-- PETRU: HUNGARY'S RESULT SHOWS WHERE LACK OF OPPOSITION COOPERATION LEADS – 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/04/09/

-- DZIENNIK BAŁTYCKI FEATURES LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS' REWARDS ON ITS FRONT PAGE.

-- KACZYŃSKI BETS ON MORAWIECKI'S PRAGMATISM – 300POLITYKA ANALYSIS: “Whether it delights the more hardline right or not, the PiS leader has shown he believes more in the political significance and pragmatism of the EU mission and Morawiecki's economic plan than in the path of the most radical elements of his camp. Also telling were the leader's words after the presidential veto, when he stated surprisingly briefly and without emotion: ‘We have considered this matter closed for now.’ All indications point to Kaczyński viewing the cultivation of economic success and social peace (dampening discussions around more decisive pro-life postulates, a pause for the degradational law) as the political foundation for an electoral strategy based on greater moderation.”

-- THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE A CARTE BLANCHE ON LEGISLATIVE MATTERS – continued on 300: " Nor is it the case that the government has carte blanche on legislative matters. The party is strongly rebelling against visions of restricting car access to cities, and movements supporting various lobbies – from issues concerning financial institutions' privileges to animal welfare – are closely watched, even among coalition partners. These are matters that are also 'non-negotiable' for the PiS leader, both for family and social reasons. https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/04/08/kaczynski-przecina-sprawe-nagrod-i-szlifuje-kanty-bo-stawia-bardziej-na-pragmatyzm-morawieckiego-niz-droge-radykalow-analiza/

-- PiS ENTERS ELECTION MODE – DGP (Godusławski, Osiecki, Chądzyński): “Families with young children, pensioners, entrepreneurs – they will be the beneficiaries of the ideas to be presented at the United Right convention on Saturday. Concepts that are cheap and politically advantageous will win.”

-- NEW PiS PROJECTS COST APPROXIMATELY 1.5 BILLION PLN – DGP: “The review of proposals is ongoing, but no decisions have been made. The government's problem is a relatively narrow financial margin. – We are talking about an amount in the range of PLN 1–1.5 billion – a government official tells us.” http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/572254,pis-wybory-samorzadowe-obietnice.html

-- 33.5% DUDA, 33% TUSK, 11% BIEDROŃ, 6% KUKIZ, 3% KOSINIAK, 1.7% JKM, 1.3% ZANDBERG – presidential poll for RZ.

-- DUDA IS THE FAVORITE OF THE PiS ELECTORATE – writes Michał Szułdrzyński in RZ: “According to a poll conducted by IBRiS, half of PiS voters consider him the best candidate for the party. Although it is commonly believed that Beata Szydło is the favorite of the right-wing electorate, only... 11% of PiS voters are convinced that she should run for president.”

-- IT IS WORTH GETTING ALONG WITH DUDA – Szułdrzyński continues: “For PiS, there is one fundamental lesson here – attacking the president leads nowhere if Jarosław Kaczyński wants to win the elections in 2020. And even if it is difficult for PiS to accept the veto of the degradational law, political calculation should take precedence over emotions.” http://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/304089961-Szuldrzynski-Z-Duda-warto-zyc-dobrze.html

-- AN AGREEMENT IS CLOSE – DGP QUOTES AN ANONYMOUS EC OFFICIAL (Cedro, Osiecki): “Signals from Brussels suggest that the Commission is willing to withdraw the Article 7 procedure, but on condition that Poland makes further concessions. – The Commission would be ready to treat any gestures from the Polish side as positively as possible, but it will not be satisfied with what has been offered so far, as these are cosmetic, even superficial changes – says a source close to the EC.” http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/572254,pis-wybory-samorzadowe-obietnice.html

-- CURRENT CONCESSIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE – BARTOSZ T. WIELIŃSKI in GW: “Brussels is resigned to the fact that Poland will not fulfill all recommendations regarding the rule of law in the near future. However, the concessions offered before Easter are not enough to resolve the dispute.”

-- WIELIŃSKI ON THE DILEMMAS OF ANTAGONIZING NEW EU MEMBERS: “However, regarding Poland, the same dilemmas for the Union are present that helped Orbán a few years ago. This concerns regional solidarity with Warsaw (including in the Baltic states), which can reinforce historical divisions within the Union. And concerns that Brussels' principled stance will fuel Eurosceptics.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,23243058,timmermans-jutro-w-warszawie-szuka-kompromisu-z-pis-em-ale.html

-- ADAM LESZCZYŃSKI IN OKO NAWIAJA RAZEM TO FORM A COALITION WITH SLD: “Razem is consistently below the electoral threshold in polls. The SLD, written off by everyone, is resurrected and exceeds the 10% threshold. It's worth considering an alliance with the Alliance. Paris is worth a mass.”

