Lech Wałęsa in Geneva – A Voice from Solidarity, Still Calling for Reform

-Thank you for greeting me with your warm applause – I’m counting on even bigger bravos when I’m done! – with characteristic wit, Lech Wałęsa opened his address to the international community at the Geneva Diplomatic Club on April 30, 2025. The Club, a long-standing platform for dialogue among diplomats and world leaders, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.

The former Polish president (1990–1995), Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and founder of the Solidarity movement visited Geneva to deliver a lecture titled “From Solidarity to Democracy – A Vision for Peace.” Forty-five years after launching the first independent trade union in the Eastern Bloc, Wałęsa remains a sharp and forceful voice on the global stage.

In his remarks, he reminded the audience that Solidarity achieved a peaceful revolution at a time when the world stood at the edge of nuclear confrontation. He cited Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Mikhail Gorbachev as key figures who enabled the geopolitical shift of the 1980s.

Wałęsa’s central message focused on the need to renew and reform democratic structures. People are losing faith in democracy – he warned, criticizing political parties as outdated and calling for limits on leadership tenures. We must redefine the left and right. No leader should serve more than two terms – or more than ten years in power – his remarks, pointedly referencing the Russia-Ukraine war, underscored the urgency of institutional reform in the face of authoritarian resurgence.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Tellus in metus vulputate eu scelerisque felis imperdiet proin. Non blandit massa enim nec dui nunc mattis enim. Vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper dignissim. Nulla porttitor massa id neque aliquam vestibulum. Odio euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate odio. Laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet dictum. Elementum curabitur vitae nunc sed velit dignissim. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac tincidunt vitae. Elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac tincidunt vitae semper quis. Leo vel orci porta non.