-- THE OPPOSITION LOST THE LAST FEW MONTHS, THE PRIME MINISTER MANAGED ALL CHALLENGES - CONVERSATION WITH JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI IN "SIECI" - 8 QUOTES: “– Yes, the opposition lost these last few months. But if they think this will lull us to sleep, they are mistaken. Prime Minister Morawiecki deserves enormous credit for these good ratings; he managed all these challenges. He is incredibly hardworking, possesses unbelievable physical resilience, which is not insignificant in politics. He navigated and resolved the issue of the protest by people with disabilities well, preventing the matter from being politically exploited, while also fundamentally increasing benefits for this group that truly needs help – stated Jarosław Kaczyński in an interview with the Karnowski brothers in "Sieci".

-- PRIME MINISTER MORAWIECKI WILL LEAD THE GOVERNMENT TO PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS UNLESS A BOLT OF LIGHTNING SUDDENLY STRIKES FROM THE SKY: “Unless a bolt of lightning suddenly strikes from the sky, unless some factor fundamentally changes the situation, then yes [Prime Minister Morawiecki will lead the government to parliamentary elections].” https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/07/09/kaczynski-o-morawieckim-dudzie-opozycji-schetynie-kolanie-i-ordynacji-8-cytatow-z-sieci/

-- IN AN RZ POLL, SUPPORT FOR PiS GROWS BY 5 POINTS, BUT: “but compared to the May survey, the values are identical, and there is no growth.” http://www.rp.pl/Spoleczenstwo/180709487-Sondaz-Poparcie-dla-PiS-rosnie.html

-- TRZASKOWSKI 32, JAKI 25, ŚPIEWAK 7, CELIŃSKI 6 - POLLSTER FOR TVP: https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polska/warszawa/rosnie-poparcie-dla-patryka-jakiego-ktory-dogania-w-sondazu-rafala-trzaskowskiego/jgyzszg.amp?__twitter_impression=true

-- CZECH PRIME MINISTER FOR 300POLITYKA: “– The Visegrad Group has never been so united. The unity achieved is truly incredible. Both Prime Minister Morawiecki and I come from business, which is why we handle all matters so efficiently – says Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in an interview with 300POLITYKA. Morawiecki came up with the idea of leveraging the various connections of Polish companies, like Orlen with its neighbors, and – as in business – breaking the routine of prime ministerial meetings in offices to create an opportunity for more personal contact. – We are on the same wavelength – says Morawiecki.” https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/07/08/obaj-z-mateuszem-wywodzimy-sie-z-biznesu-dlatego-tak-sprawnie-zalatwiamy-wszystkie-sprawy-premier-czech-dla-300polityki-biznesowa-dyplomacja-morawieckiego-magazyn-300polityka/

-- PULS BIZNESU ON THE BUSINESS EFFECTS OF MORAWIECKI'S VISIT TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC: “We would like to sell drinking yogurts and other dairy products at Czech Benzina stations. We are in talks – says Stanisław Dusza, Vice-President of the dairy company. Unipetrol, a company now 94% owned by Orlen, has 404 stations there. Mlekovita hopes that such a contract will increase its revenue in the Czech Republic by at least a few percent.”

-- MORAWIECKI ON THE POTENTIAL OF THE VISGRAD GROUP: IT IS CEASING TO BE A PAPER ALLIANCE: “The Visegrad Group is today a key part of Central Europe and the EU. It provides the Community with solid, if not the most solid, economic growth. Currently, the Polish economy ranks 8th in the EU in terms of GDP, with a share of about 3%. The entire V4 group already gives us 6th place. The integration of the Visegrad Group is very important for Poland. When I talk with other V4 heads of government, we come to the same conclusion: let's use our common potential, our increasingly strong partnership, and our location much more effectively. We are approaching this challenge both project-wise and alliance-wise. (...) The Visegrad Group is slowly becoming a living organism in Europe, not just – as it used to be – a paper alliance.”