-- THE SLD IS WHAT IT IS, BUT IT HAS VOTERS – Leszczyński continues: “The SLD is what it is, everyone sees that. However, it has voters that Razem does not. Razem, on the other hand, has many ideas and potential for the future. However, potential must be utilized: everyone knows people who show great promise – until retirement. For now, as I hear, Razem is submitting a proposal to lower MPs' salaries, hoping quietly that then people from the SLD won't want to run. Good luck.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/do-partii-razem-podajcie-lape-czarzastemu/

-- WŁODZIMIERZ CZARZASTY ON THE ABOLITION OF THE SENATE: “Now in the Senate, we mostly have loafers following the orders of the puppet master, Kaczyński. Instead of a chamber of reflection, we have a chamber of stupidity. Because what kind of chamber of reflection is it, when the senators' intellectual effort boils down to opening an envelope that the Marshal of the Senate receives from Kaczyński? Therefore, since we are talking about lowering MPs' salaries, we recall our old postulate – to abolish the Senate, which is no longer needed.” http://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/opinie/wlodzimierz-czarzasty-komentuje-sprawy-socjalne-nie-maja-barw_1048595.html

-- POST-SOLIDARITY POLITICIANS BROUGHT REVENGE BORN IN CONSPIRACY INTO POLITICS – Krzysztof Gawkowski in RZ: “Post-Solidarity politicians also brought the desire for revenge, nurtured during the conspiracy, into politics. The idea of laws drastically reducing pensions for security service officers is nothing but savage revenge of the victors. First, in 2009, by PO, and now, in the second step, continued by PiS. Vae victis! Meaning, can one do anything because they have power? And if so, why is the Platform surprised today when PiS breaks the rules and changes the Constitutional Tribunal as it pleases? It has power. Vae victis! The law of revenge, the law of power, which post-Solidarity brings into public life, allows for this.”

-- DOWN WITH SOLIDARITY GUYS – Gawkowski writes: “That 'down with communism' means nothing today, that freeing Poland, cleansing our public life, can only be achieved by the slogan 'down with Solidarity guys'! A confrontation with the dogmas they introduced. These dogmas, once golden (as SLD politicians treated them when they ruled), now look like moldy cardboard. The sooner we dismantle them, the better.” http://www.rp.pl/Publicystyka/304089966-Gawkowski-Pycha-postsolidarnosci.html

-- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI ON THE KLEPTOCRACY: “There were no protests in PiS. Not out of cowardice, but precisely because, according to the corrupt and kleptocratic nature of this government, its people – just like in Russia and Hungary – are meant to enrich themselves, to become the new elite, and to defend this power as the source of their own wealth. Contrary to what the leader suggests, the bonuses were not a mistake. They were a tool of a kleptocratic system.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23243492,w-aferze-z-nagrodami-ktore-przyznal-sobie-rzad-pis-tylko-jedno.html

-- UJAZDOWSKI STATES HE HAS DOUBTS ABOUT IN VITRO BUT WILL RESPECT THE CITY COUNCIL'S DECISION – as told to Jacek Nizinkiewicz in RZ: “I have ethical doubts about the in vitro method under current legal regulations, but I will not impose my stance and will respect the city council's decision. It should be made by that body after considering all arguments for and against in vitro.”

-- UJAZDOWSKI ON RESPECTING THE ABORTION COMPROMISE: “I am satisfied with the current legal regulations and the framework of the consensus that is in place. This law must be preserved because it restored the protection of life, abolishing abortion on demand. It is the fruit of many years of education that the fragile existence of the unborn is human life. It is worth remembering the stance of the Constitutional Tribunal, defined during the presidency of Prof. Andrzej Zoll. The ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal emphasizes that the protection of the right to life is the foundation of the rule of law in Poland. One cannot defend the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal and downplay its rulings.”

