The leader of the Poland 2050 Movement, Szymon Hołownia, is once again hitting the road to invite people to discussions about Poland's future. This week, he will visit the Lower Silesian and Podlaskie Voivodeships. A meeting with residents and supporters will take place in Kłodzko at 4:00 PM.

- He [the minister, Szumowski] announced it [his resignation] at the beginning of this year, when we were before the pandemic, and he said that he wanted to finish a few matters, including the one related to the National Health Fund (NFZ), by law, and then it would be time for him to return to his profession. [He announced his resignation] at social gatherings when we sometimes discussed how long our mission in the government would be, what we wanted to achieve. So it wasn't a very big surprise - stated Jadwiga Emilewicz in a conversation with Krzysztof Skórzyński on TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".

- He [the Minister of Health] has been discussing this matter with the Prime Minister for a long time, and it is difficult to imagine a better moment. Although in the case of Minister Szumowski, who enjoys one of the highest levels of trust in Poland today, this decision must naturally be concerning and is not a good decision for the government. However, if the minister has indeed decided to leave the government this year, then this is the best moment. A plan to combat the pandemic before its potential second wave has been adopted, and this is the time. If a new Minister of Health appears by the end of this week, as the Prime Minister announced, he will have time to prepare for the fight against the pandemic before the autumn wave of influenza strikes, colliding with COVID-19 - said Jadwiga Emilewicz in "Jeden na jeden" on TVN24.

- We cannot limit ourselves solely to condemning violence, to criticizing the authorities in Belarus, to criticizing the suppression of protests, to calling for new elections. This is, of course, very necessary, as a clear stance must be taken, a voice must be raised unequivocally. But if we limit ourselves to sanctions, to criticism, and return, believing that the matter has been settled by the European Union, that we've done what's necessary, and can go back for our August holidays, it will be the worst-case scenario. Such an attitude will only push Belarus further into Russia's orbit. Therefore, we must present an alternative, at least a framework of actions for such an alternative, that could await Belarusians if dialogue and agreement are achieved. This alternative must be the possibility of cooperation for Belarus, if Belarusians themselves decide on it, cooperation of Belarus also with European Union countries, primarily economic cooperation - said Paweł Jabłoński in an interview with Piotr Witwicki on Polsat News's "Graffiti".

- We don't know exactly when the government reshuffle will happen. At the moment, the party leaders are on vacation. In reality, the second phase of serious political discussions will take place in the first half of September. I don't expect a government reshuffle before the end of September. It will likely be early October, and thus, what Minister Szumowski was talking about. That is, waiting with uncertainty; if it's not the first week of October, mid-October, maybe the end of October, that would be the worst moment, considering the autumn wave of flu infections - stated Jadwiga Emilewicz on TVN24's "Jeden na jeden".

- I am very pleased that there are areas in Polish politics, including foreign affairs, where we can act above political disputes. I am very pleased. I was in contact with MP Szczerba yesterday and we spoke, and I also informed about this myself - said Paweł Jabłoński in Polsat News.

- This is a matter of Polish raison d'état. We believe that it is in the interest, the deep interest of the Polish state, for Belarus to be a stable country - he added. 

- The decision will be made, and a candidate will be indicated, primarily through political agreement by Prime Minister Morawiecki. Here, Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz is certainly one of the good candidates. Fortunately, it is the case that in the United Right camp, we have at least several very good specialists, experts in healthcare management. Professor Maksymowicz is certainly one of them, but definitely not the only one - stated Jadwiga Emilewicz in "One on One" on TVN24.

„Indeed, we have a certain accumulation, but there's no talk of any escape. It's simply a coincidence of timing. Minister Szumowski himself said yesterday that he had agreed with the Prime Minister that he would complete these tasks. The Prime Minister himself said that Minister Szumowski wanted to end his mission in the ministry at the beginning of the year, but due to the outbreak of the pandemic, he did not do so out of a sense of responsibility. Ms. Wanda Buk and Minister Janusz Cieszyński have also simply finished” - said Radosław Fogiel, deputy spokesperson for Law and Justice (PiS), on Polish Radio 24.

"At this moment, the candidacy of Ms. Zuzanna Rudzińska-Bluszcz is on the table. We announced earlier that we would examine the candidacies put forward by the opposition. Ultimately, there is one candidacy. And we will make a decision based on achievements, the candidates' declarations, and in this case, the candidate's. It is always worth examining. It is always worth talking, asking questions, to know more. There is still some time until the vote in the Sejm, so we have some time for this decision," said Radosław Fogiel, Deputy Spokesperson for Law and Justice (PiS), on Polskie Radio 24.

