Jaroslaw’s Choice

An interesting opinion piece by Marjorie Castle in the Washington Post highlights the importance of Lech Kaczynski’s surviving twin, Jaroslaw, and how his interpretation of the tragedy will have a profound impact on Polish politics.

The remaining Kaczynski’s interpretation of this tragedy, whatever it may be, is likely to be shared by a significant proportion of Poles. Was it an incomprehensible act of God or the latest martyrdom of the “true Poland”? Should he accept the conciliatory gestures of his political opponents or dismiss them as hypocritical and opportunistic? Should he take Russian declarations of sympathy and solidarity at face value?

But these possibilities are merely political. In the grip of such a personal tragedy, Kaczynski might withdraw from politics entirely. In a novel, this would be the cliffhanger, as the bereaved twin readies himself for Sunday’s state funeral, in between hospital visits with his critically ill mother, whose doctors recommended against telling her the news. Unfortunately for Jaroslaw Kaczynski and the Poles joining him in mourning, this is reality.