-- MARSHAL JÓZEF ZYCH TURNS 80 TODAY, PIOTR ZAREMBA TURNS 55!

-- WARCHOŁ ON CHANGES SUPPORTED BY THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, BŁASZCZAK ON THE AGREEMENT WITH THE AMERICANS, NITRAS ON SCHETYNA: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/03/23/

-- PRIME MINISTER TO ANNOUNCE SUCCESS IN CLIMATE POLICY - reports wPolityce: “According to information obtained by the wPolityce.pl portal, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will announce important agreements with European partners on climate policy on Friday. Everything indicates that climate policy requirements will not be increased.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/387204-nasz-news-w-piatek-premier-morawiecki-oglosi-wazny-sukces-wizyty-w-brukseli-wygrana-batalia-o-polityke-klimatyczna

-- TOMASZ SAKIEWICZ: THEY WILL NOT TAKE APRIL 10TH FROM US - writes in GPC: “We must not give in to this – it is important not to be fooled, to trust those who have been consistent on this matter for these eight years and have spoken the truth regardless of the cost. Certainly, this group includes President Jarosław Kaczyński, Antoni Macierewicz, as well as „Gazeta Polska” and the media of the Free Speech Zone. Everything else you may see or hear are tricks of people who either want to hide their responsibility for what they did after April 10, 2010, or have been activated at the last minute by foreign powers to hinder, as much as possible, what is already inevitable.”

-- SAKIEWICZ ON THOSE PRETENDING TO BE MODERATE RIGHT-WINGERS: “The fact that attempts are being made today to undermine all of this, to attack, whether from the radical opposition or from those who pretended to be moderate, civilized right-wingers after April 2010, is unfortunately a natural course of events.” http://gpcodziennie.pl/85071-niezabioranam10kwietnia.html

-- GPC POSITIVE ABOUT MASTALEREK'S IDEA - as Ryszard Kapuściński writes: “A wave of hate flooded the internet after the words of Marcin Mastalerek, former PiS spokesperson, who stated that on the 100th anniversary of independence, LOT Polish Airlines planes should be white and red. Laughter flooded the portals of the total opposition followers, and vulgar suggestions about what else could be painted in national colors are not suitable for quotation, but they show the level of discussion there. Although Adrian Kubicki, LOT's press spokesman, denied that the idea had begun to be implemented, he informed that the newly ordered Boeings, which will arrive in Poland in the summer, will have a special livery referencing the Polish national colors.” http://gpcodziennie.pl/85070-totalnychtodopierozaboli.html

-- THE GOVERNMENT TAKES A SMALL STEP BACK - Rzeczpospolita's front page.

-- GOVERNMENT'S TACTICAL RETREAT - Łukasz Woźnicki in Gazeta Wyborcza.

-- TOMASZ PIETRYGA IN RZ ON PiS'S PAPER CONCESSIONS: “As a result, PiS has its cake and wants to eat it too. By fulfilling some of the EC's demands, the ruling party has taken a step back and shown its ability to compromise and dialogue on the rule of law. PiS politicians also suggest further concessions, including on the rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal. And the very fact that the concessions do not change anything in the reform of the judiciary is Brussels' problem. The ball is now in its court.” http://www.rp.pl/Sedziowie-i-sady/303229900-Papierowe-ustepstwa-PiS---plany-dot-zlagodzenia-reformy-sadownictwa-komentuje-Tomasz-Pietryga.html&template=restricted

-- CONCESSIONS DO NOT VIOLATE THE ESSENCE OF THE REFORM - writes Jacek Karnowski: “The concessions are essentially cosmetic and symbolic. Most importantly: they do not violate the essence of the reform of the justice system: the judiciary will cease to be a sphere controlled solely by the judicial community. At the same time, a compromise with the Union will significantly strengthen the legitimacy of the changes, as well as institutions (including the Constitutional Tribunal) so strongly attacked by the opposition over the past two years.”

