-- DONALD TUSK IN ŁÓDŹ ON CONTEMPORARY BOLSHEVIKS - 300LIVE: Tusk: Piłsudski and Wałęsa had a more difficult situation. If they could defeat the Bolsheviks, why shouldn't you be able to defeat contemporary Bolsheviks? https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/11/10

-- LIBERAL OPPOSITION USING THE EURO AS A WHIP AGAINST PIŚ - Piotr Zaremba in PTT: "However, there are more important, programmatic issues. For example, to find a whip against PiS, the liberal opposition has returned to demanding a rapid march towards the Euro, which would replace the Zloty. This is clearly a political, even ideological construct. Economists do not hide the fact that in the short term, the Euro would likely weaken the Polish economy, just as it effectively failed to shield the economies of Southern European countries from the crisis."

-- WHAT SHOULD POLAND BE AND SHOULD IT EXIST AT ALL - ZAREMBA ASKS: "PO politician Tomasz Siemoniak ridiculed the title of the museum exhibition 'Shouting: Poland' on Twitter. He was immediately ridiculed as a literary ignoramus for not knowing it was a quote from Juliusz Słowacki. Yet, he had a point in that Słowacki was mocking excitable patriots, incapable of asking themselves the question: 'Poland, but what kind of Poland.' And at the same time… And at the same time, I will write provocatively that there are moments when it is worth shouting: Poland. By the way, I would like to ask Representative Siemoniak's party what Poland means to them, beyond an opportunity to once again get one over on the ruling PiS? What should it be in the future? Should it exist?" https://dziennikzachodni.pl/swieto-niepodleglosci-11-listopada-piotr-zaremba-pytania-podstawowe-na-stulecie-niepodleglosci/ar/13652744

-- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON THE EURO IN RZ - POLES REJECT THE EURO, DESPITE GENERAL PRO-EUROPEANISM: "It's not a new idea that Kawalec advocates the view that not only Poland, but also countries like those in Southern Europe, would benefit from their own currency – as a tool for influencing and defending their own economy. Interestingly, Poles seem to share a similar opinion. Repeatedly suspected of making casual or irrational judgments, they reject the swift adoption of the Euro in all polls. Despite their general pro-European sentiment."

-- ON THE SHORT-TERM INCONVENIENCES OF SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL GROUPS WITH THE EURO - ZAREMBA FURTHER: "We have a feeling, and if we don't, we should have it, that our own currency is one of the most lasting guarantees of our sovereignty. Is it an intrinsic value for me? Yes. I understand the reasoning of European federalists, including Polish ones, but I do not share it. Is sovereignty the same for all Poles? Probably not. The ease with which circles closer to today's opposition accept a supposedly inevitable historical process does not surprise me. Even though the price is short-term inconveniences for significant social groups."

-- PIŚ'S POLITICAL CULTURE IS NOT VERY LIBERAL ON A DAILY BASIS - ZAREMBA FURTHER IN RZ: "PiS's political culture is not very liberal on a daily basis – this can be illustrated by various examples, from the authoritarianism towards the opposition in organizing parliamentary work to the administration's attitude towards various civic initiatives not connected with the government. This somewhat transforms their project into its own opposite. Here we could move on to a debate about how much freedom there was in our history. On the one hand, there was enough of it so that Poland's sanation semi-dictatorship did not turn into something truly dangerous. One could live in this state day-to-day, the citizen still had quite a lot of various 'loosenesses,' and most of our neighbors and non-neighbors were worse off in this regard." https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/181109466-Piotr-Zaremba-Nie-rezygnujmy-z-patriotyzmu.html&template=restricted

-- PROF. KAROL MODZELEWSKI ON FASCISM'S HEIRS CLAIMING WHAT IS NOT THEIR TRADITION - QUOTED BY WIĘŹ: "We must finally take this holiday [November 11th] away from fascist and quasi-fascist organizations. It is an aberration, a horrendous lie that should make every historian's hair stand on end and turn gray." "I recall that the day Piłsudski returned from Magdeburg was a holiday of the Sanationists, not the National Democrats. And in no case was it of the pre-war ONR, which was outlawed by Piłsudski," says Modzelewski. "I don't want to take anything away from the interwar National Democrats – there were many decent people among them. However, there were very few, if any, in the ONR. We must not tolerate the fact that Polish heirs of fascism are claiming a tradition with which they have nothing in common," he adds."

