-- MINKS AWAIT THE LEADER'S RESCUE - WIKTOR FARFECKI IN RZ: “Activists also want to conduct new public opinion surveys on fur animals by autumn, and above all, meet with PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński. He was a particularly strong proponent of the ban on fur farming. Although we are one of the world leaders in this field, according to Kaczyński, the industry should be closed for the sake of animal welfare. He first spoke about this in January 2017 in an interview for Radio Łódź. He listed animal protection as one of the issues that 'can be resolved with the opposition.' Last November, he appeared in a spot for the Viva! foundation, where he said that 'every decent person' should be in favor of banning fur farming. He recorded a similar spot for an exhibition in the European Parliament.”

-- JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI HAS NOT YET COMMENTED ON THE MINK ISSUE: “However, it can be heard from both sides of the dispute that the fate of the minks is not yet decided. – President Kaczyński has not yet commented on this matter. We are ready for any eventuality – says one of the lobbyists working for mink breeders.” http://www.rp.pl/Polityka/307249916-Norki-czekaja-naratunek-prezesa.html&template=restricted

-- WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING WITH THE POLICE? - DAWID KRAWCZYK in Krytyka Polityczna:“I just want to know why the police are told to 'get lost' from Wiejska Street. Why are tired and weary uniformed officers, guarding the entrance to the Sejm building and carrying out their superiors' orders, being insulted? How many percentage points of support does the Law and Justice government lose after each time the barrier separating protesters from the Sejm is jumped over? And if there is no such correlation, then I honestly ask, what the hell is someone climbing over that barrier for, jumping, and struggling with the police? Finally, last but not least, why fight with uniformed officers at all? After all, they, just like you, think they shouldn't be there. The head of the police union says so, anonymous police officers contacted by 'Gazeta Wyborcza' say so.”

-- SOME PEOPLE LIVE COMFORTABLY IN SUCH AN IMAGINED DICTATORSHIP - DAWID KRAWCZYK continues in Krytyka:“I risk the thesis that some people live comfortably in such an imagined dictatorship. President Kaczyński, like the sinister Dr. Klauf from Inspector Gadget, strokes a cat in his office on Nowogrodzka Street, summons a compliant Minister of the Interior, and orders him to send hordes of stoned ZOMO officers against the protesting followers of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, who are meekly taking beatings from the armed wing of PiSlamabad. Exaggeration? Probably, but what I heard in the crowd last Friday was not much different from this hyperbole. In terms of aesthetics, it was also no different from what I heard at the monthly commemorations of the Smoleńsk catastrophe.”

-- THE LONG LIST OF PIO'S FAULTS DOES NOT INCLUDE ELECTION RIGGING AND DELEGITIMIZING THE OPPOSITION - KRAWCZYK continues in KP:“In light of all these changes, the vision of stifling the opposition in the electoral race is not an unimaginable political fiction. But let's be honest, so far, the long list of Law and Justice's faults against liberal democracy does not include election rigging, delegitimizing the opposition, or imprisoning political opponents. It is not impossible that PiS wants to lead Poland to some form of dictatorship without competitive elections – but it has not achieved this yet.”

-- IN PRACTICE, IT IS EASIER TO SHOUT ZOMO ON WIEJSKA THAN TO WIN ELECTIONS; AT MEETINGS, VOTERS QUESTION PIS MINISTERS AS EQUALS - KRAWCZYK'S CONCLUSION:“It is still possible to win against Law and Justice. It is essentially very simple. You have to win the elections. However, this is only simple in theory, because in practice, it is easier to come after work and shout ZOMO on Wiejska than to try to understand the newly discovered love of Polish voters for Kaczyński's supposedly 'dictatorial' and 'totalitarian' party. How many meetings with voters have opposition MPs held since 2015, spectacularly soiling their impeccable suits on the driveway to the Sejm? And how many have PiS MPs held? Here is the list, please count: http://spotkania.pis.org.pl/. It might take a while because the scroll bar is very small. I was at the protest under the Sejm on Friday and I was at meetings with PiS voters questioning ministers as equals. It is at the latter that politics is made. And so far, very effectively.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/po-co-bijecie-sie-z-policja/

-- PLATFORMA HAS FALLEN INTO THE ROUTINE OF BEING AN OPPOSITION WITH A GLORIOUS PAST - Magda Środa in GW: “Platforma's mistake is that it has fallen into a routine: the routine of being an opposition with a glorious past that the future will restore. Nothing needs to be changed – the same people, the same lukewarmness, the same declarations.”

