Former Poland’s President Lech Wałęsa has become the honorary citizen of Warsaw. City’s councillors passed a resolution concerning this matter during Thursday’s session of the Capital City Council. Wałęsa’s candidature has engendered controversy. City’s councillors from the governing Law and Justice (PiS) were against it, following disputes between the former Solidarity leader and the Kaczynski brothers.
“Although Wałęsa is a hero and a symbol of regaining freedom, in the present time he plays an active part on the political scene and because of this he shouldn’t be distinguished with the honorary citizenship of the capital city,” city councillor from PiS Marek Makuch said.
32 councillors voted in favour of the candidature’s, 7 were against and 11 abstained.
Wałęsa’s candidature was proposed by the Civic Platform (PO) club. In the justification they wrote that Wałęsa is the only Pole awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and that is why the historic leader of the ‘Solidarity’ movement ‘deserves also the honorary citizenship of the capital city, from where for 5 years he headed free Poland’.
Wałęsa is pleased with the honorary citizenship and treats it as a compensation for years of difficult and hard work.
“Who would not be happy with such a distinction? One should remember that in my case Warsaw [during his presidency] was the most difficult period of life. I did my best, but received little gratitude. This is a kind of sign of gratitude and I am even happier that Warsaw has noticed that I worked hard,” Wałęsa said.
Apart from the former President, Warsaw City Council also granted honorary citizenship to Irena Sendler, Wiesław Chrzanowski, Janusz Brochowicz-Lewiński, Czesław Cywiński and Professor Hilary Koprowski.
(jm)