-- CZARZASTY ON AN ALL-AGAINST-PiS COALITION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/05/22/

-- RAFAŁ KALUKIN ON HOLDING RALLIES MEANS NO DISCUSSION, AND WHY LIE ABOUT WANTING TO ASK QUESTIONS: “The thing is, the rally banners in the hands of KOD activists didn't make themselves on the spot, spontaneously out of outrage, but were prepared beforehand and then brought into the BHP hall for use. So it wasn't about Wałęsa's honor, nor even about the disabled protesters in the Sejm, but about any pretext to start a rally. Which isn't punishable in itself, but why then lie and say that 'we wanted to ask the Prime Minister a few questions but weren't allowed to'? The matter is quite obvious: the Gdańsk KOD went to the shipyard for a rally. And if you're holding a rally, you're not having a discussion. Period.”

-- INSTEAD OF BANNERS, DIFFICULT QUESTIONS ARE NEEDED - writes Kalukin: “Contrary to appearances, there is a space between the monologue our rulers favor, addressed to clapping citizens, and a riot. Namely, instead of banners, difficult questions are far more necessary. Questions that expose contradictions in official narratives, debunk propaganda falsehoods, and reveal the emptiness of official pronouncements. Forcing the rulers into constant explanations, rhetorical gymnastics, and acrobatics.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1749490,1,po-przerwanym-spotkaniu-morawieckiego-w-sali-bhp.read

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON WAŁĘSA IN THE SEJM:“The women were clearly disappointed. They sensed they were being used instrumentally, that they were merely a backdrop for another selfie of the Great Man, who didn't even bother to say anything meaningful to them. But it won't change much, because they themselves are already playing the same game. A game that detached Wałęsa from the workers' cause and led him to beat up 'Solidarity'.”

-- KARNOWSKI ON WAŁĘSA FROM ANOTHER WORLD: “He dropped into the Sejm, to the caregivers of disabled people, clearly in a rush, slightly out of breath, probably already running late. He didn't hide it much: he didn't want to stay overnight because he had a meeting in Puławy. But even if he didn't, he wouldn't have stayed overnight. He's not a politician, he doesn't have to pretend, and besides, he's from another world. This was evident from his face, familiar with the wide world, his somewhat safari-like attire, and the slight boredom reminiscent of a hotel lobby.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/395348-walesa-tak-naprawde-to-wspolczuje-tym-ludziom-z-iii-rp-ktorzy-musza-udawac-ze-sie-troszcza-on-sam-nawet-nie-udawal

-- GUS COUNTS WAGES AS IF WE HAD NO MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANIES - writes Grzegorz Sroczyński: “How serious this problem is, we can learn from Adriana Rozwadowska, who regularly describes this absurdity in 'Wyborcza'. In small companies, which employ several million Poles, the average wage is... 1860 PLN net (2577 PLN gross). That's half less than the optimistic average from larger companies! However, GUS only publishes these surprising figures once a year, and with a significant delay. In contrast, the optimistic average – currently 4973 PLN gross – is published by GUS every month. This is all the more strange because the structure of the Polish economy shows a vast predominance of small companies. We have proportionally fewer medium and large ones compared to the West. But GUS knows its own way – it calculates the average wage as if we had no small companies at all.”

-- GUS AS AN EFFICIENT MACHINE FOR PUTTING THE RULERS TO SLEEP, WHICH IS WHY THE PLATFORM DIDN'T NOTICE THE PLAGUE OF LOW WAGES - SROCZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “In this way, GUS has become an efficient machine for generating fog and putting the rulers to sleep, who can be proud of their achievements. I fear that it was precisely because of this 'GUS fog' that the Platform did not notice the plague of low wages in Poland, the army of security guards earning 4 PLN per hour, and cleaners in sole proprietorships. All this supposed populism of Poles regarding the earnings of MPs and ministers is a fairly rational reaction to stupid official optimism.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,161770,23426017,sroczynski-mgla-gusowska-polacy-sa-co-miesiac-oszukiwani.html

-- SUTRYK WILL FIGHT FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF WROCŁAW AGAINST PiS - headline in GW.