-- PLATFORMA IS NOT RENEWING ITSELF, IT IS REPRODUCING ITSELF - Professor Środa continues:“Platforma has no plan, no idea, no visible activity. Are there any competing bills concerning the reform of the judiciary, education, or media? Is the shadow cabinet preparing an alternative plan for governance? Accountability for PiS? Are there any new people? Or is Schetyna only thinking about how to reward the loyal members of PO for four years of perseverance? Platforma is not renewing itself, it is reproducing itself. The only 'fresh' idea was Ujazdowski – because Schetyna still believes that if he makes the right-wing PO even more right-wing, he will win against the right. ” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23712515,mafia-kradnie-nam-demokracje.html

-- SPOKESPERSON FOR THE OPOLSKIE RAZEM PARTY: WHAT WERE TRZASKOWSKI'S COLLEAGUES DOING IN OPOLSKIE REGARDING JAKI? - writes in wyborcza.pl: “What were Rafał Trzaskowski's colleagues from Opole doing during the protests against Jaki? The same as Gadomski, nothing. Civic Platform councilors voted hand in hand with Jaki's clique for several years. They supported his original plan to enlarge Opole, without even seeing the written motion.”

-- PLATFORMA AND LIBERAL COMMENTATORS WERE NOT INTERESTED IN JAKI - MICHAŁ PYTLIK FROM RAZEM IN OPOLSKIE continues:“It's time for everyone to understand this: no one fought Patryk Jaki more actively or publicized his local connections more than the left. It was Razem who supported those who undertook the most difficult form of protest – a hunger strike – in opposition to Jaki's policies. Jan Śpiewak – a candidate for mayor of the capital supported by Razem – today shows the connections of PiS members with reprivatization because he has been working on this issue for years and has gained the trust of affected tenants. I don't know what Witold Gadomski wrote his columns about back then, but it certainly wasn't about our fight against the policies of Jaki and his colleagues.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23712726,gadomski-nie-kiwnal-palcem-gdy-razem-walczylo-z-jakim-w-opolu.html

-- JAN OLSZEWSKI ON THE SCANDALOUS LECTURE BY GERSDORF IN GERMANY - tells Jacek Nizinkiewicz in RZ: “It is difficult to speak of dual power when the president's powers allowed this matter to be resolved through a gentle transition. Professor Gersdorf indicated the person who would replace her during her leave, and the president accepted this choice. Professor Gersdorf is changing her mind under pressure from her environment. It is evident that she is mistaken and tired, although this fatigue did not prevent her from giving a scandalous lecture in Germany.”

-- JAN OLSZEWSKI TELLS NIZINKIEWICZ THAT ZIOBRO IS OVERLY ACTIVE, BUT IN GERSDORF'S CASE, ACTION IS NEEDED:“Prof. Gersdorf staged an operetta, presenting herself to the international community as a judge in exile. A performance discrediting the professor, the participants, and diminishing the prestige of the Republic of Poland. This matter should be resolved quickly and unequivocally. I am not a supporter of radical steps, I often think that Minister Ziobro is too active, but in this case, immediate action is needed.”