-- MODZELEWSKI ON THE OPPOSITION NOT BEING ABLE TO REST ON DECLARATIONS ABOUT THREATENED DEMOCRACY: "According to the professor, if we want to get out of the situation we find ourselves in after PiS came to power, 'we cannot limit ourselves to declarations about threatened democracy, understandable only to urban intellectuals.' 'The only chance is to rebuild contact with that part of society that votes for PiS because it feels rejected by the Third Polish Republic,' he emphasizes." http://wiez.com.pl/2018/11/09/wiezcytuje-prof-modzelewski-o-11-listopada-trzeba-wreszcie-odebrac-to-swieto-organizacjom-faszystowskim/

-- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE FACT THAT OPPOSITION LEADERS ARE NO LONGER PROTESTING AGAINST PRESIDENT KACZYŃSKI'S MONUMENT: "The 'Zagończycy' (fighters/conquerors) of the Third Polish Republic also have dreams, but on their own scale, meaning toxic ones. They dream of demolishing the monument. But they won't succeed, and if necessary, there will be defenders. Something else is important: the most important figures practically no longer protest against this monument. They mumble something under their breath, but it's not what it used to be, there's no strength in it. In their hearts, they too have accepted that this monument is something natural, that it arises not from someone's whim, but from Polish history and the will of the nation. And also from the greatness of the President." https://wpolityce.pl/m/spoleczenstwo/420505-prezydent-byl-z-tej-samej-gliny-co-pokolenie-niepodleglosci

-- DMOWSKI WOULD LOOK ON TODAY'S SELF-ISOLATION WITH HORROR - ADAM MICHNIK IN GW: "Secondly, we often fail to realistically analyze our geopolitical situation. I think Dmowski would look on the Polish government's self-isolation within the European Union and its senseless conflicts with neighbors with horror. Dmowski was a realist, an intellectual and political pragmatist. Although he was often mistaken in his diagnoses, he was largely right in the fundamental debate about 'how to take care of the Polish cause.' He was right in his polemic with the 'Galician conservatives,' but also with the consistently insurrectionist thought, to which he contrasted the idea of active politics; such politics that every day and on every occasion demands care for the Polish cause, but repeats that this cause must not be gambled away poker-style."

-- ANOTHER 10 YEARS OF PIŚ RULE AND WE WILL EVALUATE THE PRL PERIOD SIMILARLY - MICHNIK FURTHER: "I will say something provocative. After another ten years of PiS rule, people like Kaczyński, Macierewicz, Duda, or Ziobro – will we evaluate the PRL period similarly? Will we think of those nasty years as the era of poems by Herbert and Szymborska, philosophy by Kołakowski and Tischner, Swieżawski and Baczki, historical works by Kula, Kieniewicz, Wereszycki, and Małowist, films by Wajda, Munk, Kutz, and Zanussi, theater by Swinarski and Dejmek, essays by Wyka, Błoński, and Kijowski, the Krakow Church led by Archbishop Karol Wojtyła?" http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24143828,adam-michnik-jeszcze-10-lat-z-kaczynskim-i-zatesknimy-za.html#nowyMTmagazyn

-- PUTIN'S MODEL APPEALS TO KACZYŃSKI AND ORBÁN - DONALD TUSK IN CONVERSATION WITH ADAM MICHNIK AND JAROSŁAW KURSKI IN GW: "Kaczyński is a model example of a politician destroying liberal democracy understood as freedom of speech, free markets, free elections, separation of powers, rule of law, human rights. The model of power of Putin and Erdoğan appeals to both Kaczyński and Orbán."

-- TUSK ON FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF CONFLICT THAT HAS HIS AND KACZYŃSKI'S FACES: "Emotions rule politics today not only in Poland. We have reached a time when they are more important in politics than rational arguments. Love, hatred, despair, hope have become the salt of politics. Not an academic lecture. I feel uncomfortable in the atmosphere of this sharp conflict, which is also very personalized. Because it so happened that this multidimensional and historical political dispute today has the faces of Kaczyński and Tusk. But this is only a contemporary form of something that has deep and long-standing roots."

