On Monday, 31st August 2020, the Parliament of Malta, in close collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, joined other countries to mark the 40th. Anniversary of the foundation of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” or Solidarity.   On that occasion, a light projection of the “Solidarity” logo was displayed on the facade of the Malta Parliament building, along with other famous buildings worldwide.

The plight of the workers of the Gdansk shipyards, at that time, who stood for their fundamental rights and freedoms against a totalitarian regime, brought hope, not only to post-war Poland, but to a divided Europe under the sphere of influence of two major political blocs.   The recognition of “Solidarnosc” by the then communist government, in August 1980, and the subsequent historic events, culminating with the fall of the Berlin Wall, in November 1989, meant that absolute power must give way to just and legitimate claims for the respect of the fundamental rights and freedoms of individual persons, social justice and social well being, and to a truly representative parliamentary democracy based on the precepts of good governance.