-- MONDAY'S POLITICAL AGENDA: Parliamentary committee on abortion restrictions, President Duda appoints Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Jaki in Ursynów https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/07/02/

-- POLES AGAINST INTERNET CENSORSHIP - headline in GPC.

-- COPYRIGHT DIRECTIVE IS A CHARGE WITH THE FORCE OF TWO POLITICAL ATOMIC BOMBS - WPOLITYCE: “Meanwhile, the matter is doubly dangerous. It can be said without exaggeration that it contains the charge of two potential political atomic bombs. In short, it is a battle over whether the current freedom of referring to other content (including links) will be preserved, or whether it will be subject to restrictions. Will search engines, aggregators, social media be able, for example, to freely show any results, or only those for which they have agreements with the creators? Search results will no longer depend on the substantive value of the text, but on whether the publisher has ‘reached an agreement with the search engine’.”

-- POLAND'S POSITION ON THE LINK TAX IS A CAPITULATION - writes wPolityce: “Across Europe, we see a powerful offensive by media corporations, especially German ones, strenuously seeking government support for the proposed directive. In Poland, this aggressive lobbying has also brought great success. Poland's initially decidedly negative stance has been watered down in recent months within the Ministry of Culture (the Ministry of Digital Affairs probably sees it differently) in favor of a supposed compromise with German entities. In reality, it is a capitulation.”

-- SMALLER PUBLISHERS WILL BE WEAKENED - wPolityce further on the directive: “Smaller publishers (including the entire segment independent of the Third Polish Republic system) will be significantly and drastically weakened. This happened in Spain, where local law adopted similar solutions. Large corporations, thanks to economies of scale, were able to negotiate better terms with content aggregators and search engines, so their texts were returned first in search results.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/401893-ta-sprawa-to-podwojna-polityczna-bomba-atomowa

-- IN AN OCHOTA POLL, JAKI HAS 30%, TRZASKOWSKI 19: “The results may be surprising, but if one considers that as many as one in three respondents does not yet have their candidate, it can be assumed that anything is possible in these elections. Men are more likely to vote for Patryk Jaki. The candidate achieves an excellent result in the 55-64 age group (47%) and among the youngest voters 18-24 years old (36%). Rafał Trzaskowski enjoys greater support among women. He records the highest support among respondents aged 35-44 (27%).” https://iochota.pl/mobile/actions/news/472255

-- WPROST POLL: IN THE FUTURE, THE LEADERS WILL BE: JAKI, BIEDROŃ, AND WASSERMANN: “Wprost investigated who might bring about a generational change in the future. Jaki and Biedroń received the same number of mentions, with Małgorzata Wassermann slightly behind them. Rafał Trzaskowski and Barbara Nowacka have more than twice lower ratings.” https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/07/01/wprost-z-sondazu-wynika-ze-polacy-chca-zeby-w-przyszlosci-rzadzili-jaki-biedron-i-wassermann/

-- IN AN INTERVIEW WITH WP, JAKI SAYS NO COMMISSION HAS ACHIEVED AS MUCH AS THE VERIFICATION COMMISSION: “According to Patryk Jaki, investigative commissions in Poland are ‘weak,’ and the verification commission has proven that it doesn't have to be that way. – A year of work has been incredibly fruitful. Many witness testimonies have become elements of arrest warrants, and criminals have ended up in prison thanks to these testimonies. The commission was abundant in breakthrough testimonies. One witness admitted to being a ‘straw man.’ I'm sorry, but which other commission managed to get such a statement from an interviewee? – notes the candidate for the Mayor of Warsaw.”

-- JAKI EMPHASIZES THAT THE COMMISSION WORKS WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL SIDES OF THE POLITICAL DISPUTE - WP further: “The candidate for the Mayor of Warsaw argues that the verification commission is ‘perhaps the only institution in the state where people from all sides of the political dispute work, and in almost every matter, they vote the same way.’ – We managed to create an institution that works harmoniously. As for investigative commissions, we are chasing history.”

-- COMPETENCES OF THE VERIFICATION COMMISSION WILL BE TAKEN OVER BY THE CITY HALL - JAKI ANNOUNCES: “What will happen to the commission if you become the mayor of the capital? – we ask Patryk Jaki. He declares: – If I become the mayor, I will liquidate the verification commission. Its competences will be taken over by the city hall. Today, the city hall, governed by Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, also has these competences, but does not want to use them. We have taken over all the work.” https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/jaki-jesli-zostane-prezydentem-zlikwiduje-komisje-weryfikacyjna-6268753156159617a

