Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I am glad to add my words to the other speakers. There is no right or left today. There is no separation, no difference. We are together in our condolences to the families of those who have died. Those were the words of the speaker of the Lower House in Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, in the wake of the terrible tragedy that killed President Lech Kaczynski and 94 others. It is right and fitting that we express our sympathy with the people of Poland because of the terrible loss they suffered. I watched coverage as it unfolded after the plane crash and I was particularly interested in President Kaczynski, what he represented and the evolving story of Polish politics. I had participated in a conference in Gdansk a number of months earlier. I had the good fortune to spend time with Paul McNamara, an Irish historian based in Poland who has written a book on Mr. Seán Lester and his role on behalf of the League of Nations in the free city of Gdansk or Danzig between the wars. I heard a story about the divisions that had emerged between the former Solidarity people, Lech Walesa and the Kaczynski brothers. It is often the case that people who have so much in common can have the bitterest of disputes. This happens often in families. When watching the RTE news, I was stressed by the manner in which Mr. Kaczynski's alleged conservatism was emphasised. It was suggested in the news report, prior to it rightly making the point that all Polish people were united in their grief, that Mr. Kaczynski had been a divisive figure in his country. I could not help wondering whether the same approach would have been taken had Prime Minister Zapatero of Spain been the unfortunate victim. He was a man who it could be said is just as divisive but on the left wing of politics. I was glad therefore that the narrative moved quickly to the unity of Poles in the wake of the disaster. It is worth noting the generous words from Derek Scally in The Irish Times , taking into account the spirit of de mortuis nil nisi bonum, nothing if not positive should be spoken of the dead. It is perhaps unfortunate that it took the death of Mr. Kaczynski for journalism to reveal its more generous and impartial side. It was said of Mr. Kaczynski that in person he was a warm and friendly man whose regular provocations seemed to be about demanding the same respect for his conservative views as was demanded of his liberal opponents for theirs. He was quoted as saying that it is about opposing a world where a Christmas tree is becoming suspicious and the most obscene gay demonstration is not. My point is neither to endorse nor critique his views but to point out that in a mature democracy served by a mature media, all people should be judged fairly on their views and not caricatured. It is perhaps unfortunate that it took Mr. Kaczynski's death for elements of the western media to move away from the language and politics of caricature.

To put the record straight, Mr. Kaczynski was first and foremost a patriot who, as everybody knows, starred with his brother in a film in 1962 entitled Two Who Stole the Moon. He had in some way come to exemplify Polishness and the resistant spirit of Polishness. He was a man who was not afraid to put himself out there and into the firing line to defend what he perceived as the interests of Poland and European values, in particular European values based on Europe's Christian heritage. If it is true that he took a firm view on those issues, it is also true to say that he had never taken what could be described as an irrational view. We should cherish politicians who are willing to be controversial and, if necessary, to divide because they are the politicians who are telling one what one does not necessarily want to hear and are paying one the honour and courtesy of telling one what they actually think as distinct from what might attract majority support in particular times and places.

It is certainly the case that the response of Mr. Kaczynski and his party, Law and Justice, whether in the right or wrong in Polish politics, on the issue of collusion with Communists led in the past to a divide between those members of Solidarity who believed any past collusion should be named and shamed, which was very much the position of the Law and Justice Party, and those who believed that in some way there had to be continuity and that the past had to be taken on board and moved on with. That was often the position represented by elements within the Catholic Church in Poland.

What can we do but offer a word of sympathy to the many Polish people in Ireland who have improved the quality of our national life by their great contribution, culture and work ethic. I have the great good fortune to know many of them. We sympathise with them, regardless of their political perspective, in relation to the great tragedy which took the lives of their President, his wife and 94 other people, many of whom held prominent positions in Polish society. This is a loss from which Poland will recover but this will take time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh anamnacha na marbh go léir.