- This is political suicide for Prime Minister Morawiecki, because this nomination cannot be defended. It is a misunderstanding - stated Jerzy Meysztowicz on Dariusz Ociepa's "Breakfast on Polsat News", commenting on the nomination for Adam Andruszkiewicz. - The Prime Minister can hardly make fewer wise decisions - he added.

- I agree with Minister Sellin. Mr. Andruszkiewicz fits within the broad spectrum of this PiS camp, because it is an anti-European and pro-Moscow camp. For a long time now - stated Sławomir Neumann during Dariusz Ociepa's "Breakfast at Polsat News" program.

- I don't know the Prime Minister's deeper intentions. It is clear that this is not a technocratic appointment, meaning MP Andruszkiewicz was not appointed Deputy Minister of Digitization due to having unique competencies in the field of digital technology. This is a political appointment. My interpretation, if I were to look for rationality in this, is as follows (...) Poland wants to be in Europe, and the problem is that these national, strongly independence-oriented circles, which have reservations about Europe, have reservations in a similar way to many other currents called populist in other European countries. They feel excluded. It seems to me that this type of appointment could be a good bridge to inclusion on the terms of respecting the sovereignty of individual countries – stated Andrzej Zybertowicz in Dariusz Ociepa's "Śniadanie w Polsat News".

- I think there are no conspiracy theories here - Adam Andruszkiewicz wanted to be a minister - stated Agnieszka Ścigaj in Dariusz Ociepa's "Breakfast on Polsat News".

- If Grzegorz Schetyna is setting some election for March 17th, then perhaps he has in mind the election of an opposition leader who wants to run. I just don't know if it's worth his while to speed up this election, because considering how he fares in the polls before this election for opposition leader, he probably should care for it to happen as late as possible, because he will probably lose these elections disastrously - stated Jacek Sasin on TVN24's "Coffee on the Table".

- This is a typical example of [topic of early parliamentary elections] so-called fake news. Someone throws out some information, serious politicians talk about it on serious programs of this type, and it has absolutely no value - stated Jacek Sasin on TVN24's "Kawa na ławę" (Coffee on the Bench). He added:

"I have a certain thesis as to why Grzegorz Schetyna is talking about early elections. It's because he wants to compel other, smaller opposition parties, frightened by the prospect of elections coming soon, to do something. Despite Schetyna himself proving to be a political mantis, who devours anyone who wants to form any kind of union with him, he wants to convince these parties to rally around Schetyna and his party, and form a common bloc for the upcoming elections. This is the only rational explanation for why PO and its leader are spreading such absurd rumors. I want to state very clearly: there will be no early elections. PiS will certainly not lend a hand to that."

- The Civic Coalition was formed for the local government elections, and what happened in December [PO taking over Nowoczesna MPs] ultimately showed that Platforma decided to phase it out. However, if we want to seriously talk about winning the next elections, the European Parliament elections and parliamentary elections, then we must create a new coalition, a European coalition. This coalition must be built practically from scratch. We are currently meeting in various arrangements. With the leader of PSL, with the leader of SLD – stated Katarzyna Lubnauer in TVN24's "Kawa na ławę".

- We need to build a European Coalition for the next elections, and I believe it should be as broad as possible – she added.

- We must rebuild our position in the EU. And a pro-European, pro-democratic bloc is needed and will emerge. I guarantee it - stated Andrzej Halicki on TVN24's "Kawa na ławę" (Coffee on the Bench).

- The recent years have shown that Poland urgently needs a separation of church and state, secularism, and a reordering of relations that have clearly been disrupted. If we are to be a democratic country of equal rights and opportunities, certain relationships need to be rebuilt and remodelled. Inicjatywa Polska has decided to propose a broad discussion on the separation of church and state, which will allow us to start acting in the next parliament to ensure that the relations between the Polish state and the Church are healthy. Today, we see that they are not healthy - stated Barbara Nowacka at a briefing in front of the Sejm.