-- IF THIS IS THE PRICE, IT IS TRULY NOT HIGH - writes Karnowski: “Both sides are tired of the conflict, it clearly harms both sides. Poland is also favored by circumstances such as the relative weakening of Chancellor Merkel's position, the election results in Italy, or Russia's aggressive actions, prompting the West to ease internal tensions. But we have also helped ourselves by gathering a considerable group of countries (7 or 8) that could have blocked the EU procedure at the very first stage. In summary: if this is the price, it is truly not high.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/387222-jesli-to-jest-cena-za-porozumienie-z-komisja-europejska-w-sprawie-sadownictwa-to-naprawde-nie-jest-ona-wysoka

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI WRITES THAT BERLIN IS NOT COUNTERING EFFORTS TO BLOCK THE EC PROCEDURE: “Because it is obvious that if Warsaw succeeds in this operation, it means that Berlin is not countering it. Germany's influence in Central and Eastern Europe is so great that if Germany wanted to initiate proceedings to make Poland, governed by PiS, a pariah of the continent, it would effectively achieve it. For example, the Baltic states, threatened by a cooling of relations with Berlin, would certainly choose Germany over Warsaw, as much more important matters for the Balts simply depend on them.”

-- THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE PRESSURE ON POLAND, BUT THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL - concludes Skwieciński: “This does not mean that a honeymoon period is beginning in the relations between Warsaw, governed by PiS, and Berlin. However, it proves that for many reasons, relations with Poland are more important for German elites than the calls from the Polish liberal opposition, which is, after all, oriented towards Germany. And since hopes for a swift ousting of the current Polish authorities by the opposition have proven illusory, then charity begins at home… Moreover, since 2015, official Berlin has preferred not to be on the front lines of the European establishment's war with PiS, but is now clearly deepening this course. This is not the end of Western pressure on Poland, but for the first time ever, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/387216-niemcy-swiadomie-bierne-w-sprawie-artykulu-7-czyli-swiatelko-w-tunelu

-- THE SEJM IS ON IDLE - Wiktor Ferfecki in Rzeczpospolita on the thinning of Sejm sessions: “There were supposed to be four days, there are three. MPs convene exceptionally rarely, and the Marshal shortens sessions.” http://www.rp.pl/Polityka/303229866-Sejm-na-wolnych-obrotach-Poslowie-obraduja-rzadko.html

-- JAKUB MAJMUREK ON THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEFEAT UNDER THE PARTY'S BOOT - writes on wyborcza.pl: “After Beata Szydło – somewhat simple, convincing mainly the conservative working class, Mateusz Morawiecki, a technocrat who knows languages, took over the government. He was supposed to charm the Polish middle class, entrepreneurs, Poland's international partners, including the European Commission. It was supposed to be European, modern, centrist. It didn't work out. Everyone agrees – Morawiecki's government's first 100 days cannot be considered a success. The first months of 2018 have been an unprecedented image crisis for Poland, completely incomparable even to what happened before under PiS rule.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23177693,100-dni-rzadu-morawieckiego-kleska-premiera-pod-butem-partii.html

-- ROBERT BIEDROŃ ON MORAWIECKI'S FACES - writes in an article published by GW: “After a hundred days, Morawiecki, stripped of his demiurge guise, who was supposed to turn Poland into a second Switzerland, revealed himself as a sad demagogue obsessed with nationalist demons. Decommunization instead of innovation, arrogance instead of humility, historical policy instead of social dialogue – these are the faces of Mateusz Morawiecki.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23177733,robert-biedron-dla-wyborczej-teraz-rzad-stac-na-zamrozenie.html

-- ABORTION'S BURDEN FOR PiS - FAKT: “And the problem for PiS is growing. However, politicians of this party assure in conversations with FAKT that this time they have it under control. A citizen's bill, ready for adoption, is waiting in the Sejm for the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal. The Tribunal is to rule on whether the third exception in the family planning law, which allows for the termination of pregnancy due to a high probability of fetal genetic defects, is consistent with the constitution.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/aborcja-ciazy-pis/mpxgnmy

-- MONIKA OLEJNIK ON JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS ABORTION LAW - writes in GW: “Is it really not important to President Kaczyński what his brother said? Why erect a monument to him on Piłsudski Square if he is demolishing everything that was important to Lech Kaczyński?” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23177907,prezes-udaje-ze-nie-pamieta-co-o-prawach-kobiet-mowili-lech.html

-- FAKT ON THE FRONT PAGE ABOUT MAGDALENA OGÓREK: HOW CAN ONE LIE LIKE THAT? https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/ogorek-odleciala-znow-poprawia-przeszlosc/0djgn9j

-- BIRTHDAYS: Józef Zych, Piotr Zaremba, Ferdynand Rymarz, Hanna Zdanowska.