During his tour of the United States last November, Lech Walesa underscored this point vividly.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Now More Than Ever: For A Free Europe, Keep Radio Free Europe
Still, Mr. Walesa said Mr. Romney had some work to do to win the presidency.
Along with damaging his reputation, the controversy could also have a painful effect on Walesa's career.
Since his comments went nationwide, Walesa has been on the receiving end of furious criticism.
Administration officials told Polish journalists that Mr. Walesa's presence was too "political" for this week's occasion.
Lech Walesa, a shipyard worker, walked into her flower shop one day, and the rest is history.
FORBES: Behind Every Great Man Is the Mother of His Children. One of Them Finally Comes Out.
Lech Walesa and his fledgling reform movement, Solidarity, were making their bid for individual freedoms and economic liberty in Poland.
Among the speakers was Mr Walesa, the unemployed electrician who led the city strike that led to the formation of Solidarity.
BBC: The event is being marked by three days of celebrations
Pope John Paul's engagement with Poland created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa.
Mr Walesa challenged the European Union to work for the unity of Europe, torn by recent rows over budget and future shape.
BBC: The event is being marked by three days of celebrations
Likewise with Lech Walesa and his Solidarity trade union in Eastern Europe.
WSJ: Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen: The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution
Walesa, the shipyard worker who went on to inspire the Solidarity trade union in Poland, was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1983.
But market reforms haven't been kind to the historic shipyards of Gdansk, where the Solidarity Union movement began with union leader and future Polish president, Lech Walesa.
Within a year Germany was reunited, the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was president of Czechoslovakia and a union activist named Lech Walesa was Poland's head of state.
She was sent because the fear was that if Lech Walesa, who was no longer imprisoned, had left the country, he would not be allowed back in.
FORBES: Behind Every Great Man Is the Mother of His Children. One of Them Finally Comes Out.
Poland was then under martial law, and Lech Walesa was being held in an internment camp, so the story would be that the Nobel winner was in jail.
FORBES: Behind Every Great Man Is the Mother of His Children. One of Them Finally Comes Out.
In 1982 a rumor spread that Walesa was to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and international journalists descended on his apartment in Gdansk, to be there when the Nobel was announced.
FORBES: Behind Every Great Man Is the Mother of His Children. One of Them Finally Comes Out.
As the Commission report notes, Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel have made it clear that RFE still has an important role to play in the political life and information needs of their countries.
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: For A Free Europe �� Radio Free Europe
应用推荐