-- JĘDRZEJ OLESZKIEWICZ, ORGANIZER OF THE POLISH-CZECH BUSINESS MIXER: “Building economic relations in the Czech Republic requires patience and discarding stereotypes and Polish preconceptions about our southern neighbors. If someone can do this, they can count on lasting and good business results – says Jędrzej Oleszkiewicz, who runs consulting projects in the Czech market and was responsible for organizing the Czech-Polish Business Mixer in Karlovy Vary with the participation of the prime ministers of both countries.” https://www.pb.pl/polsko-czeskie-rozmowy-o-biznesie-934312

-- THE EU HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH OUR PRIME MINISTER, WHERE DID SUCH A CHANGE TOWARDS MORAWIECKI COME FROM - Fakt on the weekend publication by POLITICO EUROPE. https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/zagraniczne-media-oczarowane-mateuszem-morawieckim/v3nkzrf

-- ON LIBERAL MEDIA FORUMS, THE LEVEL OF AGGRESSION IS THE SAME AS ON RIGHT-WING ONES, THERE'S NO INCITEMENT AGAINST IMMIGRANTS BUT THERE IS "PIS-LAM" - GRZEGORZ SROCZYŃSKI: “For two years, I've been observing liberal media forums more closely, as well as the posts of my liberal friends on FB – the level of aggression is exactly the same as on the wPolityce.pl or "Gazeta Polska" forums. There is no antisemitism, but there is "pislam." There is no incitement against immigrants, but there is "the riff-raff from 500 plus." We should do something about this, but I have no idea what exactly, because I am against censoring posts (even the worst ones). Interestingly, such things are usually written by quite intelligent people, not troglodytes. If you remove the emotional froth from the posts and translate them into human language, they would mean roughly this: Morawiecki in Brussels presented old and worn-out PiS arguments that didn't convince anyone abroad, because they probably weren't meant to – the prime minister's statements about the courts were intended solely for the domestic audience and were meant to mobilize declared PiS voters (i.e., those "pisdels"). This is a rather accurate observation, with which I can agree, but why spice it up with swear words, I don't know.”

-- SROCZYŃSKI WRITES THAT MORAWIECKI'S SPEECH CONTAINED MANY SENSIBLE POINTS: “Because Morawiecki's speech about the Union (the debate was supposed to concern the future of the EU, although of course the prime minister could expect the discussion to turn to the courts) contained many sensible points. For example, the part about the declining share of wages in the GDP of many countries (including Poland) and the weakening of the labor force in contemporary capitalism. According to many economists – e.g., Nobel laureate Stiglitz – this is a fundamental problem of the globalized free market. I appreciate that Morawiecki is aware of such matters, as this is exceptional in Polish conditions – when I try to ask our politicians about the problem of the share of wages in GDP, they usually have no idea what I'm talking about.”

-- SCHETYNA THINKS PIKETTY IS SOME KIND OF RIDICULOUS LEFTIST - SROCZYŃSKI: “Morawiecki quoted Piketty in the European Parliament, about whom Schetyna knows only that he is some ridiculous leftist (because Rzońca says so), part of Morawiecki's diagnoses about the state of Europe (I emphasize, part!) sounded as if he had read the essays of Tony Judt or the latest book by Prof. Jan Zielonka. Morawiecki certainly has different prescriptions than those mentioned above (Judt – who is deceased – criticized liberals to his heart's content, but did so from a liberal standpoint), but in the Polish debate, these topics are so absent that I always fall off my chair when a politician says anything interesting.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,161770,23642063,szczyl-obalal-komune-przeciez-on-mial-wtedy-13-lat-czytelnicy.html

-- AS FOR GERSDORF, THE SITUATION IS CLEAR - WIESŁAW JOHANN IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PIOTR ZAREMBA IN WEEKENDOWY DZIENNIK GAZETA PRAWNA: “Judge Iwulski's name did indeed appear in Judge Gersdorf's statement, and the president met this candidacy halfway. There are suggestions that this is inconsistent with the new law, but in my opinion, everything is in order. One can discuss the judge's statement itself... He is over 65 years old, but he submitted a one-sentence text to the president stating his will to remain in the Supreme Court, and the president forwarded the letter to the National Judicial Council. Judge Iwulski did not attach health certificates, but this can be supplemented. The president could have appointed him. As for Judge Gersdorf, the situation is clear. She has turned 65, has not submitted a statement requesting an extension of her term, so she is going into retirement.”

-- JOHANN ON THE PAD COMPROMISE: “The President is avoiding conflict. And rightly so. This is a compromise in some sense, but above all, the President is extending a hand to the other side.”

-- JOHANN REPEATS TO ZAREMBA THAT GERSDORF IS NO LONGER THE FIRST PRESIDENT BECAUSE THE LAW HAS A PRESUMPTION OF CONSTITUTIONALITY: “I believe that Judge Gersdorf has ceased to be the First President of the Supreme Court. She has retired, that is the law. Every law, before a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal, enjoys the presumption of constitutionality. The fact that someone claims otherwise is not enough to feel unbound by the law. It is merely a legal opinion. You are asking me about the attitude of judges. It surprises me somewhat. I was convinced that they would not want to get involved in political disputes. I do not like this.”

