-- WOJCIECH MUCHA ON HOW LOBBIES OF FUR FARMS ARE SECURING FAVOR WITH PiS - writes in GPC: “It may turn out that millions of animals killed for fur or treated as objects will lose to the vociferous fur lobby. The lobby is delighted because, to achieve its goals, it no longer needs to pay tens of thousands of zlotys to Civic Platform and appear at election conventions in the company of Donald Tusk and Grzegorz Schetyna (as it used to). Today, it’s enough to smile at the media close to the government, rally the radicals, and wave a flag, singing loudly about patriotism. This is enough for those in PiS, to quote Gałczyński, to get ‘cold feet.’ Such moral blackmail is both cheaper and more effective. And it will be repeated on any occasion. Because it works.” http://gpcodziennie.pl/83830-szantazysciwfutrachpiejaopatriotyzmie.html

-- WE CANNOT TURN A BLIND EYE TO ANTI-SEMITIC EXCESSES - SAYS JAROSŁAW GOWIN in an interview with Gość Niedzielny: “While steadfastly defending Poland's good name, we cannot, however, turn a blind eye to anti-Semitic excesses that have emerged during this dispute. With equal determination, we should oppose anti-Polonism, which exists in various countries in Europe and around the world, including within Jewish communities, just as we should eradicate all seeds of anti-Semitism within ourselves.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/385301-wicepremier-gowin-broniac-dobrego-imienia-polski-nie-mozemy-przymykac-oczu-na-ekscesy-antysemickie-ktore-przy-okazji-tego-sporu-doszly-do-glosu

-- DO WE REALLY WANT TO DECREE THAT MOCZAR AND GOMUŁKA EXPRESSED THE WILL OF THE NATION? - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN DGP: “Even if we assume that significant groups of Poles supported the March propaganda, then at least equally large groups accepted the logic of Jaruzelski’s rule of might. Does this mean that the Polish authorities should apologize for martial law on behalf of Poles? And whom? These same Poles? Incidentally, the resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Poland included words of apology for the communists, since they were Poles. But that is not enough for ‘Wyborcza.’ It demands that the Gomułka-era PRL be recognized as a normal Polish state acting according to the will of its citizens. But that would mean that it was Gomułka and Moczara who expressed the alleged will of the nation, not the March demonstrators. Do we really want to decree this?”

-- THEY HEAR THEY ARE MOCZAR'S HEIRS - ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN DGP: “It is understandable that the leading politicians of the ruling camp are not eager for joint commemorations, since they might hear one thing from the leaders of the March movement: that they are the heirs of Moczara. Michnik and Lityński managed to announce this on the first day of the session at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Polin. By framing March within the current conflict with Israel and the war with PiS, a sentence has been passed on this tradition. It no longer has a chance to become a national tradition. It is strange that Michnik’s circle, once known for its pragmatism, does not notice this.”

-- ZAREMBA PRAISES DUDA’S SPEECH: “Nationalists are openly engaging in this revenge for years of the March myth’s dominance. PiS members are silent; it’s hard for Jarosław Kaczyński to believe in the dark legend of the March movement, who on the first anniversary of the rally at the University of Warsaw, March 8, 1969, went out with his brother into the courtyard in front of BUW to wait if something would start again. But offended by the use of March in the current conflict against him, and not interested in going against radical supporters, he will not say how he sees this tradition today. President Duda, however, delivered a beautiful speech, unfortunately drowned out by the adherents of the opposition.” http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/570367,co-dalej-z-marcowa-tradycja.html

-- ADAM SZOSTKIEWICZ PRAISES THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS: “This time, President Duda pulled it off. He gave a good speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of March '68. Some might say that the president apologized for March, but not for violating the constitution or signing the amendment to the IPN law. That is an unfortunate truth, but the gesture is worth noting. After all, a wave of anti-Semitic hate speech has been unleashed, and attempts are being made to diminish the significance of March with false conspiracy theories about the origins of this fifty-year-old freedom protest.” https://szostkiewicz.blog.polityka.pl/2018/03/09/prezydent-prosi-o-wybaczenie-ofiary-marca68/

-- GPC: THE PRESIDENT IS MORE EMPATHETIC THAN PiS: “The words of President Andrzej Duda on the anniversary of March '68 caused considerable stir both abroad and at home. Most foreign media praised the head of state's stance. Public opinion in Poland is more divided. Post-communists, who understood the president's words as an accusation against the nation, are rubbing their hands with glee.” http://gpcodziennie.pl/83821-prezydentbardziejempatycznynizpis.html -- DUDA'S LOCAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN - Bartłomiej Kuraś in GW: ”President Andrzej Duda is touring Poland. Officially – to commemorate the 100th anniversary of regaining independence. But at rallies, opponents of PiS are being attacked in the upcoming local elections.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,23123794,prezydent-andrzej-duda-ruszyl-w-polske-z-kampania-samorzadowa.html