- We do not agree to the Church writing laws, influencing politicians by dictating how they should legislate. It cannot be that religious people are treated much better than non-believers - she continued. - Inicjatywa Polska has decided to start the discussion by preparing a project for the first stage of separating church and state, primarily concerning the financing of religion in schools, but also the financing of priests and catechists from the state budget. The Church Fund, priest insurance – these are issues we consider fundamental - she added.

As informed by Nowacka, signatures will be collected online for a petition by February 20th, which will then be submitted to the Sejm. If the petitions committee does not wish to consider this initiative, a civic project will be launched, involving a signature collection.The project is available here.

https://twitter.com/inicjatywaPL/status/1081877668407267328

Włodzimierz Czarzasty comments on today's press conference of Inicjatywa Polska and reminds on Twitter that "since June last year, we have been trying to get Prime Minister Morawiecki to respond regarding state spending on the church." - But he apparently doesn't want to reveal it, because he keeps extending the deadline for responding to our and Jacek Protasiewicz's interpellation - writes the leader of the SLD.

The upcoming week in politics will be dominated by the visit of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini to Poland, who will meet, among others, with Jarosław Kaczyński. The VAT parliamentary committee will hear testimony from several individuals, including Paweł Wojtunika, and at the end of the week, Porozumienie will hold its congress in Krakow. Meanwhile, President Andrzej Duda will sign the bill on the National Oncological Strategy before it is sent to the Sejm. This week will also see discussions between trade unions and the government regarding increased teacher salaries, and the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) will convene from Tuesday to Friday.

Discussions on Teacher Salaries. On Monday, a meeting of the ZNP Main Board presidium will take place, to which Prime Minister Morawiecki has been invited. The Minister of Education has invited educational trade unions to a "consultation meeting" concerning the draft salary regulation (on the same day and at the same hour). Tuesday has been scheduled for wage negotiations within the public services team of the Social Dialogue Council, and Thursday for an extraordinary meeting of the ZNP Main Board. As the unions announce, "the government's lack of will to increase the salaries of teachers and education employees will radicalize the actions of FZZ and ZNP, leading to collective dispute and the commencement of a school strike."

PAD's Activities. On Tuesday at 11:00 AM in the Presidential Palace, President Andrzej Duda will sign the bill on the National Oncological Strategy before its submission to the Sejm. A press conference will follow. Also on Tuesday, PAD will visit Człuchów, where he will meet with residents at 5:00 PM. On Monday, Paweł Mucha will meet with Jacek Sasin and Tadeusz Cymański. The discussion is expected to focus on aid for "frankowicz" loan holders, particularly the President's proposals on the matter.

Wojtunika's Interrogation. On Tuesday at 12:00 PM, the VAT parliamentary committee will hear testimony from Paweł Wojtunika, the former head of the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA). The following day, Wednesday at 10:00 AM, the committee will question Tomasz Tratkiewicz, former director of the VAT department at the Ministry of Finance, and on Friday at 10:00 AM, Igor Parfieniuk, former commander of the Police Central Investigation Bureau.

Kaczyński-Salvini Meeting. On Wednesday in Warsaw, the Italian Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, will meet with the PiS party leader, Jarosław Kaczyński – this information was reported by the Italian newspaper "La Repubblica." According to the newspaper, the talks are expected to concern the European Parliament elections. The date of the visit has been confirmed by PiS spokesperson Beata Mazurek.

Porozumienie Congress. On Sunday in Krakow, Porozumienie will hold its congress, where Jarosław Gowin and Jadwiga Emilewicz will primarily present the "Energy Plus" program. Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Gowin announced that Porozumienie, through Minister Emilewicz, would present a counter-proposal for the development of Polish energy, challenging Minister Tchórzewski's proposals. Jarosław Kaczyński will be a guest at the congress.

Photo: Facebook Porozumienia