Ian Glover-James, ITN
You met Lech Walesa today. Give us your impressions about the man and about Solidarity?
Prime Minister
Lech WalesaHe is a very interesting person. He knows the views which he has thought about and which he is very articulate about. He obviously has spent a long time in putting them. They are not only views about trade unions, they are much much wider than that. They really are the focus for opposition in Poland and they really are views about the kind of political system they would like to have and other things which spring from that.
So this was a much wider kind of organisation from that which I had expected. He also is very sensible and reasonable. There is nothing extreme about him at all and then later I met him with a number of advisers that he has, people on the economic side, on the [end p1] political side, on the technical side, and they are really genuinely searching for the way ahead, searching whether they can find it through dialogue and feeling very deeply that although they are now quite a power in the land and a power internationally, they are not legal yet, they are not legally recognised and they feel that deeply.
Ian Glover-James, ITN
You say he is very sensible and yet the Polish government do not seem to be able to do business with him. What does that say about Poland today and the way it is governed?
Prime Minister
I think it says that it just has to find its way forward and is trying to find its way forward. I think Solidarity would think that the Round Table talks, which have been held, which stopped and which it has an invitation to again, that they had something to do with the creation of that kind of vehicle. I do not think anyone knows how strongly it will go ahead or whether it is the right kind of way for the involvement and discussion they need.
But they will have to talk about it, that is the irony. You have to talk about it in order to know whether it is the right forum and obviously they are feeling very strongly at the moment that [end p2] with certain announcements just at about the same time an invitation was issued, it is a very difficult juxtaposition of events for them.
Ian Glover-James, ITN
Just stepping back from today's events a little bit. You have spoken with the leader of Poland and the government and you have spoken with Lech Walesa. Do you come away with any feeling of optimisim in the short-term about the political situation here?
Prime Minister
I come away with the feeling that they all, both government and Solidarity, genuinely want to find a way through, genuinely want to, that their next meeting will be very important and that therefore Solidarity is very right to consider the invitation very carefully, to consider precisely what it says and precisely what the next steps forward are.
So often you know in life, what you want to achieve, it is how to get there and the next steps will be significant so they are considering it carefully, fully realising the enormous significance of finding what they call a national reconciliation, what we would say is a forum in which to express differing views freely and openly.