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON THE UNINTELLIGIBLE WAR WITH THE WEST AND RISKY DISPUTES - CONSIDERING THE INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS RUSSIA - writes in RZ: “The question is whether this is the right moment for Poland to start an incomprehensible war with the West and Israel over the past. And it's not about whether we are right or wrong in the fight against the phrase 'Polish death camps,' because of course we are right. The crux of the matter is that we have so far failed to explain our position to anyone, and in the process, we are jeopardizing our geopolitical position. Meanwhile, we are putting our most important allies in an increasingly difficult situation. In the current international situation, the main guarantor of our security is the United States. The next is the European Union. The problem is that we are getting entangled in quite risky disputes with them.” http://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/303089956-Szuldrzynski-Nowa-zimna-wojna-miedzy-Brytania-a-Rosja.html&template=restricted

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE BACKGROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRUSSELS: “But, I repeat: for the first time in many months, an agreement seems real. The negotiations between Warsaw and Brussels concern, to my knowledge, very detailed matters, specifics. At times, they even resemble political negotiations where some issues are conceded in exchange for others. And this, in turn, means that we are slowly moving out of the phase of ideological conflict. And this is a very good prognosis for the future.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/385264-porozumienie-warszawy-z-bruksela-w-sprawie-reformy-sadownictwa-jest-chyba-blizej-niz-sadzimy-rozmowy-dotycza-konkretow

-- THE WINNER OF THE NEXT ELECTION WILL GET MUCH MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE - RAFAŁ MATYJA in conversation with Onet: “When we add to this the processes that have occurred in the last three years, namely the enormous distrust towards local government, towards the civil service corps – the consequences will be longer-lasting than the current majority’s rule. One only needs to ask what the party that takes power after PiS will do. Will it replace all civil servants again? PiS has significantly raised the stakes for the winner. The winner of the next election will get much more than the previous one.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/rafal-matyja-gra-emocjami-przeciw-faktom-to-wpychanie-kraju-w-klincz-wywiad/r2fppg7

-- "STANDING UP FROM OUR KNEES" IS NOT A STRATEGY - Nowa Konfederacja publishes an excerpt from Rafał Matyja’s book: “Similarly, identity politics is not about the real strength of a state and the actual prestige of a nation, but about the feeling of strength and importance. Therefore, arguments that 'standing up from our knees' is not a strategy of international politics are like throwing peas at a wall. This is not about real position or Polish soft power, but about a new way of legitimizing power. I believe that even the authors of this slogan understand that it is an unwise premise for diplomacy, although they willingly apply it to public opinion with cynicism as a stronger identity than the previous one.”

-- MATYJA ON A DECADE OF REFORMS FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF SLIGHT STABILIZATION UNDER TUSK AND SKEPTICISM ABOUT WHETHER GENERATIONAL CHANGE ALONE WOULD IMPROVE POLITICS: “Since there is no return to the decade of reforms that was the 1990s, nor to the slight stabilization that Poles desired during Tusk’s government, where are we heading? Can a generation – whose nature is a fondness for gestures and futile disputes, a principled stance and a slightly hysterical tone of warnings about what their colleagues from the opposition period are capable of – still point to any interesting solutions? I doubt it. And not only because it will likely turn out to be unimaginative, intellectually weak. I rather think that due to its turbulent history, it has been afflicted by a collective burnout syndrome. It too often takes the easy way out. It too easily engages in politics dictated by emotions and the pursuit of self-interest. Successors do not have to be better. I often hear from people a few or a dozen years older than me warnings against excessive optimism regarding generational change. I hear about the 'bad material' from which the young generation is 'made'.” https://nowakonfederacja.pl/polityka-tozsamosci/

-- MACIEREWICZ MADE A COMEDY OUT OF THE SŁOMIŃSKI COMMISSION - title in Fakt.

