-- PKO BANK POLSKI MOST RESILIENT IN EUROPE: The European Banking Authority announced the results of another edition of European stress tests, in which forty-eight of Europe's largest banks participated, including two from Poland. The results of the conducted tests showed that PKO Bank Polski is the most resilient to negative macroeconomic scenarios within this group. https://media.pkobp.pl/komunikaty-prasowe/informacje-o-banku/pko-bank-polski-najodporniejszym-bankiem-w-europie/ -- CZARZASTY MET WITH GERMAN VICE-CHANCELLOR: “Polish-German talks. Today I met with the Vice-Chancellor of Germany from the SPD party, Mr. Olaf Scholz. We exchanged views on the EP elections, the situation of democracy in Europe and Poland. We confirmed the excellent cooperation between the SLD and SPD on key issues of the European project. I conveyed to Mr. Scholz, among other things, that the vast majority (75-80%) of our citizens support Poland's membership in the EU and are pro-European!” https://www.facebook.com/100003585877241/posts/1825883774207801/ -- AGNIESZKA HOLLAND CALLED PŁAŻYŃSKI AND WASSERMANN “SMOLENSK CHILDREN”: https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/419348-desperacja-bezczelny-atak-holland -- MARCIN ANASZEWICZ, BIEDROŃ'S CLOSEST COLLABORATOR, SPEAKS ABOUT A PROGRESSIVE COALITION AGAINST THE CONSERVATIVE CIVIC PLATFORM AND NATIONALIST PIS – in an interview with Krzysztof Pacewicz in Gazeta Wyborcza: “The program and the certainty that our vision of the state is similar are key. Realistically speaking, before the European Parliament elections, it would be beneficial to create a large progressive bloc as a counterpoint to both the nationalist PiS and the conservative Civic Coalition. Poland needs a third force: the Civic Coalition alone is not capable of removing PiS from power.” -- ANASZEWICZ ON BUILDING LISTS: “We are building from the grassroots: structures and a program that will convince people that politics can look different. We don't want to be collecting names. They will emerge on their own. After all, when Petru started creating Nowoczesna, few people knew who Gasiuk-Pihowicz or Scheuring-Wielgus were, and today they are distinct and competent politicians. And we certainly won't be admitting people to our lists just to gain an extra percent or two. And Basia Nowacka's move to the Civic Coalition shows that it doesn't bring any positive effect.” -- ANASZEWICZ ON NOWACKA'S SURRENDER: "Perhaps the time will come for that. For now, Barbara has surrendered doubly: on the level of her values, because after years of trying to fight for women's rights, she has allied herself with an anti-woman environment, and on the level of leadership: she tried to create her own Polish Initiative, and now she has decided that nothing came of it.” -- ANASZEWICZ ON DEFUNDING RELIGION IN SCHOOLS AND A SECULAR STATE: “We will ensure a secular state, because people are demanding it at meetings across Poland. In 2018, the state's contribution to the Church Fund reached a record level of PLN 156 million. Teaching religion in schools is a misunderstanding. Withdrawing from financing religion will bring savings of around PLN 1.8 billion annually. It's terrible, but the state spends more on catechists than on child support. Furthermore, clergy members, on average, transfer only 1/9 of the taxes paid by ordinary citizens to the state budget. Public collections organized by the Church are not subject to regulation and control. In reality, we don't know how much goes into the 'collection plate'.” -- ANASZEWICZ ON SCHETYNA'S CALLS: HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT POLAND, ONLY ABOUT BIEDROŃ JOINING CIVIC PLATFORM: “Schetyna isn't calling to talk about Poland, he's probably trying to convince Robert to join his team. Of course, we expect that after the parliamentary elections, a pro-democratic coalition involving us will take over the government. We will only need to convince potential coalition partners of our values and that there are areas of state action where party interests must be buried, such as diplomacy, police and special services, justice, defense and public finances, and the environment.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24122105,szef-think-tanku-biedronia-schetyna-nie-dzwoni-zeby.html -- MAY THE FORCE BE WITH BIEDROŃ - Michał Sutowski in Krytyka Polityczna: “Nevertheless, in my opinion, two factors will determine whether Robert Biedroń's vision will politically resonate, leaving organizational issues aside for now. Firstly, will enough people in this project see their chance for advancement, i.e., believe that if Biedroń takes power, things will get better for them too? Not better 'in general,' but better for those who are willing not only to cast a ballot but also to engage in political work and trendsetting, once called agitation. The promise of 'moving up' was a great driving force for PiS supporters, a source of hope for various ambitious and undervalued individuals. In a political landscape dominated by the generations of March, August, or at best June '89, the younger generation, even if demographically weaker than their parents and grandparents, will be a key target here – especially women, to whom Biedroń devotes considerable attention. And the second thing, on the scale of hundreds of thousands and millions of voters: will it be possible to unite disparate messages into one narrative and one leader? Simultaneously, that 'it cannot go on like this' and that 'it can be better'? Anger and hope, wash and go, having our cake and eating it too? A difficult matter. But after all, as a certain likeable secretary from the East would say, if not him, then who, and if not now, then when. Go for it, Robert!” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kultura/czytaj-dalej/biedron-nowy-rozdzial/ -- AGNIESZKA KUBLIK WRITES THAT KURSKI WANTS TO RETURN TO THE EP AND RESIGN FROM TVP, BUT KURSKI SOFTLY DENIES IT: “– My ambition and intention is to rebuild the strength and prestige of public television within the full term of the management board president, which began in October 2016. Therefore, I am not thinking about any other public engagements for now – replied the TVP press office when we asked if the president wants to run for a European mandate. We asked for a clear answer as to whether he denies wanting to run for a mandate in Brussels. We did not receive a denial. Until now, critics of the TVP president had two obstacles to overcome: Kaczyński's support and the lack of a successor for Kurski. – Today it is easier for us to convince the leader that Kurski is harming us more than helping – says one of the PiS MPs from the parliamentary culture committee. – Therefore, we are looking for candidates to replace him.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24119363,jacek-kurski-chce-odejsc-z-tvp-w-pis-szukaja-jego-zastepcy.html -- POLAND - GERMANY. SHORT AND ABOUT NOTHING - Bartosz T. Wieliński in Gazeta Wyborcza: “During Friday's intergovernmental consultations, Angela Merkel did not even mention it. Apparently, relations are so bad that the governments have nothing left to say to each other. And there was something to talk about, for example, how to accelerate Europe's integration, how not to be played by Donald Trump, about the Polish-German armored division announced a few years ago, the fight against climate warming, refugees.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,24122433,rozmowy-morawiecki-merkel-krotko-i-o-niczym.html -- GEOPOLITICS WORTHY OF A CARP - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI in Rzeczpospolita: “Our raison d'état is that in Berlin, Paris, or London, not politicians with views like our right or left should govern, but those who guarantee the existence of a geopolitical order that is beneficial from the perspective of Polish interests. Stories about light bulbs, keeping our fingers crossed for AfD, Farage, or other similar politicians, is not only philistinism but also geopolitics worthy of a carp who argues for hastening Christmas Eve.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/310319946-Michal-Szuldrzynski-To-wizja-UE-wedlug-Merkel-jest-zgodna-z-polskimi-interesami.html -- THE ANTI-PIS MOBILIZATION POTENTIAL NEEDS TO BE REDUCED - PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI: “It is necessary to reduce the anti-PiS mobilization potential. Neutralizing – which does not mean winning them over – a part of the urban liberal electorate. This requires avoiding both hysteria and triumphalism. (...) Consideration is being given (some even speak of a directional decision) to yield on the issue of the judicial law's suspension announced by the CJEU. This time, however, it is supposed to be not a complete, but an almost complete, real, substantive rollback in the dimension demanded by the European side. Will this be enough? Certainly not, although it is a step in the right direction. Will there be others? It is not yet known. Will they be effective? Of course, no one knows that. But this is a rational direction.” -- THE CUMULATIVE RESULT OF THE OPPOSITION IS HIGHER THAN PIS AND KUKIZ - SKWIECIŃSKI CONTINUES: “In short – the 2018 local elections have shown that anything can happen in a year. PiS might win an outright majority, might be condemned to a coalition government, but it might also simply lose power. The cumulative electoral result of the Civic Coalition, PSL, and SLD in the 2018 elections was larger than the cumulative result of PiS and Kukiz. And this is a disturbing memento.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/419416-jak-walczyc-o-druga-kadencje-skwiecinski-w-sieci -- PRZYŁĘBSKA - PERSONA NON GRATA - Bartosz T. Wieliński in Gazeta Wyborcza: “– We don't want to do anything that could suggest we recognize Ms. Przyłębska as the president of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. There are too many doubts in this matter – explains an interlocutor of 'Wyborcza' from Berlin diplomatic and government circles. He also says that her husband, Andrzej Przyłębski, is making unremitting efforts to change this. We have confirmed this with other German sources, diplomatic and judicial.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,24122248,julia-przylebska-w-berlinie-non-grata.html -- RAFAŁ WOŚ CRITICALLY ABOUT THE NEW PENSION MODEL: “What worries me most about the PPK (which are already in the final legislative stages in parliament) is the missed opportunity to fix a mistake. Perhaps the most terrible one made by our political class after 1989, since Buzek's pension reform. The mistake was that we then swung our systemic gear sharply from the left (where it had been since the PRL era) to the right. In practice, this meant moving from the so-called defined benefit system to the so-called defined contribution model. To put it in absolutely understandable terms for everyone: as a result of the Buzek government's actions, we moved away from a solidarity system, where successive generations of workers contribute to the pensions of today's seniors, and then expect the same from future generations. And we found ourselves in a rather anti-communal world, where 'everyone fends for themselves' and whatever pension you save, that's what you'll get.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/ukochane-dziecko-premiera-156118 -- BIRTHDAYS: SUNDAY: Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Sławomir Sierakowski, Jadwiga Zakrzewska, Katarzyna Pawlak, Wojciech Czuchnowski.