-- JOHANN PRIVATELY CONSIDERS THE 65-YEAR AGE LIMIT TOO LOW: “I assume that any change is properly assessed only with the passage of time. Privately, I consider the 65-year limit to be too low. For a lawyer, it is an age of full intellectual capacity. Well, but perhaps some research was conducted that showed otherwise?”

-- JUDGES ARE BREAKING ALL RULES, ENGAGING IN POLITICAL GAMES, EXPRESSING OPINIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA - JOHANN CONTINUES IN HIS CONVERSATION WITH ZAREMBA: “I believe that Małgorzata Gersdorf crossed, and a long time ago at that, the line of a judge's involvement in politics. Although I value her highly, I like her, she is after all the wife of my colleague from the Constitutional Tribunal. A judge should be as far away from politics as possible. My former colleagues from the bar – Władysław Siła-Nowicki or Jan Olszewski – used to say that politics has no place in the courtroom. Meanwhile, today judges are breaking all rules, engaging in political games, expressing opinions on social media. I do not like this; independence is not about that.”

-- JOHANN ON ARTICLE 180 OF THE CONSTITUTION: “The First President was elected by the general assembly of Supreme Court judges and presented to the President under the previous legal regime. It is true that at a meeting with politicians, including opposition members, concerning a constitutional referendum, I said that periodicity is a sacred thing to me. Only that every most sacred constitutional principle has its exceptions, its loopholes. Article 180 clearly gives the parliament the right to determine the age at which a judge retires. Two constitutional values are truly clashing here.” http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/577467,zaremba-wieslaw-johann-reforma-sadownictwo-krs-protesty.html

-- NO ONE QUESTIONED THE RETIREMENT OF JUDGES FROM THE MILITARY CHAMBER - Paweł Mucha in an interview with DGP: “There is no basis whatsoever and no need to issue decisions in a situation where a judge has not submitted a statement expressing their will to continue holding their position. In light of Article 111 of the Act on the Supreme Court, it is obvious that if a judge does not take action within one month and does not submit a statement, they retire. Just as judges of the Military Chamber retired on the day the act came into force without a presidential decree, and no one questioned it. However, the President prepared information for judges who did not submit statements, indicating that they retired as of July 4th. Minister Andrzej Dera conveyed this information to the President of the Supreme Administrative Court and Judge J. Iwulski, who is heading the Supreme Court, respectively. The President spoke very clearly, including during his conversation with President Gersdorf. There are no provisions indicating that the President should issue a decree. As a result of the failure to submit statements by some judges who had previously reached the age of 65, they retired by operation of law, into retirement. The age criterion is objective and applies to everyone. It is impossible to agree that judges retired, but this does not apply only to Judge Gersdorf.” http://prawo.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/1167787,mucha-byla-prezes-malgorzata-gersdorf-jest-sedzia-w-stanie-spoczynku.html

-- THE OPPOSITION IS NOW PLAYING FOR ONLY ONE THING: TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON POLAND - Michał Karnowski: “In this situation, the total opposition has decided that only by bringing financial catastrophe upon Poland by blocking EU funds can they force Poles to 'come to their senses.' This thought, full of arrogance, is not uncommon in the EU establishment. Let me remind you that recently the EU Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Günther Oettinger, stated, after the rebellious election results in Italy, that markets will teach Italians who to vote for. And similarly, one can infer, it is meant to be with Poles, only here the role of the markets is to be played by EU commissioners along with Mr. Tusk and Ms. Bieńkowska. When after Prime Minister Morawiecki's last speech in Strasbourg, MEPs from PO and PSL held a conference there, MEP Jan Olbrycht suggested something similar. The wording of his statement was clear and full of faith that sooner or later this would result in Poland being financially punished!” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/402965-opozycja-gra-juz-tylko-o-jedno-chce-sciagnac-na-polske-kary

-- MICHAŁ GOSTKIEWICZ ON JUDGE PSZCZÓŁKOWSKI'S WILL: “Does the fact that, contrary to PiS's line, he recognized Professor Gersdorf as still being the First President of the Constitutional Tribunal mean, as the opposition would likely want, that he has sided with them? Are we dealing with an idealist who has changed his views, or with a cynic who has pragmatically decided that in the long run, PiS's upheaval in the judiciary will not survive Kaczyński's loss of power?” http://weekend.gazeta.pl/weekend/1,152121,23642621,swoj-czy-wrog-kim-jest-sedzia-piotr-pszczolkowski-i-dlaczego.html#MT2

