Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, has compared Ukraine’s fight for independence to the confrontation in 1980 between Polish workers and Poland’s then communist government.
In his book The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli mentions a certain rule of history. He writes, not without a touch of irony, that “all armed prophets have conquered, and the unarmed ones have been destroyed.” But to every rule there is an exception, and unarmed prophets have been vindicated by history more than once. Even though the vindication usually comes late, it is no less emphatic. A perfect example of that is the historic victory of the Polish Solidarity movement and its extraordinary “Appeal to the Working People of Eastern Europe” proclaimed 40 years ago.
Solidarity's appeal: The power of 'unarmed prophets' thepeninsulaqatar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thepeninsulaqatar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.