-- WE WANT TO BUILD A NEW ELITE - THE PRIME MINISTER ON THE POLAND GREAT PROJECT CONGRESS - he said in Sygnały Dnia: “The Congress is a very open initiative, capable of waging war with thought. I am paraphrasing Norwid now, who said that we Poles are too little capable of waging war with thought. We want to truly build a new elite, drawing from what was acceptable within the Third Republic, from positive development, and we want to rebuild Polish political and social thought in such a way as to best recognize future trends, future directions. After all, we are a small boat on the ocean of the world, and we cannot constantly sail against the wind. However, we want to cooperate, compete with others, but at the same time cooperate.”

https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/05/17

-- ANDRZEJ DUDA SUPPORTED AN IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN: The realities of presidential life are not just politics. Andrzej Duda supported the educational campaign "Czerniakowe Abecadło" and appeared in one of its spots. http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114883,23409025,andrzej-duda-na-chwile-zapomnial-o-polityce-zaangazowal-sie.html

-- JOANNA SCHMIDT TALKS ABOUT HER WORK BEFORE POLITICS, HER DAILY COMMUTES TO THE SEJM FROM POZNAŃ, HER THREE SISTERS, AND HER PROFESSION WITH NOWOCZESNA: “I was running on a treadmill and saw the presidential election results – that Duda won – and I fell off the treadmill. I told myself: oh no, they won't rule me.” https://opinie.wp.pl/joanna-schmidt-swiezo-po-opuszczeniu-nowoczesnej-w-kto-nami-rzadzi-6252711576184449v

-- THE FIRST FORMATION IN THREE DECADES TO REDIRECT FINANCIAL STREAMS FROM THE PRIVILEGED TO THE WEAKEST - Michał Karnowski: “One can certainly say many critical things about the current ruling team, as about any human collective. But one cannot silence with the loudest propaganda the fact that this is the first formation in three decades that has managed to redirect powerful financial streams from privileged groups to socially weaker groups. We have an additional 30 billion PLN in the budget annually, and this money was taken from someone, after all. Where does this money go? To 500+ and other social programs, introduced by the current team.

-- MORAWIECKI IS NOT AFRAID OF A CLASH WITH GROUPS THAT COUNTED ON PROTECTION - Karnowski continues: “It is a paradox that it was precisely a person so well acquainted with the world of finance who decided to introduce the so-called solidarity contribution, which at 4 percent will apply to those earning over PLN 1 million annually – and only on amounts exceeding this sum. It appears that Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is not afraid of a tough clash with those interest groups that, given their professional backgrounds, would expect some protection. This protection is absent.”

-- IS THERE ANYONE ELSE ON BOARD SOCIAL SENSITIVITY APART FROM PIS - KARNOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “No matter how you look at it, the only truly pro-social force, capable of imposing solidarity solutions, remains Jarosław Kaczyński's camp. The rest either pretend, or believe that if someone is weaker, it's their own fault. The solidarity contribution is a test of declared social sensitivity. Is there anyone else on this board besides PiS?” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/394562-danina-solidarnosciowa-to-test-deklarowanej-wrazliwosci-spolecznej-czy-jest-na-tym-pokladzie-ktos-poza-pis

-- PIS HAS BEEN HIT HARD AND CANNOT COPE WITH IT - Zuzanna Dąbrowska in RZ: “Important people will appear: clergy are already knocking on the door, and Janina Ochojska almost forced it open herself on Wednesday. T-shirts are probably already being printed. I am not mocking: I am describing the ruthless law of first blood, which operates in politics with the consequence of a guillotine. PiS has been hit hard and cannot cope with it. Caregivers, parents, and disabled people have already become a symbol; soon someone will give it a visual form. You cannot fence off all of Warsaw's city center. And even if you do – people will gather in Mokotów.” http://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/180519472-Rzad-stracil-instynkt-samozachowawczy.html&template=restricted

-- THE FORTRESS OF FEAR ON WIELKA STREET, KUCHCIŃSKI FEARS OCHOJSKA - GW front page. http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,23409485,kuchcinski-boi-sie-ochojskiej-nie-wpuscil-szefowej-polskiej.html -- SHOCK, THEY DIDN'T LET OCHOJSKA INTO THE SEJM - Fakt headline.

