Mitt Romney to meet Walesa?

Mitt Romney: photo - flickr

Former Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa had turned down a meeting with current American President Barack Obama when he visited Poland in May 2011.

Hiowever, according to US political journalism outlet Politico.com, Romney's campaign team is keen to arrange a meeting with Walesa, who remains an iconic figure in America.

Currently, there are approximately 9-10 million Americans of Polish descent in the US, and the Polish diaspora offers a considerable source of potential votes.

The news site claims that Romney is to deliver an address in Poland, in which he will pledge to establish closer relations with Washington’s allies such as Poland, which is described by the portal as “a country that shares Romney’s wariness toward Russia.”

Romney's European trip will begin on 27 July in London, where he is to take part in the opening of the Olympic Games. From there, he is to travel to Israel, Germany and Poland.

Sources have indicated that the prospective meeting with Walesa would most likely take place in the Baltic port city of Gdansk, birthplace of the Solidarity movement, and where Walesa continues to reside.

It has also been suggested that Romney may pay a visit to the Westerplatte peninsula, where the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, thereby starting World War II.

President Obama did not appear among other heads of state at a gathering there in 2009 marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the war.

Meanwhile, commenting on the reported Romney trip, Brussels-based newspaper European Voice noted that Poland no longer has great expectations towards the US and hence America does not risk disappointng its eastern European partner.

“US Republicans should not assume that Poland is yearning for them to return to power,” the paper writes, concluding that the times of Poland's enthusiastic pro-NATO stance are long gone and most probably for good. (di/nh)