لقد كان رمزاً بين مواطنيه ـ في عيد ميلاده السبعين نظمت أكبر صحيفة في بولندا الاحتفال الذي توج فيه ملكاً (شرفياً بطبيعة الحال) على أوروبا.
He was an icon among his fellow countrymen – indeed, for his 70th birthday, the largest newspaper in Poland organized a celebration during which they crowned him (with a crown of laurel leaves, of course) … the King of Europe.