-- JAN OLSZEWSKI IN RZ AGAINST MANOWSKA'S CANDIDACY:“I do not question the qualifications of Dr. hab. Manowska, but it would be better if the First President of the Supreme Court were someone who does not have a clear political career behind them. The First President of the Supreme Court should be a person outside of political circles, who raises no doubt that the political environment from which they come might influence them.” http://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/307249926-Olszewski-Pierwszym-prezesem-SN-powinna-byc-osoba-spoza-polityki.html

-- MICHAŁ GOSTKIEWICZ IN GAZETA.PL WONDERS IF TUSK HAS NOT ANNOUNCED AN ESCAPE FROM CONFRONTATION WITH DUDA:“But one could also say that this is a clever attempt at escape on Tusk's part. Duda, whom Kaczyński has recently once again anointed as PiS's contender for the Presidential Palace, has long been winning in polls against the former PO leader. Robert Biedroń, popular and well-liked, is also emerging as a serious competitor, with whom the former prime minister would have to fight for a significant portion of voters. So Tusk is setting a condition, and he knows it won't be met – because President Kaczyński, instead of fighting for positions himself, has people for that. Younger ones, hungry for a career.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,164031,23693538,tusk-wroci-do-polski-czy-zostanie-w-brukseli-najbardziej-realny.html

-- STANISŁAW JANECKI ON TUSK'S CHANGE OF HEART:“Since taking office as President of the European Council (December 1, 2014), Donald Tusk has not been as reserved and skeptical as on July 13, 2018. And the current period is, after all, the peak of hysteria surrounding the Law and Justice government, the reforms it is carrying out, and the domestic and international reactions to them. The opposition's strategy for four election campaigns in 2018–2020 is based on this hysteria and the international witch hunt, inspired and sustained by the opposition in Poland, its media, authorities, and experts. Until now, Donald Tusk has helped the opposition to fuel the hysteria – not only with his statements and tweets, but also with official visits to Poland and the sharp opinions expressed on these occasions. (…) But on July 13, 2018, Donald Tusk did not even openly support the opposition. 'I see how hard my colleagues from the opposition are trying. [...] And they are doing what they can,' he said. Thus, he acted merely as an observer.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/405206-janecki-w-sieci-odwrot-tuska

-- THERE IS NO OTHER OPPOSITION - ADAM SZOSTKIEWICZ:“But there is no other parliamentary opposition today. Such will stand in the upcoming series of elections. Another will not be created within a few, a dozen or so months. PiS is doing everything to deepen the crisis in the opposition. Its opponents should not help it in this.” https://szostkiewicz.blog.polityka.pl/2018/07/24/innej-opozycji-nie-ma/?nocheck=1

-- THE SENATE IS ADDING TO THE COURT - GW's lead story.

-- DESPITE PROTESTS, PIS SENATORS COMPLETED THE TASK - GW headline.

-- THE MAFIA IS STEALING OUR DEMOCRACY - Jarosław Kurski in GW:“Mafia-like is a country where parliament ceases to be parliament, government – government, president – president, courts – courts, media – media. All these parliamentarians, presidents, prime ministers, judges, and party media employees – have the same face. The face of the beloved leader from the Żoliborz 'political dispatch center.' The face of a shadow man who is not responsible for anything, but decides everything.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,23712515,mafia-kradnie-nam-demokracje.html

-- 300LIVE: “Let the victory over PiS begin in Warsaw.” Today is the first in a series of Trzaskowski's mini-conventions.

-- 300LIVE: The government is preparing a draft regulation on local elections. The announcement is most likely in August. https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/07/25/

-- PATRYK JAKI'S BROTHER RELEASES HIS DEBUT RAP ALBUM - local GW:“First Step” is the title of the debut album by twenty-year-old Filip, Patryk Jaki's brother. The young rapper performs under the pseudonym Filu-JKey. (...) On his YouTube channel, he has 10 videos, most of them shot on a mobile phone. But his plans are ambitious. Patryk Jaki's younger brother, Filip, plans to conquer the country in rap style. As he informs on his Facebook profile, his debut album will be released at the turn of July and August.” http://opole.wyborcza.pl/opole/7,35086,23711070,brat-patryka-jakiego-wydaje-debiutancka-plyte-to-nie-zart.html

-- BIRTHDAYS:Wiesław Kilian, Anne Applebaum.