, people are getting beaten up, so there shouldn't be any. Yeah, there was a time for that, but it was earlier - and now there is another era of "wisdom and intellect". The poor reporter, who was the same one, who interviewed him several months before, tried to protest faintly. I think she seriously pondered if the former president is on drugs, or maybe he is just possessed by Stalin's restless spirit.
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Topic: Occupying Wallstreet (Read 294394 times)