-- THE PRIME MINISTER ON PIS'S WILL TO CHANGE POLAND, SCHETYNA ON EXPANDING 500+, KACZYŃSKI ON PUNISHING THOSE WITHIN HIS OWN RANKS: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/09/22/

-- 100 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR.

-- DOES TRZASKOWSKI UNDERSTAND THE STAKES? - Bogusław Chrabota in RZ: “[Schetyna] Knows he is Trzaskowski’s hostage. He might even sometimes kick himself for backing such a meek steed. But who else? – he asks himself. Kierwiński? Yes, certainly in Mińsk Mazowiecki, not in the capital. So it’s Trzaskowski. He’s in the game for Poland alone. Schetyna is his hostage. The Civic Platform is his hostage, and the entire coalition. And maybe even the whole country on the Vistula. And he walks to the office in the morning with that little backpack. Calmly, as if nothing were happening. Does he understand the stakes?” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/309209904-Chrabota-Zakladnikiem-Trzaskowskiego-Schetyna-PO-koalicja-a-moze-nawet-caly-kraj.html

-- NITRAS INTERVENES ON BEHALF OF RESIDENTS - HE WILL ELIMINATE THOSE TERRORIZING FELLOW RESIDENTS: "During my meeting with residents of Szczecin Pomorzany today, I was made aware that the peace of the estate is disturbed by intoxicated individuals occupying squares and benches in the area. A group of such gentlemen were sitting near us. When I said that as mayor I would put an end to such behavior, I first amused them, then they started insulting me and disrupting the meeting. Since I try to act, not just talk, and thanks to the prompt intervention of the Polish Police, these gentlemen are now at the Szczecin Śródmieście police station and will face court. I will eliminate from Szczecin estates people who drink and terrorize their fellow residents." https://www.facebook.com/SlawomirNitras/

-- LUDWIK DORN ANALYZES DUDDA'S MEETING WITH TRUMP: “The meeting at the White House was, however, important and serious. Serious topics were discussed, and that is how they should be treated, not with malice. (...) After the talks at the White House, we therefore have one uncertain positive (to refer to a classic), which is the issue of the permanent presence of the US Army in Poland, and two clear negatives (Nord Stream 2 and the Three Seas Initiative). If this positive gains clarity after March next year, then the overall balance of the visit can be considered positive.” https://www.tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/plus-dodatni-i-dwa-plusy-ujemne-co-zapisano-miedzy-wierszami-w-waszyngtonie,175,2998

-- WE ARE NOT PLAYING THE SAME GAME - MACIEJ GDULA SPEAKS TO WOJCIECH STASZEWSKI IN GW ABOUT CLASS DIFFERENCES: “The differences are so great that we are not playing the same game. Representatives of the upper class have only one problem – what to invest in. Not what holidays they can afford, what car, what food. They send their children to study abroad, there is even a school in Poland preparing for studies at Oxford. Do you know the tuition fees? 12,000 PLN per month. These are not amounts that the middle class can dream of today. After ‘Magda M.’, everyone started from the same point, and now we know how it will be – the children of the rich will be rich, unless they squander their fortunes. And mine or yours have no chance of achieving such wealth. Therefore, one of the most important questions today is: how will entrepreneurs justify their fortunes? This applies to doctors or lawyers to a lesser extent, who work by providing expertise. Because people decide to pay them so much, and their incomes, although tens of thousands, are acceptable. And I’m talking about entrepreneurs who earn hundreds of thousands of zlotys and whom society is now asking: what are you giving us in return? ”

-- GDULA SPEAKS TO STASZEWSKI ABOUT CELEBRITY EARNINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHING SCRAMBLED EGGS FOR 20 THOUSAND: “Celebrity earnings. It's disgusting that someone gets 20,000 for photographing their scrambled eggs in the morning and posting it online. I receive 4,000 for my work at the university and I feel a broken contract. It was supposed to be that when someone tries, exerts themselves, uses their brain, writes a doctorate, gets a habilitation, they won't get five times less than someone else for photographing scrambled eggs. That's why those who have a lot must show why they are useful. That the money they earned will return to us. Not as job offers for the minimum wage, but for example, as innovations in enterprises, which will allow them to survive and whose products will improve our quality of life. And people really need to be paid more, invested in better working conditions. Of course, productivity is also a factor, but you can't just complain: Poles want so much that you have to import Ukrainians.”

