-- DONALD TUSK'S HEARING BEFORE THE COMMISSION, PIS SUBMITS BILL ON LUSTRATION OF FOREIGN SERVICE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/11/05/

-- GRZEGORZ SCHETYNA ON TRZASKOWSKI'S SPECTACULAR VICTORY - in an interview with Jacek Harłukowicz in GW: “Certainly, Rafał Trzaskowski's result. November 2nd marked a year since we stood together and I announced that he was our candidate for the capital. Then we had 12 months of a long, difficult, and tough campaign. The emotions accompanying it were close to electing the president of the country. This race also radiated across Poland. And Trzaskowski's excellent campaign, his commitment, certainly helped in victories in other cities. Rafał's victory, crowned with 56% of the votes, was spectacular.”

-- SCHETYNA STATES TRZASKOWSKI IS A PRIMARY OPPOSITION POLITICIAN AND CAN ASPIRE TO THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITIONS: “Rafał Trzaskowski has shown that he is an absolutely primary politician in our camp. He has everything to aspire to the most important positions in Poland in the future.” http://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,24127424,schetyna-zatrzymalismy-pis-ale-to-dopiero-poczatek-wyborcy.html

-- CITIES DISLIKE PIS - GW's front page.

-- THE CONVICTION THAT PIS IS RUSHING FORWARD TURNED OUT TO BE A MYTH - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “If the opposition goes to the elections divided, and some of the smaller formations do not cross the electoral threshold, PiS will again increase its chances for sole rule. Judging by the cautious statements of opposition politicians, the following scenario is possible. First, everyone will count themselves in the spring European elections and check their strength. Depending on the result, they will sit down – or not – for talks. In previous years, in the case of a series of elections following each other in short periods, the formation winning the first ones usually rode a wave to victory in subsequent votes. However, the political scene today is so shaky and volatile that this rule may not apply.”

-- A PAINFUL RADOM DEFEAT - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “Jarosław Kaczyński's version of the pedagogy of shame divides Poles, nurtures our complexes and phobias. And it irritates the urban electorate. The Radom defeat is all the more painful because it is not an opposition bastion like Krakow or Gdansk.”

-- THE OPPOSITION HAS SENSED BLOOD, DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE CORNERED, PASSIVE POLITICS ONLY ENCOURAGES THE FORCES OF THE ANCIEN REGIME - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “It is also worth remembering that PiS has been trying for a long time to appeal to better-off, urban voters, emphasizing economic development and growth elements. However, it has not achieved success in this field. It is difficult to believe that with another attempt, in much more difficult conditions, a miracle will happen, even if the context is more favorable (de-escalation of some disputes). The ruling camp's analysts face an extremely difficult task. The opposition has sensed blood, and it won't get any easier. In these conditions, one thing cannot be done: you cannot let yourself be cornered. You must clearly state what you want, in terms of program, but also values. Passive, reactive policy in the civilizational, cultural, and media sphere, even if it aligns with poll guidelines, only emboldens the forces of the ancien regime, and gives voters the impression that the losers of 2015 are the "original." This path will not lead to long-term rule.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/419612-nie-ulega-watpliwosci-pokusa-zmian-w-pis-jest-i-bedzie-duza

-- CERTAIN ILLUSIONS HAVE FINALLY BURST - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “Focusing the offer and message on those social forces that were and are ready to change Poland, who supported this program in 2015 and remain steadfast in their choice. This is the strength that gives the right the ability to win, giving it power. And it is fundamentally located outside of large cities. I emphasize: this cannot mean abandoning the effort to convince residents of larger cities. Nor does it mean abandoning aspiration, an element of aesthetics important to voters. But something must be the priority! You cannot have several priorities, because then you have none. It is possible that one day PiS will be a national, constitutional formation. Today, however, these are pipe dreams. The goal must be to extend the mandate, and the fight will be even and difficult.”