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ARGUES AGAINST PENALTIES FOR FAKE NEWS: “Because every authority (even a just one) corrupts. And all those in power (even those who, in our opinion, pursue just policies) have a psychological tendency to increase it. And in my pessimistic opinion, not feeling threatened by the hypothetical loss of power, they would have not less, but precisely more inclination to abuse it.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/385160-karanie-za-fakenewsy-pomysl-niebezpieczny-w-samej-swej-istocie

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ON THE US DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE WITH WHOM POLISH OFFICIALS HELD TALKS: “And here arises the question – to what extent did those who decide on Polish foreign policy, and those who decided to adopt the amendment to the IPN law in its current form, realize both the religious-ideological circumstances of the most important American official dealing with Poland, and more broadly: the strength of the pro-Israeli wing of the American Protestant conservative elite, which interprets Christianity so peculiarly?” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/385069-dla-takich-izrael-lezy-w-sacrum-czyli-kto-podejmuje-dotyczace-polski-decyzje

-- THIS BAN WILL NOT LAST - Piotr Miączyński in GW: “This ban will not last, because the climate is simply not right. The vision of cities teeming with people on Sundays, with families spending time in parks and restaurants, is beautiful but unrealistic, because for some reason we prefer shopping malls, where it doesn't rain on our heads and it's not -15 degrees Celsius, but it's also warm, bright, and noisy.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155290,23124601,msza-swieta-spacer-rodzinny-obiad-i-zakupy-dlaczego-zakaz.html

-- PIOTR DUDA ADVISES PO POLITICIANS TO REPLACE MARKET CASHIERS - interview for wPolityce: “Instead of organizing press conferences, let PO politicians sit at market checkouts on Sundays as volunteers. If Platform politicians decide to sit at checkouts, they will show that they care about society and citizens. They will certainly be welcomed. Let them replace cashiers and market employees. The slogan for PO should be: the entire Platform, the entire PO political committee at the checkouts on Sunday.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/385303-nasz-wywiad-piotr-duda-zamiast-organizowac-konferencje-niech-politycy-po-siadaja-w-niedziele-na-kasy-w-marketach-jako-wolontariusze

-- JAROSŁAW KURSKI ON THE MUZZLING OF JOURNALISTS - writes in GW: “Give it up. You will not muzzle free media. 'Gazeta Wyborcza' stands in solidarity with the Onet.pl portal and its journalists. We do this in the belief that defending citizens’ constitutional right to information free from censorship is the paramount value of all independent media in Poland.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23123954,dajcie-sobie-spokoj-nie-zakneblujecie-wolnych-mediow-wyborcza.html

-- TARCZYŃSKI IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE LACK OF EDUCATIONAL WORK IN THE PiS CLUB - WROTE PIOTR SEMKA: “Tarczyński is a classic example of the effects of a lack of any educational work in the PiS club. Someone should have noticed in time that the agile MP, who knows English quite well, has increasingly arrogant statements and should have had his wings clipped. Now DT is a salvation for Onet.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/385309-semka-punktuje-tarczynskiego-to-przyklad-braku-pracy-wychowawczej-w-pis-posel-odpowiada-tak-to-prawda-nie-jestem-idealny

-- MATEUSZ KIJOWSKI TELLS AGNIESZKA KUBLIK WHAT HIS WORK FOR KOD INVOLVED: “Everything that was needed. I set up accounts, databases, installed systems, fought trolls, secured, organized, instructed, etc., etc. I answered phones 24 hours a day. Lech Wałęsa wrote on Facebook in January 2017 that he knew exactly how it looked at the beginning – chaos, mess, improvisation. He said that when they started operating normally, he told his people: 'And now please organize and fix all of this.'”

-- KIJOWSKI ACCUSES THE SERVICES OF INFILTRATING KOD: “For only one thing – for not providing a sufficient level of security for the organization and movement that I created. I did not provide security against the influence of special services and people who were deliberately sent in. I have no doubt that such people existed. As early as mid-2016, I had signals from several sources – from people who either worked in the services themselves or were close to the services – that Mariusz Kamiński’s special services were heavily focused on surveilling KOD. Now I have no doubt about it. And perhaps if we had acted differently from the beginning, tried to defend ourselves, there would have been fewer problems. But we certainly would have done less.”

-- KIJOWSKI ACCUSES THE SERVICES OF SPYING ON KOD: “And the services definitely helped. In the KOD office, there was one person who had two phones – and regularly, when someone met, he would leave the room, but leave his phone behind. And when someone went out after him to return his phone, he would return a moment later, leave it on the desk again, seemingly by accident, and leave again. At the time, it seemed strange to us, but we didn't suspect that he was simply recording us.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23123499,mateusz-kijowski-nie-zamierzam-sie-ukrywac-dzialalem.html

-- NEWSWEEK ANALYSIS - WHERE DOES LITHUANIA'S SUDDEN AFFECTION FOR POLAND COME FROM?: “Where does this sudden wave of Lithuanian sympathy towards Poland come from? These actions can be viewed in various ways. Both President Grybauskaitė and the ruling Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (as well as some opposition conservatives), although far from being Eurosceptic, do not share the concept of deepening the federalization of the European Union. It seems that they are closer to a model where member states retain full sovereignty, even in matters such as shaping their judicial systems. In this perspective, the application of sanctions is simply an attack by EU bureaucrats on the sovereignty of a member state.” http://newsweek.pl/opinie/litwa-zablokuje-unijne-sankcje-na-polske-,artykuly,424471,1.html

