The new President of the European Parliament, Jerzey Buzek, a Pole, should do us proud. He knows first hand what it is like to have to shift from one place to another even if within the same continent. In fact he was born a Pole in what was then Czechoslovakia or Germany, depending on the time and view of WWII when the event occurred.

He was an activist, and in fact one of the leaders in the anti-communist underground in Poland who contributed to the setting up of the Solidarity Trade Union. He also co-authored the economic programme for the Polish government, which he led as Prime Minister from 1997-2001. His government tenure was marked by reforms in government, pensions, education and medical care – rapid changes that were perhaps attempted at too fast a pace in a country which hadn’t seen so much change for decades under the Soviet Big Brother’s shadow. Yet setbacks crop up to be overcome.

I find it interesting that Jerzy Buzek and his wife have also found the time and energy to set up the Family Foundation to help those with terminally sick children. At least with the new European Parliament President, terminally ill children will have a champion and a better chance to live till natural death. This concern for the individual is also evident in his acceptance speech in which he recalled the key role that Solidarity played in the liberation of Poland and said that under his Presidency “human rights will be a priority.”

Guz Bonnet

MARSALFORN