-- GAZETA.PL ABOUT JAKI'S PROGRAM FOR ANIMALS AND BONUSES FOR THE POOREST WHO ADOPT A DOG FROM A SHELTER: “The candidate for the Mayor of Warsaw also wants to introduce a financial bonus for Varsovians who adopt an animal from a shelter. – Various estimates show that the cost of keeping an animal in a shelter is about PLN 3,000. For this reason, we would like to introduce a voucher of PLN 1,000 for people who adopt a dog or cat from a shelter. It will benefit the city, reduce the costs of keeping four-legged friends, and they will also have a family – he justified.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,23620315,patryk-jaki-zlozyl-obietnice-ws-psow-ze-schronisk-kto-adoptuje.html#BoxNewsLink&a=66&c=96

-- OKO ON TRZASKOWSKI'S VAGUE SENTENCES, BUT ADMITS THAT THE STRENGTH LIES IN THE PACKAGE FOR WOMEN AND SENIORS - as Anton Ambroziak writes: “The strength lies in the package for women and seniors. Some proposals resemble the demands of urban movements. Weaknesses: lack of response to the problem of reprivatization, blunders regarding investments. And a lot of vague sentences.”

-- HE CANNOT OBJECTIVELY EXPLAIN HOW HE WILL HELP VICTIMS OF REPRIVATIZATION - continues OKO: “However, the candidate for mayor cannot objectively explain how the city will help victims of reprivatization.” https://oko.press/trzaskowski-mobilizuje-do-obrony-stolicy-przed-pis-ale-co-ma-do-zaproponowania-konkretnie/

-- REGARDING THE SUPREME COURT, THE LAW AND JUSTICE PARTY IS COMMITTING SUICIDE - Andrzej Stankiewicz in SE: “– It’s as if parliament passed a law stating that while the president has a five-year term in the constitution, upon reaching retirement age, he must ask for an extension of his term. This would be a violation of the constitution. It is similar here. In the Law and Justice party, they are aware of this, but Jarosław Kaczyński’s obsession with Judge Gersdorf decides. Law and Justice is going for a confrontation. And it is committing suicide.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/andrzej-stankiewicz-o-zmianach-w-sadzie-najwyzszym-to-samobojstwo-partii-rzadzacej-aa-p7ME-MVFP-Paju.html

-- MORAWIECKI SR. ON THE PIS LISTS - Agata Kondzińska in GW: “Not only candidates from the United Right camp or ‘Gazeta Polska’ Clubs are to be found on the PiS local government lists, but also Kornel Morawiecki and ‘Solidarity’.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75248,23620691,pis-poszerza-listy-do-samorzadow-beda-ludzie-kornela-morawieckiego.html

-- THE GALA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PASSENGERS - headline in GW.

-- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF PIS RULE IN HEALTHCARE - writes in GW: “This is not just PiS's fault. Every government has something to answer for. But PiS has been governing for three years. With great effort, they have managed to devastate Polish judicature, with extraordinary determination, they have destroyed education, with insane zeal, they have disarmed the Polish army, with the greatest consistency, they have devastated relations with allies, and now, with sweat on their brows, they are destroying universities. They have done nothing to more effectively save the health and lives of Poles.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23621186,pis-ma-nasze-zdrowie-gdzies-a-kaczynski-leczy-sie-bez-zadnego.html

-- WHAT SROCZYŃSKI MISSED WHEN HE WAS ADMIRING MORAWIECKI - Witold Gadomski on wyborcza.pl: “PiS has indeed managed to reach the imagination of a significant part of Poles with its message – by frightening them with an invasion of Muslims into Poland, an internal enemy conspiring against Poland with foreign powers, and capital that allegedly withdraws PLN 100 billion from the country annually. There is also a message appealing to national pride – equally false as the one based on frightening. Sroczyński and a large part of PiS supporters also like the government distributing money it previously collected, i.e., buying support with taxpayer money. (...) Therefore, I would like to recommend the publicist from the Gazeta.pl portal to read the classic 19th-century economist Bastiat's essay “What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen”: “In economics, every action, habit, law, or institution entails not one, but many consequences. Of these, some are immediate – these are seen, others appear gradually – these are not seen. It is good when we can predict them.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23618767,czego-nie-widzi-sroczynski-gdy-zachwyca-sie-morawieckim-co.html

-- RAFAŁ WOŚ ON THE END OF THE BALCEROWICZ-HAUSNER ERA - writes in Gazeta.pl:“This will happen because in Polish politics, we live on the border of two eras. The first ended around the 2015 elections. It was a phase that could be called neoliberal. Or Balcerowicz-Hausner. It was characterized by a specific type of thinking about the role of an economic politician, who is to keep other democratic politicians in check so they don't distribute too generously. And if they do distribute, let them do it upwards, towards the so-called strong and entrepreneurial (low marginal tax rates, further business facilitations). And not downwards, to the ‘shirkers’ and ‘rabble.’ It must be said that Polish elites were exceptionally effective in this thinking and built a state that was reluctant to share the fruits of growth among its citizens. When you listen to the liberal opposition, you can see that it is deeply rooted in that past era. The point, however, is that with the electoral victory of PiS, that phase finally ended. And the symbolic funeral of the Balcerowicz-Hausner era was the introduction of 500+.”