-- GDULA ON PIS PRESENTING ITSELF AS THE GUARANTOR OF PROSPERITY'S PRESERVATION IN A VOLATILE SURROUNDING SITUATION: “PiS presents itself as the guarantor of preserving this prosperity in the volatile situation around. In the common conviction, the condition for maintaining this warm water is national mobilization. 'We must organize ourselves, separate ourselves, be careful not to give power to foreigners. If we want to preserve the way of life we dreamed of, we cannot be as good-natured as Magda M.' This is a crisis of faith in spontaneous, peaceful, conflict-free development. A feeling that the world has become more brutal, and in this brutal world, only the brutal can win.”

-- GDULA ON ADVISING BIEDROŃ: “You know that he invited me to a group of experts, and I gladly agreed? Not because Biedroń promised me anything, but because I believe in this direction. That we won't have to choose between the market and the nation.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,23949743,co-wyroslo-z-pokolenia-magdy-m-czesc-zostala-w-szarych.html

-- BIEDROŃ CAN SPEAK A LANGUAGE THAT UNITES - MICHAŁ SYSKA, advisor to Robert Biedroń, director of the F. Lassalle Centre for Social Thought, tells Piotr Witwicki in RZ: “The language of the left should be a language of values that takes into account various sensitivities. Biedroń has this ability. He can speak a language that unites. The problem with left-wing circles is that they don't use a language that convinces the most people to their slogans, but a language that builds their identity. One can convince people to liberalize abortion regulations, but using the language 'abortion is OK' is counterproductive.”

-- THE LEFT PREFERS TO REINFORCE ITS VIEWS RATHER THAN ENTER THE GAME FOR REAL POWER - says Syska: “Left-wing circles operate outside the mainstream of politics and do not aim to enter the game for real power. They prefer to reinforce their views, and I believe it is necessary to break out of this vicious circle.”

-- BIEDROŃ DOES NOT WANT TO BE ENTRENCHED IN IDEOLOGICAL PURITY, BUT TO CHANGE REALITY - Syska continues: “When Robert Biedroń says he will build a party that will win elections, he is not showing his ego, but his determination that he will do everything to implement his vision of politics. He said he is interested in the Sejm, because it is the government elected by the parliamentary majority that holds power. This is an important signal that no one wants to be entrenched in ideological purity here, but wants to change reality.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/309209882-Michal-Syska-Biedron-uczy-sie-na-bledach-lewicy.html&cid=44&template=restricted

-- TOMASZ SIEMONIAK TELLS ONET THAT THE OPPOSITION ARE NOT SARUMANS: WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK LIKE WE DID WITH LECH KACZYŃSKI: “Everyone makes mistakes, but PiS burned the bridges. However, it is disastrous that today, due to differences, normal conversation is impossible. I don't want to go back to words like 'treacherous faces' or 'scoundrels', because such words should never have been uttered, but they build these negative emotions and divisions. I have the impression that politics has gone so far that it will be difficult for us to return now. Look: today there are no common authorities, different books are read, a different history is written. This is very bad, and I agree with you that politicians are responsible for this. Look: it used to be said that the Tusk-Kaczyński dispute was to blame for everything, but Tusk is no longer here, and it's still happening. I have great regret towards President Andrzej Duda that he was unable to build a presidency like Lech Kaczyński, who was always ready for dialogue and conversation despite differences. We are really not some evil Sarumans, with whom it is impossible to talk, but only to fight. We would like to talk.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/siemoniak-macierewicz-to-zdemoralizowany-do-cna-czlowiek-wywiad/fnlglqe

