-- WHAT ULTIMATUM TRZASKOWSKI FACES: I give Trzaskowski 24 hours to ensure the city hall withdraws its complaints against decisions beneficial to the city https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/05/26/

-- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON A DEAD PROTEST - writes in RZ: “It is hard not to notice that this protest is dead. It is possible that by the time you read this, it will no longer exist. The question posed by Polster was linked to the reminder that one of the two fundamental demands – an increase in the disability pension – has already been met by the government. How many Poles delved into these demands, examined which was more important? The impression mattered. From this perspective, the government's tactic – to do something, then to wait it out, to tire people out with daily images – turned out to be tactically effective. It did not even require the increasingly political declarations of the protest leaders or the charade with the visit of Lech Wałęsa, who talks about himself and about the evil PiS.”

-- ZAREMBA ON THE MEDIA POWER OF PO, WHICH WAS INTIMIDATING TO PROTESTERS IN 2014: “Presumably, the sheer media power of PO intimidated the protesters. If satisfaction had been achieved then, would there be a point in 'resuming' the protest now? Yet, the word 'resuming' is not used in this context. It is difficult to avoid discussing the balance sheet of previous governments on this occasion.

-- THE CURRENT SIDE LACKED SOCIO-TECHNICAL ABILITY TO SHOW ORDINARY WARMTH - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “On the other hand, it is possible that the current government side lacked even the socio-technical ability to show ordinary, human warmth. A certain Member of Parliament, Tadeusz Cymański, who holds no state office, possesses such skills, but not necessarily the timid minister Rafalska, let alone Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydło, who is playing her own obscure games (why would she help this arrangement?), or the technocratic Prime Minister Morawiecki. A friend of mine summed it up briefly and cynically: if PiS people don't have money, they should find their own Kuroń, who would give them a pep talk and hug the rebels.”

-- WAS JANDA READY TO CRY WITH THE MOTHERS IN 2014? - ZAREMBA: “At the same time, this conflict caused a flood of 'Kali's logic.' Krystyna Janda announced that she was crying with the mothers trapped in the Sejm. Was she ready to cry like that in 2014? The internet is full of statements from figures like PO MP Henryka Krzywonos or Professor Ireneusz Krzemiński, who condemned the 2014 protest as unfortunate, and even morally ambiguous. It is worth quoting what the NaTemat portal wrote then, which is now at the forefront of the fight against the government on this issue as well. 'The parents of disabled children who organized an occupation protest in the Sejm certainly deserve empathy and respect. However, doubts arise about the method they used. Because now will every needy group be able to force the implementation of their, often legitimate, demands by blocking the Sejm corridors? Where is the line that will separate the truly desperate from those who want to improve their fate by using moral blackmail?' http://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1374132-Logika-Kalego-zamiast-empatii.html

-- FACT ABOUT THE TOTAL COMPROMISE OF PO: “A PO MP first signs a pact for the disabled. A moment later, the party announces that he did it privately. Total compromise.”

-- FACT THAT THE SITUATION OF THE DISABLED HAS NOT WORSENED OVERNIGHT:“Because the situation of disabled people has not worsened overnight. When there were protests on this issue during the PO-PSL era, the then-rulers had no ideas for solving the problem nor the will; no 'solidarity pact' was created.

-- PRZEMYSŁAW WILCZYŃSKI ON CHURCH MEDIATION: “There is essentially no time left (the protest is currently in its 38th day; disabled people and their caregivers have been cut off from the media), and the questions for the church representatives – perhaps the only body that would be acceptable to both sides in mediation – can no longer be dismissed with ritualistic speeches about merits in helping the excluded ('The Church runs 500 centers and charitable works for disabled people' – repeated the KEP spokesperson). Either talks and a compromise will soon take place in the Sejm, or a drama may occur.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/mediacje-albo-dramat-153212

-- KUCHCIŃSKI, WHO HOLDS THE SEJM BY THE THROAT - AT THE PRESIDENT'S BECK AND CALL - Agata Kondzińska, Iwona Szpala in GW: “– If Kaczyński told the Marshal to jump into the Grand Canyon, he would only ask one question: ‘Now?’ – a PiS politician characterizes Kuchciński.”

-- KUCHCIŃSKI IN HIS OWN WORLD - continues GW: “Those who know him say he is a 'mega-driven and mega-positive person.' – Kuchciński lives in his own world, thinking about several things at once. If you make an appointment with him not through his secretariat, he will likely forget and not come – says someone who worked with the Marshal.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23453165,marek-kuchcinski-marszalek-co-trzyma-sejm-za-twarz-polityk.html

-- THE MARSHAL'S ARMED WING - Wojciech Czuchnowski on the Marshal's Guard and Kuchciński's advisor: “Marek Czeszkiewicz, the Marshal's mysterious advisor, took the most active part in the work on the act. He praised the 'substantive solutions,' proposing dozens of amendments as the only one. He knew the act inside out. (...) According to Czeszkiewicz, Międlar only 'referred to historical and biblical content' and 'provided examples of bad behavior by the Jewish population from the time of Egyptian bondage.' Międlar commented on this decision on Twitter: 'Białystok proceedings have been dismissed! Zero tolerance for Jewish cowardice. Salute!' http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23453515,straz-marszalkowska-ma-kamery-bron-palna-paralizatory-palki.html