-- EVERYTHING CAN BE REVERSED, IT'S ABOUT A RELATIVELY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF VOTES - TUSK FURTHER IN GW: "The mood has not changed radically, and everything can be reversed. It's about a relatively small percentage of votes. The recent local elections confirm the correctness of those who say that we will not replace one with the other. Both were present in 1918, and in 1926, and in 1939, and during the first 'Solidarity.' And they will always be. We will have to live together, and sometimes next to each other, in some tension, for the next hundred years. It's hard to endure this state when the government stokes the fire, feeding on conflict. It's easier when the government mitigates this conflict. Today's government, unfortunately, opts for sharp conflict."

-- WE WILL BE LEFT ALONE LIKE A THUMB - TUSK FURTHER: "Therefore, the lesson from the 1930s for me is as follows: you, the rulers, are making mistakes today that will lead to us being left alone like a thumb in the event of external threat! Neither Rydz-Śmigły nor Mościcki had the instruments to prevent disaster. This team can prevent disaster, but doesn't want to or can't. Which amounts to the same thing."

-- TUSK ON THE LACK OF PERSONAL HEROISM AMONG PIŚ LEADERS: "There are two threads. The first is Kaczyński's personal ambition, concerning his brother and himself. A purely personal obsession to build a monument – and I'm not talking about the Smolensk tragedy, but about the 'great, historical' role of both brothers. This entire line of historical policy is taking on caricature dimensions. (...) PiS's public opinion leaders, not just politicians, have a radical deficit of personal heroism. This translates into a need to prove to themselves and the world that Poles, meaning them or their heroes, performed heroic deeds. Now they want to win again. And this is consistent with their conflict-driven way of thinking about politics. I feel fulfilled when I create an enemy and destroy him, rather than when we build something together. This psychological phenomenon resonates with many people. This is our biggest problem today. If there is no external enemy, we create one within the country, and then we are only a step away from violence against, for example, minorities or immigrants."

– I WOULD BE USEFUL - TUSK TELLS KURSKI AND MICHNIK: "I do not underestimate international arguments, they are justified. It so happened that I have the most instruments and contacts, and a good reputation here. So I would be useful. What happens in Poland in a dozen or so months – European Parliament elections, national parliamentary elections, and then presidential elections – will be decided in the minds and hearts of Poles, not during our conversation…"

-- YOU MUST RESPECT DISCRETION, IT IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE WAY OF PROCEEDING - TUSK FURTHER: "If I were to make any declaration of political involvement in the country, I would have to resign from my current function tomorrow. This is not a monastery, of course, I have the right to express opinions, especially regarding the observance of European standards in Poland, but my partners here must know that I maintain neutrality in my work. This is required by the ethics of responsibility in this position. I cannot be a good organizer of the Council of Europe's work while remaining impartial if I were to act as a competitor to one of the Council's members. Regardless of what happens in a year, discretion is the only acceptable way of proceeding. And you must respect that." http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24146735,donald-tusk-opowiada-michnik-i-kurski-pytaja-o-polskie-sto.html

-- CAUTIOUS ENDURANCE OR BRAVE PROGRESS - ANDRZEJ WIELOWIEYSKI IN GW: "Both Europe and we need a strong Union. The high, over 70 percent support of our society for the EU indicates that we have a chance to renew and strengthen our position in the European community. In the new conditions of globalization, the alternative to a strong Union is dependence of medium-sized countries like ours on global powers. In the next two years, we have elections three times. Poles will have to decide whether to continue to cautiously endure as before, or to bravely move forward with others." http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24143751,nauczylismy-sie-trwac-pora-isc-do-przodu-100-rocznica-odzyskania.html

-- IF ANYTHING DISCOURAGES PEOPLE FROM THE RIGHT-WING PRESS, IT IS MORE LIKELY SATURATION THAN RADICALIZATION - ALEKSANDRA RYBIŃSKA IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: "I don't think our message is fundamentally different from what it was before. It hasn't changed since the days when we were all in the opposition. I have neither radicalized nor softened. I write only what I want. 'Gazeta Polska' is also today as it was before. I worked there once, and today I read exactly the same. Nothing has changed. If anything discourages people from the right-wing press, it is more likely saturation than radicalization. I also worked at Paweł Lisicki's 'Rzeczpospolita,' and the people who work at 'Do Rzeczy' today held the same views as they do now."