-- KURSKI STAYS BECAUSE THERE ARE NO VOLUNTEERS - FAKT: “He will be elected for another term, which could only be interrupted by PiS losing power. Why? – There were no volunteers – admits our source from PiS. Another claims that even the head of the National Media Council, Krzysztof Czabański, the biggest opponent of Kurski in the party, received an offer to head TVP. But he too was not interested in the position. How is this possible? After all, it’s such a lucrative job! – Kurski has survived for so long because President Kaczyński likes and supports him. Anyone else would have been fired long ago – admits our source from PiS. Kurski did not respond to our question about whether he intends to run for the position of TVP president for another term.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/jacek-kurski-niezagrozony-na-stanowisku-szefa-tvp/47n6w27

-- STANISŁAW KOZIEJ BEHIND THE MONUMENT ON KP - says in an interview with Eliza Olczyk in RZ: “In my opinion, that monument should have been erected there. Mainly because Poles spontaneously gathered at that place after the catastrophe. But this atmosphere of personal accusations, the pressure of hatred, meant that a decision on this matter was not made. That’s how I explain it. If there were no monthly PiS marches with stoked emotions, public shouting of ever new fabricated accusations, it would have been easier to decide to erect the monument. I think that if PiS, by deceitfully taking over Piłsudski Square, now erects a monument there to the victims of the catastrophe, it will become a symbol of national differences, not shared memory. Unfortunately.” http://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/303089940-Koziej-Poradzilem-sobie-z-szogunem.html&cid=44&template=restricted

-- RYSZARD BUGAJ ON REPRIVATIZATION - writes in GW: “However, reprivatization can no longer be avoided today. It must either proceed according to new legal regulations or... in the current pathological formula. There is a problem (difficult to solve even in a hypothetical new law) of equality of citizens before the law (after all, some have already received satisfaction) and the problem of guaranteeing property stability. If PiS does not decide to enact new regulations, it will violate the fundamental interests of the economy and citizens.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23124029,reprywatyzacja-kolejne-rzady-zostawialy-rozwiazanie.html

-- THE PRIME MINISTER DID NOT REGAIN INFLUENCE IN PZU - Anna Popiołek in GW: “However, after today’s General Shareholders Meeting, it turned out that their hopes were futile, and the changes in the authorities were cosmetic. The composition of the supervisory board was expanded by one person at the request of the State Treasury. And Robert Jastrzębski was chosen for this position.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,23122696,nowy-czlowiek-pis-w-radzie-nadzorczej-pzu-morawiecki-nie-odzyskal.html

-- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON ONE-SIDEDNESS IN THEATER - writes in RZ: “Except that this constant narrative of our flaws does not encounter any counter-offer, any second lung. This is repeated, whether Maja Kleczewska, Tadeusz Słobodzianek, Michał Zadara, or Monika Strzępka and Paweł Demirski are dealing with the topic. The latter sometimes still have more to say about our collective. The rest mainly hate, sometimes even with talent. And all polemics, even pointing out one-sidedness, are treated as nationalism and a harbinger of censorship.”

-- ZAREMBA ON THE THEATER'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS AN UNWANTED POLITICAL CAMP: “It is devoured by another plague of our times: the need for simple allusion, a gag. But since even the great Krystian Lupa descends to anti-PiS sketches in Kafka's 'The Trial'... Tyszkiewicz changes the ending of 'Trans-Atlantyk.' Instead of ironic ambiguity – a dance of characters in ONR uniforms and a PiS, sorry – a sanationally cacique to the tune of folk songs. Incidentally, this manifesto against 'homeliness' becomes an act of defiance not only for the disliked political camp but for the 'not one of us' half of Poland. Unfortunately, its vision of an alternative Polishness remains unknown. Gombrowicz did not have to search for it. But are contemporary elites exempt from it? And please do not make me an enemy of reckoning, of scratching old wounds; Słowacki, Wyspiański, Różewicz, and Mrożek did that. Only there is very little flesh left under the fingernails.” http://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/303089943-Zaremba-Polski-teatr-ma-problem-z-polskoscia.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Maksymilian Rigamonti, Anna Karaszewska, Artur Dunin, Joanna Osińska, SUNDAY: Dominika Blachnicka-Ciacek, Borys Budka, Ewelina Owczarska, Anika Słowińska, Grzegorz Cessak.