Smolensk

Today I was woken up by a call from my fiance.

"- Hi, have you heard?
- umm.. what?
- Kaczyński is dead. And his wife. And 86 others. Their plane crashed just an hour ago".

88 people died in a plane crash in Smolensk - the President and his wife along with the delegation of Poland's finest politicians, chiefs of military, the head of the Central Bank, several representants of clergy and families of the people massacred by Soviets in Katyn in 1940 were on their way to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Katyn massacre. The plane was about to land when it clipped the treetops and fell down.

It's the second time in the history when Polish intelectual and political elites die in this ill-fated place. As always in Poland people already started looking for somebody to blame for it: Was it the pilot's fault? The thick fog? A faulty plane? Was it the Russian?

I personally believe it was just a terrible mishap that left hundreds of people grieve for their loved ones and the whole country speachless.

Lech Kaczyński was not a popular politician, nor was he well thought of as a President. There were plenty of mean jokes about him (some of which wished him death) and his wife (a lovely, caring, charitable woman whose only sin was that she did not have the looks of Miss World). Milions of people in Poland understand today what scum they were to have no respect for the head of the country. The only person who was brave enough to defend Poland's dignity and pride. I don't know who will take lead of the orphaned ministries. And how is the political arena going to look when the leaders of the opposition and the proffessionals are gone.

It took me couple of hours to even start understanding what has happened. I don't know what will happen now, who'll replace him. The speaker of the lower house of the parliament will become the acting president now, but within 2 months we have to elect a new President and I can't thing of anybody else I'd rather see on Kaczynski's place. He might not have mastered the art of diplomacy, but there is absolutely no doubt that he was one of the most honest people in Poland who only had the good of this country on his mind.

May You Rest in Peace Mr President.