-- UJAZDOWSKI ON THE WROCŁAW MONUMENT, IN RESPONSE TO NIZINKIEWICZ's QUESTION: “Today in Wrocław, the memory of the presidential couple is respected. We all together, in a spirit of agreement, opened the Lech and Maria Kaczyński boulevard on the Oder. All individuals associated with Wrocław who died in the Smoleńsk plane crash are also honored in the city's public spaces – Ola Natalli-Świat, Jerzy Szmajdziński, Władek Stasiak, Janina Natusiewicz-Mirer. Almost every day, I stop before the plaque commemorating Minister Stasiak on the building of the Institute of History at Szewska Street. I admire Wrocław for its ability to show mutual respect, despite political disputes, and I will cultivate this trait.” http://www.rp.pl/Wybory-samorzadowe/180409531-Ujazdowski-PiS-buduje-wladze-monopolistyczna-i-wroga-samorzadom.html

-- CATACOMBS ARE VALUABLE TO THE RIGHT-WING – Jakub Majmurek in GW: “This martyrdom – being confined to the catacombs – deters moderate voters, but it is very convenient for some circles around PiS. The catacombs provide a sense of absolute righteousness and moral superiority, and an identity built on figures of persecution and martyrdom justifies the belief that after leaving the catacombs and winning the fight for power, no rules will apply – the 'Smoleńsk people' represent wronged virtue, which, fueled by just anger, takes righteous revenge on the evil world.”

-- MAJMUREK ON THE NEED FOR A SYMBOLIC GESTURE REGARDING SMOLENSK: “The dispute over Smoleńsk will not be resolved by the victory of one tribe – it requires a symbolic gesture that, on the one hand, will halt PiS's brazen appropriation of the memory of 2010, and on the other hand, will offer a way of remembering in which the right-wing electorate can also find itself.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23243097,smolenskie-katakumby-nie-zamilkna-sa-dla-prawicy-zbyt-cenne.html

-- RAFAŁ ZIEMKIEWICZ DOES NOT BELIEVE IN AN ASSASSINATION – as told to SE: “I find it unlikely. One only needs to follow how the situation unfolded hour by hour immediately after the crash. Witnesses' statements clearly indicate that the Russians themselves were deeply shocked by what happened. They didn't know what to do. However, they quickly realized what their interest was. And they began to pursue it. The Polish government did what it did. It's an irreversible loss, for which, as my grandmother used to say, Donald Tusk will not escape hell.” http://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/opinie/rafal-ziemkiewicz-teoria-zamachu-w-interesie-putina_1048594.html

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ON THE PROTECTION OF KACZYŃSKI AS AN ALLERGEN FOR HIS OPPONENTS: “although aggression and hatred are unfortunately common phenomena in today's Poland, at the same time, on their side, among people who think similarly to them, who share the same emotions, there is more real aggression and hatred – that is, aggression that crosses the boundaries of talking or writing on Facebook, which could, however, turn into physical action, in human terms – an assassination attempt. Because, in my opinion, there is clearly more of it. But even if there wasn't more, but 'only' as much as on the side of the Fourth Republic formations, even then such a conclusion would be unacceptable to the luminaries of 'anti-PiS'. Because they are, by definition, the better ones, the more civilized ones. The realization that someone might have real reasons to fear that a murderer might emerge from their camp would disturb their well-being to an unacceptable degree. And that is why the protection of the PiS leader causes them such an effect as an allergen in an allergic person.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/389380-alergicy-i-alergen-czyli-dlaczego-ochrona-kaczynskiego-tak-strasznie-kluje-w-oczy-formacje-iii-rp

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE DREAM OF "FINISHING" SMOLENSK: “My thesis is the opposite: the protection of the Law and Justice leader is absolutely minimal given the scale of the threat and should be treated even more seriously. Evil people are clearly counting on the fact that through pressure and vulgar attacks, they will achieve the 'completion' of Smoleńsk in some way. This dream, formulated so strongly in 2010, has not been abandoned. They cannot be allowed to do so. Although the fact that such a text must be written on the anniversary of a national tragedy in April, which, above all, was also the result of the hounding of the late president by other centers of power and media at the time, is a bitter reflection.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/389293-za-atakami-na-i-tak-minimalna-ochrone-lidera-pis-kryje-sie-marzenie-o-jakims-dokonczeniu-smolenska

-- GW ON THE MANAGEMENT OF KGHM – as written by Jacek Harłukowicz: “Rafał Pawełczak is also a close friend of the increasingly influential MP Mirosława Stachowiak-Różecka, who recently became the head of PiS structures in the Wrocław district and will be the party's candidate for mayor of Wrocław in the autumn. He has known her husband, Radosław Poraj-Różecki, the current acting CEO of KGHM, since they worked at KGHM under the previous PiS governments over a decade ago. – It was they who convinced Lipiński to bet on Pawełczak – we hear in the party.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,23241321,lipinski-rozdaje-karty-w-kghm-doprowadzil-do-odwolania-prezesa.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Adam Glapiński, Stanisław Żelichowski, Wojciech Reszczyński, Marcin Dzierżanowski.