-- JANINA OCHOJSKA ON THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS - WHEN YOU HAVE TWO GLASSES OF WATER, YOU CANNOT PROMISE TO QUENCH THE THIRST OF THE WHOLE CITY - she says in an interview with Łukasz Pawłowski on KL: “It would be best if the possibility of full, free rehabilitation were created, in the amount that the patient needs. I need rehabilitation three times a week and I have to pay for it myself – PLN 390 per week. The National Health Fund (NFZ) will not provide this for me. Even if it were promised in the law, there are not enough rehabilitators and rehabilitation points for everyone who needs it. There are many good rehabilitation centers, but they are private, and the NFZ will not purchase their services. The promise of making rehabilitation accessible to all disabled people is therefore an empty promise. When you have two glasses of water, you cannot promise to quench the thirst of the whole city.”

-- OCHOJSKA ON THE BAN ON CAREGIVERS EARNING EXTRA INCOME: CONTRARY TO THE CONSTITUTION - she continues to Pawłowski on KL: “The protest certainly brought the issue to light, and thanks to that, it improved understanding for these parents and the needs of disabled people. The real stories conveyed by the media made an impression on people and made them learn more. It is ignorance that often causes people to say 'I have children too,' 'I need it too.' There is already the 500+ program, which functions without any restrictions – you can earn a lot, and if you have at least two children, you will still receive the money. So why, in the case of benefits for disabled people, is the possibility for their parents to work limited? This is unequal treatment, in my opinion, contrary to the Constitution.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2018/05/16/69726/

-- THE OPPOSITION'S COUNTER-OFFER OF A BETTER PLAN AND MORE INTERESTING IDEAS IS NOT VISIBLE - RENATA GROCHAL: “The weakness of the opposition also does not help, which – apart from marching – has no idea what comes after PiS. Marches are of course good because they serve to mobilize party structures and the core electorate, but the opposition will not win elections this way. And a counter-offer, which would show that PO, Nowoczesna, or the Left has a better plan for Poland and more interesting ideas for solving its problems, including social ones, is not visible yet. And without it, the opposition can only dream of taking power from PiS.” http://m.newsweek.pl/polska/polityka/jak-pis-nabija-polakow-w-butelke,artykuly,427281,1.html

-- PIOTR WÓJCIK, ON THE FACT THAT PIS IS CONDUCTING POLITICS FRIENDLY TO CORPORATIONS - he writes on gazeta.pl: “In Poland, the increased basic VAT rate of 23% is still in effect, introduced during the PO's term but currently maintained by PiS. This is one of the highest rates in Europe – for example, in Germany it is 19%, and in the Netherlands – 20%. If PiS wants to end Poland's peripheral status, at least in tax terms, it should, instead of expanding investment allowances, abolish Special Economic Zones and restore the earlier VAT rate. Meanwhile, the government is preparing to introduce another indirect tax – an emission fee, which will increase the price of fuel by 10 groszy per liter in total. Like any indirect tax, it will hit the less affluent part of society. It is the less affluent Poles who will feel the increase in fuel prices at the stations more acutely, as well as the increase in food prices caused by rising transport costs. Unfortunately, the recent tax actions of the authorities paint an unpleasant picture for Poles – concerns will receive CIT relief, and Poles will pay more for fuel and likely also for food. This has little to do with breaking away from the periphery.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,161770,23400477,wojcik-pis-robi-dobrze-zagranicznym-koncernom-kto-za-to-placi.html#Z_Prze

-- ALEKSANDER HALL SAYS HE WOULD NOT SHAKE JK'S HAND - in an interview with wiadomości.co: “I wouldn't say anything to him. He knows exactly what he is doing, it's not a mistake. I know I wouldn't convince him of anything. I wouldn't want to shake his hand.”