-- DUTKIEWICZ BELIEVES IN SUTRYK - as Malwina Gadawa writes: “Mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz has no doubt that the decision to run and support Jacek Sutryk is the right one. Dutkiewicz believes it is a winning project, as do SLD and Nowoczesna. Both parties have decided to support Jacek Sutryk. The local structures of Nowoczesna even withdrew their recommendation for their candidate – MP Michał Jaros. Today, a letter of intent regarding an electoral coalition was signed. As part of this coalition, SLD is to be guaranteed two 'top spots' on the electoral list for the city council, and Nowoczesna three.” http://www.gazetawroclawska.pl/wybory-2018/a/sutryk-znam-sie-na-tym-miescie-dlatego-wystartuje-w-wyborach-na-prezydenta-wroclawia,13193775/

-- GPC ON THE ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE IN JAMNO LAKE:“In Jamno Lake, the water level has dropped and its temperature is rising. The effect – fish are dying en masse. This is the result of an unnecessary investment – the construction of storm surge barriers, for which the tender was rigged as part of a land reclamation scandal. This is already the second ecological disaster resulting from the largest scandal in Western Pomerania. (...) The tender for its execution was won by a consortium. The owner of one of the companies was to hand over nearly 200,000 PLN in bribe to MP Stanisław Gawłowski in exchange for the promise of winning the tender.”

-- GPC ON THE SAME PEOPLE DISRUPTING MEETINGS: “A group of activists from the Committee for the Defence of Democracy disrupted a meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Gdańsk. Among the provocateurs was Radomir Szumełda from the Pomeranian KOD. This is not the first such action. It turns out that the same individuals try to stir up trouble during meetings of PiS politicians with voters all over Poland.”

-- GRZEGORZ SROCZYŃSKI ON THOSE WHO ANSWER “I DON'T HAVE AN OPINION” - WE SHOULD ROOT FOR OUR NATIONAL INDIFFERENCE: “We should be pleased that so many Poles answer 'I don't have an opinion' in various polls. It is thanks to this undecided and distant part of society (sometimes it's half, and sometimes even the majority) that life is still possible here at all. After all the terrible words that have been spoken recently in our politics – after 'treasons,' 'Targowicas,' 'Stalins,' and 'Hitlers' – we should root for our national indifference. If more of us had a more decisive opinion on various matters, we would already be in the middle of a civil war, and a real one at that, not just a metaphorical one.”

-- SROCZYŃSKI ADMITS THAT AFTER YEARS HE LOOKS AT THE "TYMIŃSKI EFFECT" DIFFERENTLY - A CLEAR SIGNAL TO ABANDON FERVENT NEOLIBERALISM: “After years, I look at that time differently, and I am inclined to consider voting for Tymiński as a sign of common sense from a part of Polish society, which did not necessarily want to elect this strange man as president (his Party X later had negligible support), but certainly wanted to give the political elite a clear signal: we've had enough of the shock therapy, ease up a bit, because we can't cope. And precisely, that's what happened, subsequent governments and prime ministers moved significantly away from the overly fervent neoliberal course. So, Tymiński's shock, per saldo, turned out to be good for Poland.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,161770,23433985,sroczynski-nie-wiem-nie-mam-zdania-dlaczego-w-sondazach.html#Z_mBoxNajcz

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF A REFERENDUM - writes in RZ: “But for that to happen, a referendum cannot be just a poorly understood initiative of the president. It would have to be an element of a kind of political compromise. Before its announcement, it should have been consulted not only with the ruling party but also with the opposition – because its effects could serve to resolve a serious political dispute. Unfortunately, this will not happen.” http://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/305219904-Szuldrzynski-Referendum-zmarnowanych-szans.html&template=restricted

-- DR RAFAŁ CHWEDORUK ON PiS'S PROBLEM WITH STADIUM HOOLIGANS: “- PiS will have a problem. Taking actions in the style of PO is not a good move because it will solve nothing. It's a fight against the effects, not the causes. Although, of course, following in PO's footsteps would be something expected by some of PiS's electorate.” http://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/opinie/prof-rafal-chwedoruk-komentuje-pis-nie-mia-wpywu-na-srodowiska-kibicowskie_1055198.html

-- BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, PENSIONERS WILL GET MORE - Fakt: “Payment of thirteen pensions or exemption of seniors from income tax – PiS has ideas on how to help pensioners. They would feel relief in their wallets as early as next year!” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/beda-trzynastki-dla-seniorow/hpgs3lh

-- GW ON THE HIGH INTEREST IN EXTRAORDINARY APPEALS: “Over 1,200 people are already seeking the annulment of final court judgments – even those from over a decade ago. This possibility was granted to them by the presidential reform of the Supreme Court.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,23433438,chca-zmieniac-wyroki-wnioski-o-skarge-nadzwyczajna-zlozylo.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Bogdan Święczkowski, Magdalena Wolinska-Riedi.