Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland, says the U.S. and other nations have not done enough to create a new global system of democratic values.
His comments came during an interview with Foreign Policy posted Thursday. Walesa was in Washington to mark the 30th anniversary of his speech before Congress.
“Back then we were all fighting for a change in the status quo in the world,” he said. “And it was the status quo inserted after the Second World War: Two superpowers battling. Many countries had lost sovereignty due to that arrangement.”
He said communism was an impediment to development and even communists were recognizing some change was needed.
“And ultimately, with the support of the United States and many others, we succeeded in eliminating this old division in the world,” Walesa said. “But then the question arose: What should happen next? And this is my message today: We have not truly constructed anything new in the world. And there is a loss we have suffered.
“The loss is the leadership position of the United States, which is a very bad situation for the world. There is no leadership. Previously, when we were involved in our struggle, we used to have the evil empire and the good empire.”
Walesa maintained people did not understand that the new era mandated new solutions.
He said: “That’s why we are faltering: We keep applying old solutions to the new era.”
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