-- HALL RESPONDS TO THE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH PIS COULD LOSE POWER: “There would have to be a significant shift in public mood and perception of reality. It seems that the social promises, in part fulfilled thanks to a good economic climate, are leading to people having more money in their pockets and attributing this to Law and Justice's policies. Moreover, polls have shown that the government has managed to create the impression that it is protecting Poles from external threats, and especially from the mass influx of immigrants. This was never a real threat, but fear has big eyes. The policy of patriotic and dignity-based rhetoric also works, which is harmful from the perspective of the real interests of the Polish state and nation. It worsens our situation on the international stage, but it probably 'catches on' and is convincing. It provides satisfaction to at least some voters. These factors work in favor of PiS.” https://wiadomo.co/aleksander-hall-nie-podalbym-reki-kaczynskiemu/

-- THE DEPARTURE WAS A VERY GOOD DECISION - says Ryszard Petru in an interview with Michał Gostkiewicz on gazeta.pl: “I cut myself off from what was. Now I am dedicating all my energy solely to building a new project. The departure was a very good decision. That's just how life is. When the system I am in is destructive, I close that chapter and move on to something new. In business, there is the concept of 'stop loss,' meaning limiting losses to a predetermined level. In social or political life, this concept translates to an approach: okay, we put a lot of heart and work into something, we invested time and emotions, but the project didn't go as planned. But we can't dwell on losses indefinitely. If you make an investment, pour millions of zlotys more into it and there's no end in sight, it's better to stop that investment, close it, and do something new instead of pouring time, energy, and resources into something that isn't working. I made attempts to change the direction in which Nowoczesna began not so much to sail like a boat, but to drift like a raft. I didn't succeed – too many people on that raft were rowing in a way I didn't understand. So I'm cutting myself off to focus on the future.”

-- I PREFER TO PUSH ASAP - says Petru: “As soon as possible. As quickly as possible. I don't like it when something takes too long. I know that politics requires patience. But patience is not passivity. I prefer to push ASAP forward than to wait for who knows what. I don't like it when nothing is happening.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,164031,23410023,ryszard-petru-nowoczesna-to-zamkniety-rozdzial-wole-cisnac.html#Z_MT2

-- THE KILLER HAND OF THE KREMLIN IN SMOLENSK - GPC on the front page: “John Schindler, a former analyst for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), presented his conclusions on the industry portal Observer.com after reviewing the latest report of the Smolensk sub-commission chaired by Antoni Macierewicz. 'The thesis that there is a hidden, deadly hand of the Russians behind Smolensk is becoming convincing,' believes the American expert.”

-- GW ON THE REDEPLOYMENT OF POLICE OFFICERS TO GUARD GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS: “One has to wait an hour and a half for traffic police, the city is paying for additional patrols, and residents of two districts cannot get a response from the command centers. There are over 800 vacancies in the Warsaw police. Despite this, 60 officers have been assigned to guard government buildings.” http://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,23409492,brakuje-policjantow-w-drogowce-patroli-i-komend-a-funkcjonariusze.html

-- THE CHAIRMAN ONLY RECEIVES FRIENDS - Fakt on the visit of Ms. Bielecka, and Błaszczak and Brudziński: “Late Tuesday evening, two of his closest party collaborators visited Kaczyński – Interior Minister Joachim Brudziński (50) and Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak (49). It was about Brudziński that the chairman said that if something happened to him, for example, he broke his leg, he would replace him in everything. It is still unknown when Kaczyński will undergo surgery and what is the reason for the delay.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/prezes-jaroslaw-kaczynski-przyjmuje-w-szpitalu-przyjaciol/5h0c18w

BIRTHDAYS: Igor Sokołowski, Marta Poślad, Beata Małecka-Libera, Ben Stanley.