-- MARCIN FIJOŁEK WRITES ABOUT GERSDORF'S MOCK GAME, WHO BACKS DOWN UNDER PRESSURE FROM HER CIRCLE: “Incidentally, the game around the Supreme Court looks similar. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki entered this game, opening a new maneuver by meeting with Professor Małgorzata Gersdorf. She, moreover, engaged in discussion, including a political one, but – as has happened with her several times before – she backed down from it, probably after pressure from judicial and opposition circles. Similar incidents occurred when Mrs. Professor appeared at the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace or met with Andrzej Duda. The meeting was supposed to be confidential, but Prof. Gersdorf did not keep her word and 'sold' the information to the media. This practically leaves no room for compromise – I hear from an important member of the government. The sad conclusion, however, is that with marked cards, one can only pretend to play.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/413290-gra-znaczonymi-kartami-czyli-o-ruchu-libe-i-prof-gersdorf

-- EWA SIEDLECKA WRITES THAT PIS HAS TRICKED EVERYONE: “The effect of the alleged compromise-building works not only on the European Commission. It also works on the Court of Justice, which for some reason is not dealing with the Supreme Court's preliminary rulings with the urgency dictated by the dramatic situation. Despite the passage of over a month and a half, they have not even been translated and published, and the actual procedure begins with that. It seems that the judges are also hoping that Poles will somehow sort this out themselves. Another point for PiS. Another nail in the coffin of the rule of law.” https://siedlecka.blog.polityka.pl/2018/09/22/pis-wszystkich-wykiwal/

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI WRITES ABOUT THE RIGHT-WING DESERT - NO FUNDAMENTAL BOOK FOR RIGHT-WING THOUGHT HAS EMERGED - he writes in RZ: “I have the impression that no fundamental book for right-wing thought has emerged during this time. No key journalistic piece or essay has been written that would set right-wing thought on new tracks. On the contrary. Intellectuals identifying with the right wing devote their talents much more willingly to current battles, justifying the actions of the ruling party, rather than trying to propose new directions of thought or action for it.”

-- HAS POLAND BECOME WISER? QUITE THE OPPOSITE IS HAPPENING - Szułdrzyński continues: “Indeed, the leader of the ruling camp surrounded himself with intellectuals, often met with sharp minds, and there is a quite strong professorial faction among the MPs, but one can ask a direct question: has politics in Poland become wiser because of this? Has it become better, deeper, more intellectual? Quite the opposite is happening.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/309209876-Prawica-na-pustyni.html&template=restricted

-- VIRTUAL MEDIA ON GAZETA.PL'S WITHDRAWAL FROM OPINIONS: “According to our unofficial findings, some articles in the Opinion section caused dissatisfaction in other Agora editorial offices, primarily 'Gazeta Wyborcza'. On the other hand – as we learned from the Gazeta.pl editorial office – the section, where about 30 texts were published per month, generated up to a million additional visits to the portal per month, and the articles were cited in other media.” https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/gazeta-pl-grzegorz-sroczynski-dzial-opinie-zawieszony-zostaje-w-redakcji

-- JACEK GĄDEK ON THE DRAMATIC SITUATION OF GAZETA POLSKA CODZIENNIE: “The reason is simple. According to our information, journalists at 'GPC' have not received salaries for three months, and external contributors even for half a year. Great surprise prevails in the newsroom that the newspaper has found itself on the brink of collapse precisely during the rule of Law and Justice, and advertisements from State Treasury companies appear in its pages. And there are also those from private business (in the current issue, a foreign bank bought a full page). Furthermore, the president of the publisher of 'GPC' is a distant cousin of Jarosław Kaczyński – Grzegorz Tomaszewski. Opinions on his management skills vary – according to some, he is literate, while according to others, he would get lost in his own pocket.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,23951010,gazeta-polska-c-na-skraju-upadku-ujawniamy-e-maile-w-ktorych.amp

-- ON THIS DAY:

1976 – The Workers' Defence Committee (KOR) was established.

2001 – Parliamentary elections were held, in which the SLD-UP coalition won.

2006 – The PiS-Samoobrona-LPR coalition collapsed for the first time.

2014 – The President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, appointed Ewa Kopacz's government.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Bożena Walter, Izabella Sierakowska, Zbigniew Chmielowiec, SUNDAY: Halina Bortnowska, Michał Jach, Mirosława Nykiel, Katarzyna Maria Piekarska.