-- YOU CAN PUSH ANYONE OUT OF THE CAMP, BUT THINNED LIKE THAT IT WON'T BE ABLE TO WIN - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Secondly, as I write like a voice crying in the wilderness, respect the fact that Jarosław Kaczyński's victorious camp consisted of many forces and centers. You can push anyone out of the camp, but thinned like that, cleansed of diversity, it will not be able to win, especially against an opposition that will be an 'anti-PiS coalition.'”

-- TODAY THE CAMP COULD WIN BUT MUST IMPLEMENT SEVERAL CHANGES - KARNOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “Generally, after the October elections, everyone has something to think about. I assess that today Jarosław Kaczyński's camp would rather gain an extension of its mandate for another parliamentary term. But to deliver this chance until the autumn of 2019, it must implement several changes.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/419615-w-tych-wyborach-pewne-zludzenia-ostatecznie-pekly

-- FAILURES IN CENTERS THAT ARE HARD TO CALL “LEMMINGRADS” ARE AN ALARM BELL FOR PIS - PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI: “What happened means that the Polish provinces are by no means unvaccinated against the anti-PiS message, neither civilizational, political, nor in any other way. They are currently, as the regional and especially district elections have shown, decidedly more pro-PiS than opposition. But the ruling party's strategists must consider whether the unambiguous results of the second round are a signal that worrying processes for Jarosław Kaczyński's party are beginning there (or more cautiously: may begin). That Granada may be infected.”

-- A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF VOTERS, WITH A GRIMACE OF DISGUST, WILL VOTE ON THE PRINCIPLE: EVEN A THIEF, AS LONG AS NOT A PISEK - SKWIECIŃSKI CONTINUES: “Furthermore, it is very clear that a significant portion of voters (mainly in metropolises, with the striking example of Gdansk at the forefront, but probably to some extent in smaller centers as well) voted with clenched teeth and a grimace of disgust, on the principle: 'even a thief, as long as not a PiS-member.' These emotions are stronger and more widespread than previously thought. And clearly, only in part they are simply carried over from the pre-2015 era; to a large extent, they are new, related to the practice and strategy of governance pursued by PiS later; this is evidenced by the aforementioned fact that in many places candidates of this party received a smaller percentage of votes than in 2014. It is also very clear (which is, incidentally, the reverse side of the phenomenon signaled above) that the rejection of the Third Polish Republic is less widespread, and above all – less profound than many believed. After the first round of local elections, I wrote that a second PiS term is still very possible, but not yet decided. Today I must repeat this assessment.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/419614-wyniki-musza-byc-odebrane-przez-pis-jako-dzwonek-alarmowy

-- ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ WRITES THAT PIS CAN WIN POWER DESPITE THE RESISTANCE OF LARGE CITIES: “The results of the first round of local government elections are proof that PiS can win power, despite the clear resistance of the urban electorate. This is a key conclusion before next year's parliamentary elections, which are, after all, similar to voting in regional assemblies in local government elections.”

-- PIS'S DEFEAT IS NOT PAINFUL AT ALL - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “As for the second round, firstly, PiS's defeat is not painful at all. After all, the party's candidates forced runoffs in cities important to the opposition, such as Krakow, Gdansk, Kielce, or Szczecin.”

-- SOMETIMES SCHETYNA AND LUBNER WILL BE PETITIONERS TO THE PRESIDENTS - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “Secondly, the triumph of anti-PiS candidates in each of these cities is not a direct victory for Civic Coalition and its leaders, Grzegorz Schetyna and Katarzyna Lubnauer. In fact, Schetyna and Lubnauer will sometimes be petitioners to the victorious mayors. This will be the case, for example, in Krakow, where Prof. Jacek Majchrowski has been ruling since 2002.”