-- RADOSŁAW SIKORSKI ON WHAT RIGHT-WING POLITICS IS TODAY - tells GW: “We feel that our views have not changed much. It is Polish politics that has shifted to the right. When being right-wing meant that we wanted Poland to join NATO and the European Union. As a member of the Olszewski government, I said that Poland should join the Alliance, and Soviet troops should withdraw. In the center and on the left, this was considered excessive temperament and extreme, noble but unrealistic dreams, and Anne and I simply considered ourselves supporters of Poland joining normality, i.e., the West. The fact that the Polish right wing today defines itself in opposition to the European Union, to certain civil liberties, or to the rule of law and the separation of powers, is the problem of this right wing, not our evolution.”

-- SIKORSKI ON THE RIGHT WING THAT HAS GONE MAD: “The Polish and American right-wing went mad around the same time. After all, Trumpian right-wing has little in common with what Ronald Reagan or the Bushes believed in.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23450509,anne-applebaum-dla-swiata-amerykanka-w-polsce-zydowka-tylko.html

-- ROBERT GÓRSKI AND MARIUSZ CIEŚLIK JOKE ABOUT TRZASKOWSKI'S BENCH - in RZ: “Rafał Trzaskowski probably never had a beer on a bench at Ławka and never watched 'Ranczo.' The candidate for Mayor of Warsaw ordered a bench and decided to move around the city with it. It might even happen that someone sits next to him, and like Forrest Gump, he tells them his story. Life is like a box of chocolates. One president has a bench, and another has a tenement house.”

-- JOANNA MUCHA ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN BIEDROŃ LOSES MEDIA PROTECTION - BEYOND HIS IMAGE, HE HAS LITTLE TO OFFER - tells Arleta Zalewska: “I like Robert very much. But I don't believe he is capable of building a real leftist force. I think that if he finally decides to go for the highest stakes and when he loses the protection of some media – because many people will then try to prove that he is not so great after all – it will turn out that beyond a nice image, he has little to offer.”

-- MUCHA ON THE AWARENESS THAT OPPOSING 500+ UNDERMINED THE OPPOSITION'S CREDIBILITY: “Yes, I won't hide that I also have some complaints against economists, because they instilled in us the conviction that it is unmanageable for the budget. Now they reply that no one predicted such good economic indicators. I am aware that this undermines our credibility.”

-- MUCHA, WHEN ASKED HOW TRZASKOWSKI SHOULD EXPLAIN THE REPRIVERTYZATION SCANDAL:“The reprivatization scandal is PiS's scandal.”

-- MUCHA ON THE OPPOSITION'S PROBLEM:“Do you know what we need to break away from? From the image of Civic Platform, which doesn't care about the ordinary person. But it's more about a clear change in rhetoric – from 'we are protecting the budget because there is a crisis' to 'Poles must feel that we are doing something for them.' (...) Is this considered a challenge for the next civilizational leap? For a decade, two? Not entirely. And this is the problem of the opposition that we are constantly discussing.” https://www.tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/mucha-niektorzy-koledzy-wykorzystywali-kazda-mozliwosc-zeby-mnie-oslabic,155,2712

-- SILENCE HAS FALLEN ON THE BRUSSELS LINE - Wojciech Szymański: “The European Commission is waiting for Warsaw's move in the rule of law dispute. For now, however, silence has fallen on the lines. More progress is needed before we can say there is no systemic threat to the rule of law in Poland – he said. Timmermans expressed hope that further talks on this matter would begin soon. However, he stipulated that the dialogue between Poland and the European Commission cannot be dragged out indefinitely and at some point, conclusions must be reached.” http://amp.dw.com/pl/timmermans-liczymy-na-kolejne-rozmowy-z-polskim-rządem/a-43921339?__twitter_impression=true

-- A NEW ORDER WILL BE ESTABLISHED, WHICH WILL NOT BE A SIMPLE RETURN TO WHAT WAS - DARIUSZ GAWIN in conversation with Michał Płociński in RZ: “And should a political community have legal and political instruments to protect its own cohesion and identity. The refugee crisis has initiated a phase of political turmoil that will likely last quite a long time, because for now, those who attack the status quo cannot offer anything lasting in return. But sooner or later, a new order will be established, which will not be a simple return to the previous period.” http://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/305249941-Dariusz-Gawin-samorealizacja-i-indywidualizm-zyskaly-komercyjne-opakowanie.html&template=restricted

-- BIRTHDAYS: Łukasz Schreiber, Katarzyna Zachariasz, Andrzej Milczanowski, Teresa Liszcz, Julia Pitera, SUNDAY: Stanisław Ożóg, Piotr Nowina-Konopka, Halina Nowina Konopka, Bartłomiej Szrajber, Krzysztof Matyjaszczyk, Andrzej Zoll.