-- PiS SHOULD FIND A GOOD LAWYER - Tomasz Pietryga in RZ: “One thing is certain: the dispute over the rule of law is moving from the streets to the courtrooms. This could be much more dangerous for PiS than street protests, and it would be better for the government to find a good lawyer.” http://www.rp.pl/Opinie/307089958-PiS-powinien-poszukac-dobrego-adwokata---komentuje-Tomasz-Pietryga.html

-- PAWEŁ WROŃSKI ON DUDA AND POROSCHENKO AS VICTIMS OF DIGNITY POLITICS: “Both Duda and Poroshenko are victims of a dignity-based historical policy. Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, has placed people responsible for crimes against Poles in its pantheon of heroes. PiS politicians, on the other hand, are hostages of the 'rising from our knees,' 'fighting for truth' policy and pressure from the kresy communities, which leads to the assumption that just pain and the memory of crimes are more important than the future of subsequent generations.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,23650831,odwracamy-sie-od-ukrainy.html

-- NAPOLEON DID NOT TAKE A HOLIDAY BEFORE AUSTERLITZ - WOJCIECH SADURSKI in GW: “Everything would be wonderful if not for the holiday. Of course, everyone has a right to it, especially someone under such pressure as Professor Gersdorf. However, Napoleon did not take a holiday before the Battle of Austerlitz, nor did the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Andrzej Rzepliński, during the days when the fate of the Constitutional Tribunal hung in the balance, for example, when three deputies were added to it. (...) Creating the media impression of a vacuum in the leadership of the Supreme Court will facilitate the authorities' actions – and the President's confidants must hurry if they want to manage before the ruling of the European Court of Justice.”

-- SADURSKI ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CJEU RULING: “All the more so because there is still a chance for a ruling from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The Polish government has been given one month to respond to the European Commission's allegations regarding the purge in the Supreme Court. If the European Court acts as it did in the case of the Białowieża Forest logging, i.e., orders Poland to suspend the implementation of the Act on the Supreme Court until a substantive judgment is rendered, the PiS government will face a real dilemma: Morawiecki announced that the Tribunal's rulings would be respected in Poland.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23650870,prof-sadurski-dla-wyborczej-w-starciu-o-sad-najwyzszy-jest.html

-- WHAT IS THE VALUE: DEMOCRACY OR ECONOMIC FREEDOM - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI in GW: “The most important question for our future is now: What is the number one value of our politics? Freedom and democracy, which cannot defend themselves without restoring social peace, which requires new redistribution? Or the maintenance of economic freedoms and processes of the last few decades, which have undermined social security to a degree that is ruinous for Western democracies?” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23650851,nowe-pytanie-glowne-brzmi-ile-jestesmy-w-stanie-zaplacic-za.html

-- JANUSZ LEWANDOWSKI ON THE FACT THAT WE CANNOT OFFSET THE EU BUDGET GAP AT THE EXPENSE OF THE SOUTH, WHICH IS BURDENED BY REFUGEES - he says in DGP: “The threat of a veto is a confession of weakness and coalition impotence. It means that someone who threatens a veto cannot build not only a coalition but even a blocking minority. I repeat, however, I expect that we will manage to slightly bridge this gap. To what extent? It is too early to say. We cannot do this at the expense of Southern Europe, which is burdened by the refugee crisis. We must be united as Europe. Unfortunately, Poland – the cradle of Solidarity and a country of many generations of refugees from hunger and war – is not united. We also do not know what will emerge from the declaration of a separate budget for the Eurozone after the Macron-Merkel agreement.” http://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/577587,dla-mnie-budzet-strefy-euro-to-zagadka.html

-- POMASKIE DEFEATED KACZYŃSKI - Fakt online: “The PiS chairman met with journalists on Friday to announce a very important decision. He stated clearly that individuals employed in state-owned companies cannot run in the local government elections on PiS's lists. PO MP Agnieszka Pomaska shut him down with one meme.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/agnieszka-pomaska-zagiela-jaroslawa-kaczynskiego-memem-co-na-nim-jest/4s4mwpf

-- EASTERN POLAND TO START - PARP INFORMATION: On July 30th, applications will be accepted in the second round of the "Internationalization of SMEs" competition under the Operational Program "Eastern Poland." Beneficiaries will receive support for introducing their products or services to new markets. The pool of funds in the competition is PLN 100 million. https://300polityka.pl/stan-gry/2018/07/02/zdobadz-klientow-za-granica-zostan-eksporterem-informacja-parp/