Europe’s bad mistake

This Polish politician, human rights activist, ex-President of Poland (1990-95), ex-leader of the Solidarity trade-union movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, electrician without a post-secondary education, marks his 68th birthday today. He is a living symbol of the Solidarity movement that actually caused the communist regime to collapse in the countries of the socialist camp, and eventually led to the destruction of the Soviet Union. Walesa is retired, receiving 6,000 zlotys a month, but remains an active public figure. His daily schedule is very tight, yet he kindly agreed to a meeting with a group of Eastern Partnership journalists in Gdansk, his home town whose authorities granted him an office as a honorary citizen of Gdansk. It is known as the Walesa Bureau where he receives his guests. Incidentally, the airport of Gdansk was named after Walesa and is now being actively expanded. After each such meeting he joins his guests to pose for a photo ca-mera and then places the picture in his Facebook.

Lech Walesa addressed the journalists: “There are no bad questions, there may be strange answers, and the more difficult the questions, the better. All of us will try to have accurate answers to any questions.” Personally I found his answers interesting and certainly straightforward.

Mr. Walesa, there will be parliamentary elections in Poland, scheduled for October 8. How would you describe the domestic political situation? Who is your candidate and why?

“Polish democracy is quite young and so people like me haven’t much by way of choice. We have to choose the lesser evil. I will vote for the Platforma Obywatelska [Civic Platform Party that nominated the incumbent Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. — Author]. This one suits me best, although I wouldn’t describe it as a cherished dream fulfilled, but we will have better political parties and action programs with each passing day and year.

“Let me tell you something. Politicians find living in a country like Poland hard. Poland is a member of the EU and NATO, so many decisions are made without our government. This is something one ought to bear in mind.

“Our politicians have nothing to hand out, so they tend to get populistic. Those few who know better realize that this game actually isn’t worth playing. On the other hand, if they didn’t get populistic, no one would vote for them. Therefore, we will spend some time having election dreams. Anyway, there will be elections and one has to cast one’s ballot without any hurt feelings.

“If the Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc [PiS; Law and Justice Party, led by ex-Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski — Author] were any better, I’d vote for their nominee[s], but the Civic Platform sounds better, so I will vote for it. This party is the lesser evil because PiS is much worse by comparison. I won’t change my stand, although this isn’t my cherished dream come true.”

Would you care to comment on Russia’s ruling tandem, I mean Putin’s decision to run for president next year?

“For me elections is a better option than a presidential campaign whose outcome is programmed. In Poland, any elections prove to be a sophisticated process. They [i.e., Russia — Author] have made it even more complicated. If there emerge individuals with a proper education but without ‘baptism by fire,’ then their careers are highly questionable. Russia is a huge multiethnic country, with between 60 and 80 ethnic groups [actually, 150 — Author]. Anything can fall apart there, but for us the question remains whether Russia’s collapse will do us any good.

“At present, Russian leadership holds the fort and this is a guarantee that Russia won’t fall apart. I’m trying to think in an unbiased, fair way. I am a friend of Russia. There are certain historical issues, but they don’t influence my attitude to Russia. There are various historical claims, but on the other hand, there is our future, an opportunity to provide new conditions. Today, the most important thing is to achieve understanding and accord. This will provide better guarantees of peace and quiet. In fact, I haven’t pondered the difference between a better democracy and what now exists in Russia.”

Will the outcome of the elections in Poland have any effect on Poland-Ukraine relations? Should any changes be made in these relations?

“I was raised and taught that there could be no free and independent Poland without a free and independent Ukraine. Life itself has proved this assumption. As president of Poland, I worked more for the benefit of Ukraine than Poland. If I had another term of office, I wouldn’t allow Poland to join the EU without Ukraine. Indeed, I had this concept, but I simply hadn’t the time to implement it. Events took a different course and Ukraine was left out of the EU structures. This is a very bad mistake made by Europe. Every effort must be made to help Ukraine join these structures quickly and without impediment. Today’s Europe looks markedly disorganized. Ukraine is a big country. Europe, in its current disorganized condition, is unable to decide on Ukraine’s membership.

The current concept is this: first, straighten out Europe, then deal with Ukraine. We know we’ll have to do this, sooner or later. All this has everything to do with the economic and technological progress of our civilization. We’re closely following the situation in Ukraine and will do our best so nothing bad happens there. Obviously, we won’t be able to achieve anything without Ukraine, but it has to solve its own problems.”

What about the current Ukrainian political leadership? Are these politicians actively integrating Ukraine into the EU?

“You have the kind of government you elected. This is another result of democracy. Some are sa-tisfied with its performance, others are less satisfied. Next year’s elections may produce better results. We’ll have to follow this winding path, but then there will be no bends and we’ll get closer together. These are your Ukrainian problems. None of our business.”