"No one can be chosen through the back door – be it the president, prime minister, or RPO. Every decision made by parliament must have a proper legal basis. Speculation is an inevitable part of politics," he added. 

https://twitter.com/MZ_GOV_PL/status/1296001531226075137

https://twitter.com/MZ_GOV_PL/status/1296001534724132864

- It's always in the final days [of announcing a resignation], it was the same with me. As I recall, a specific date here was of course the last few weeks, practically two weeks, and that it would be on Tuesday, we changed that date in the last few days. It was supposed to be Monday, then Tuesday came out, which is why the decisions about a specific candidate, of whom there are several, are being made by the Prime Minister right now - stated Łukasz Szumowski at a press briefing in the Sejm.

- It wasn't a question of "if." I truly said and agreed that I would be leaving in the spring. The coronavirus arrived, and I couldn't leave. Therefore, it wasn't a question of "if," it was a question of "when," and looking at all these actions, I decided that a new head should be implemented by autumn. I received recommendations from the team on how to prepare healthcare for autumn. Now, these recommendations will be taken by the new head and implemented, but I think summer is really the only time when a change can actually be made in this ministry, and that change has occurred - stated Łukasz Szumowski at a press briefing in the Sejm.

“The Ministry of Health without leadership in the midst of an epidemic. Only PiS and the United Right can afford this. New candidates are expected by the end of the week. From my circle of acquaintances, I have already heard of three professors who were tested. They are even testing professors who were associated with Civic Platform. The state has a rather short bench and is unable to find someone who would step into such a swamp at such a moment and try to risk their entire career, reputation, and take responsibility for the mistakes of their predecessors,” said the leader of the Poland 2050 movement, Szymon Hołownia, on Facebook.

"The minister has probably explained everything, his circumstances and reasons. [His successor] will be appointed any moment now, calmly. The Prime Minister will announce it" - said Deputy Speaker Ryszard Terlecki from PiS in a conversation with journalists in the Sejm.

„The European Council convened at our request in a short timeframe. We discussed today this extremely important topic, which is the development of events in Belarus. The entire European Council unequivocally condemned the course of the elections and we stated that these elections should be repeated. They cannot in any way be considered as fairly conducted, credible, and democratic elections. Therefore, this voice was not only very strongly heard but amplified by the voices of all other EU leaders” – Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference.

„Also at Poland's request, we agreed on the involvement of supranational bodies like the proven OSCE to possibly support the democratization process through monitoring the preparations for future elections, should the situation develop in such a way” - said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at a press conference.

„We strongly support sanctions against individuals who participated in direct actions to pacify demonstrations, in beating protesters, opposition figures, or citizens who expressed their opposition to certain turns of events. This was also strongly emphasized by other EU leaders. However, we do not want Belarusian society to suffer as a result of sanctionary actions. We want to make it clear to Alexander Lukashenko's regime that the time when the public's voice could be ignored must end as soon as possible, through this strong voice that was expressed in the recent protests. It is time to sit down for talks. A process of negotiation and dialogue is needed, which will gradually lead to the democratization of the situation in Belarus” - Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference.

“At the end of the summit, I requested an addition on supporting independent media and non-governmental organizations which conduct and support the democratization process in Belarus. This is also part of our 5-point plan, which I presented in the Sejm” – said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at a press conference.

„Given Covid, I think this situation [combining the roles of party leader and club leader] will last for some time, but not long, because I announced that we would be separating these formulas, but we will do it when there is an opportunity for a face-to-face, calm club meeting. This has not been possible since March” - said the PO leader, Borys Budka, in an interview with Bogdan Rymanowski in „Gość Wydarzeń” on Polsat News.

"I spoke with Marshal Terlecki once in person. I asked that if there were any proposals, they be submitted in writing, and I asked to rectify the error that burdened Polish local government officials two years ago when Jarosław Kaczyński took revenge on the opposition for uncovering the awards of Beata Szydło's government; at that time, the salaries of local government officials were reduced. The only demand that KO raised was the issue of regulating the salaries of local government officials. I had no negotiations with Mr. Terlecki" - said the leader of PO, Borys Budka, on Polsat News.

"As the honorary head of Civic Platform, Donald Tusk could have sent an SMS instead of a tweet, and it would have been rational. I try to act in that spirit. It's a matter of choosing how one operates. Former Chairman Schetyna preferred to go to the media. I believe that a much better format is a discussion within the appropriate body" – said the chairman of Civic Platform, Borys Budka, on Polsat News.