It's not my fault, either

18th November 2011



Last Friday’s Independence Day shambles is in many ways a reflection of where Poland is after two decades of transformation. The first thing to point out is that in ninety percent of the country, people celebrated peacefully. In Poznan, for example, the day coincides with St Martin’s Day and is a celebration for the whole city. In Warsaw, sadly, the day is merely a focus for protest and political squabbles.

The most pathetic part of the aftermath was the series of press conferences by various march organisers all saying, “It wasn’t our fault, they started it.” This is simply childish. All these organisers are big on their rights, but start behaving like spoilt brats when called ...