WARSAW : Walesa’s Revenge?

Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, jailed nine years ago as a threat to the Polish state, is heavily favored to become that country’s next president on Sunday.

The 47-year-old activist holds a nearly 2-1 lead in the polls before his runoff against upstart presidential contender Stanislaw Tyminski, the mysterious and controversial Polish emigre businessman from Canada.

Tyminski, 42, shocked almost everyone when he finished second to Walesa in the first round of the voting last week, knocking Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki out of the contest. But now Solidarity’s bickering factions have set their quarrels aside to defeat a man they say would be a “disaster” for the country. Questions persist about Tyminski’s background, including his possible connections to Libya.