-- NOT EVERYWHERE IS A PIS DEFEAT A KO TRIUMPH - STANKIEWICZ: “So, it is clear that not everywhere a PiS defeat automatically translates into a Civic Coalition triumph. Therefore, to draw more serious political conclusions from the second round of elections, we must wait for the results from almost all 650 runoffs for the positions of mayors and presidents. Then it will be possible to check, for example, the result of a key clash that could be a harbinger of next year's election results. This is PiS's battle to oust mayors from office in villages and small towns from PSL.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wyniki-wyborow-2018-w-duzych-miastach-w-drugiej-turze-mlode-wilki-zawodza-prezesa-pis/n7khsy7.amp?__twitter_impression=true

-- ŁUKASZ ROGOJSZ ON GAZETA.PL ABOUT A YELLOW CARD: “The second conclusion is that the local government elections were a yellow card for the ruling camp. Although for now mainly in metropolises, the fact remains. Three years ago, the United Right managed to win in large cities – we wrote about this recently in Gazeta.pl – now this feat has not been achieved. It is therefore clear that the 'good change' program in its current urban form does not suit voters. The question therefore arises: should the previously chosen course be changed and an attempt made to fight for this group, or should this course be further sharpened and rely on a great mobilization of its electorate, which (perhaps) will be enough for further electoral victories?” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,24128175,eksperyment-kaczynskiego-nie-wypalil-ii-tura-wyborow-bezlitosna.html

-- KIELCE IS AN ALARM SIGNAL - ROGOJSZ CONTINUES: “This should be a warning signal for the ruling party. Because Kielce is one of the largest cities where PiS supported the incumbent president, and the effect is that, unlike many of his colleagues who have been governing cities since 2002, such as Adamowicz or Majchrowski, he has just lost his position. The scale of this defeat is enormous, and this is by far the most interesting of these results.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/dr-jaroslaw-flis-malgorzata-wassermann-byla-bez-szans/nl0zn5e

-- SIKORSKI FROM BYDGOSZCZ TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - BYDGOSZCZ GW: “As 'Wyborcza' has learned, Radosław Sikorski will run in the European Parliament elections. He is to be the Bydgoszcz locomotive for the Civic Coalition's list.” http://bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl/bydgoszcz/7,48722,24126197,radoslaw-sikorski-wraca-do-polityki-bedzie-lokomotywa-po-w.html

-- LUDWIK DORN: PSL FALLING BELOW 5% IS A GUARANTEE OF A SIMPLE MAJORITY FOR PIS - he says in an interview with GW: “If in cities below 200,000 inhabitants the results of the second round are not the best for PiS, then the entire blow will fall on less urbanized areas, i.e., cities up to 50,000, and rural areas, because here Kaczyński's party has not lost, and has even gained a little here and there. Ensuring that the PSL does not exceed the 5% threshold in parliamentary elections is a matter of life and death for PiS. Without this, they will not have a simple majority.”

-- THE OPPOSITION HAS RECONQUERED THE CITIES, BUT LOST AMONG THE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING CLASS - DORN CONTINUES IN GW: “Yes, although it has done something very significant, because until now it could not think of taking power from PiS. It has reconquered its position in cities above 50,000 inhabitants and in the upper and middle middle class. In 2015, it narrowly beat PiS in the managers and specialists class, and lost in the others. Now it has won it back, but it has not won back its position among the lower middle and working classes at all, and has even lost there. (... The old PO, before 2015, had much stronger footholds in the lower middle and working classes than it has now. Therefore, to defeat PiS, they must strengthen themselves there, remembering that they will not gain an advantage.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24128333,dorn-teraz-najwazniejszy-cel-pis-to-pozrec-psl-bo-w-miastach.html

-- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI WRITES THAT DASZYŃSKI IS A MODEL FOR THE LEFT: “For the fragmented democratic left, which, in the face of a creeping right-wing coup and painful defeats in local government elections, is trying to reach an agreement before the European and parliamentary elections, Daszyński is an ideal symbol of integration. Because from feminists, greens, and urban movements to trade unionists and traditional social democrats, every wing of the left owes something important to the first Prime Minister of Independent Poland. Perhaps, then, by his monument, a miracle will finally happen and the Third Polish Republic will receive at least the promise of a significant, left-democratic third leg, without which democracy cannot be stable.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24128396,dla-rozdrobnionej-lewicy-ignacy-daszynski-jest-wymarzonym-symbolem.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Piotr Wierzbicki, Grażyna Kulczyk, Marcin Bosacki, Jakub Golab, Sidonia Jędrzejewska