-- A POLITICIAN IN A DEMOCRACY IS FOR DISTRIBUTING MONEY - WOŚ CONCLUDES: “If I could give the opposition just one piece of advice, it would be this: finally understand that in a democratic state, a politician is for distributing money. It will be easier for you then. Perhaps you will even regain the credibility lost in the eyes of millions of Poles.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,161770,23613080,wos-rozdawnictwo-to-nie-grzech-politycy-w-demokracji-sa-od.html#MT

-- ANOTHER POINT FOR MORAWIECKI - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON IMMIGRANTS:“So, the summit's outcome is not only a success for the Visegrad Group countries and Polish negotiators, not only another point for Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, but also – and perhaps primarily – good news for those who believe that Poland's place is in the European community.” http://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1380199-Polska-bardziej-europejska.html

-- RZ ON THE FRONT PAGE ABOUT MORAWIECKI'S SPEECH BEING GROUNDBREAKING AND PRO-EUROPEAN: “Therefore, if Poland changes nothing regarding the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Morawiecki will have to confront criticism from the EU, already on July 4th in Strasbourg. He will be attending the European Parliament's plenary session in connection with a series of speeches by EU leaders. – It will be groundbreaking and pro-European – say Polish sources. However, this may not be enough when compared with the facts concerning the judiciary.” http://www.rp.pl/Unia-Europejska/180709936-Polska-kontra-KE-Klincz-wokol-praworzadnosci.html

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON A MASTERPIECE OF DIPLOMACY: “Anyone who knows and understands this context knows that obtaining concessions from Tel Aviv on historical matters, especially those as important as those related to the Holocaust, is a masterpiece of Polish diplomacy. And indirectly proves Poland's significance, but for Washington. Without American pressure, we might not have gotten anything.”

-- KARNOWSKI ON A CALCULATION FOR UPSETTING THE APPLE CART: “A significant part of the criticism directed at this agreement is due to disappointment. The opposition, not only from the left but also from the right, knows perfectly well with how powerful forces the current government collided during the adoption of the IPN law. The calculation for an upset was obvious and visible to the naked eye. Growing isolation of Poland, conflict with the USA, overt and covert sanctions were expected. Meanwhile, Warsaw managed to emerge from this severe ordeal, gaining quite a lot.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/402087-deklaracja-polsko-izraelska-to-dyplomatyczny-majstersztyk

-- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON A DOCUMENT OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: “Almost everything important for Poland has been achieved in this declaration. The more hours pass since the announcement of this text, the clearer it becomes. This is a document about history of historical, groundbreaking significance. The reactions of a part of the press and political class in Israel confirm this opinion.”

-- IS A DOCUMENT GRANTING POLAND JUSTICE NOT A SUCCESS? - Michał Karnowski's conclusion: “I understand the endecja who are trying to build their formation also on criticism of the Poland-Israel agreement. But will the camp of good change really allow them to convince everyone that a text GRANTING JUSTICE TO POLES on a fundamental issue is not a success?” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/402072-rozpropagujmy-deklaracje-polsko-izraelska-na-calym-swiecie

-- RAFAŁ ZAKRZEWSKI ON WYBORCZA.PL ON THE COSTS OF DEFEAT IN THE COURTS: "Kaczyński should learn lessons from this for the near future: the war over free courts is also not an internal squabble between PiS and the opposition. It is a great war for democratic European values, and we can lose it just like in the case of the IPN law. However, the costs of this defeat will be much greater.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23620511,19-czerwca-w-tel-awiwie-pis-dowiedzial-sie-ile-bedzie-kosztowac.html

-- KINGA DUNIN ON GOOD CHANGE AND WRITERS - based on reading Eustachy Rylski's latest book - writes in Krytyka: “Good change does not leave Polish writers indifferent. In recent novels, we can find not only allusions but also obvious barbs aimed at the current authorities and, of course, at society – provincial, xenophobic. Also, various fantasies about the future, a lot of grotesque. These are not always successful novels. I was surprised that Eustachy Rylski also decided to enter this competition. (...) The morals from this fable are quite clear. Liberalism is better than right-wing populism. Politics is always dirty. The best friend of a man is a dog (or a prostitute), but a true friend can only be another human being. Women in Rylski's novel are paper dolls without souls, or – in a benevolent interpretation – extremely mysterious beings about whom nothing can be said. The best place for a reflective intellectual is a manor house by the water, where the hostess serves him pierogi, and he reads Turgenev and ponders the noble, young cadets of the White Guard, who did not fight communism, but the mob. And, of course, they lost. Perhaps he also dreams of some brilliance that will give meaning to our existence, but it is better not to put these dreams into practice. And in short, one will have to vote for Civic Platform, although without illusions.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kultura/czytaj-dalej/kinga-dunin-czyta/piata-rp/

-- BIRTHDAYS: Tomasz Siemoniak, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Błażej Strzelczyk, Mateusz Hładki.