-- RYBIŃSKA ON THE FALSEHOOD OF THE STATEMENT THAT WHOEVER HAS TV WINS ELECTIONS: "The belief persists in people's minds, from earlier times, that whoever has television wins elections. This belief persists not only in Poland but also, for example, in France, where heads of public media were appointed by the president until recently. Nicolas Sarkozy waged an open war with public television because he was convinced that it was thanks to it that he would win re-election. That's nonsense. We have a huge number of private stations, and absolutely no one and nothing can force a person to watch a specific public television channel. I also doubt that anyone in Poland lives in such a dark hole that they cannot watch Polsat or TVN. Besides, there is the internet. At any moment, I can turn off the TV and go online, where I have all sources of information." https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2018/11/09/aleksandra-rybinska-prasa-prawica-polska/

-- THE LEFT WILL NOT WIN UNLESS IT RECLAIMS THE WORD "PATRIOTISM" FROM THE RIGHT. HOW CAN THIS BE DONE? - ADAM LESZCZYŃSKI: "Is there a better way, however? Yes: stop playing the game written by nationalists. Polish patriotism was democratic and left-wing. Its enemy was not only the tsarist policeman, but also their domestic collaborators – almost always belonging to the propertied classes (yes, these are not fantasies). Without a popular and democratic Republic – popular in the socialist sense, i.e., granting citizens equality – there is no independent Poland. This must be spoken about without any inhibitions towards nationalists waving the Swords of Chrobry and images of the Pope. No complexes, no explanations, full reclamation: they should be ashamed of their Mr. Roman, not the PPS of Stefan Okrzeja."

-- LESZCZYŃSKI ON THE NEED TO BUILD A DIFFERENT IPN: "However, for reclamation to be possible, the right-wing propaganda apparatus, financed overwhelmingly with public money, must be dismantled. Therefore, a radical reform of school curricula is needed, a halt to funding for the television-cinema 'God's Homeland' spectacle, the liquidation of the IPN and its re-establishment, under a different name and with different staff, as a research institute with a politically diverse profile. According to leaks from circles close to the authorities of Civic Coalition, its leaders have understood the consequences of ceding ground to the right on this issue – and after a potential opposition victory in the elections, at least partial implementation of these postulates can be expected. But first, they have to win." http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/adam-leszczynski-lewica-patriotyzm/

-- MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON PERSUASIONS FOR POLAND TO JOIN THE BANKING UNION IN EXCHANGE FOR FORGETTING ABOUT THE "GRILLING": "The thesis about pressure is also confirmed by informal talks between the governments of Poland and Germany (from this year), during which Berlin urged Warsaw to declare some form of accession, at least to the banking union (in exchange for, for example, forgetting about Poland's 'grilling' in Brussels). This topic was considered within PiS, but so far it has not gained sufficient momentum."

-- FIJOŁEK ON THE EURO BEING A DECENT CARD FOR THE OPPOSITION TO GRAB AN EXTRA 3-4% IN THE EP ELECTIONS: "Secondly, the topic of the Eurozone could be a decent card for the Civic Platform – despite everything – in the European elections, which are just around the corner. Some 30-35 percent of Poles are in favor of adopting the Euro, and although it's a minority, if the topic were properly packaged and sold (say, as 'for' or 'against' European integration in general, as a declaration that one is not for 'Polexit'), then who knows if Civic Coalition wouldn't manage to grab an additional 3-4 percentage points thanks to this, which would be crucial from the perspective of fighting for more seats in the European Parliament." https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/420378-co-oznaczaja-deklaracje-schetyny-ze-szczytu-epp-w-helsinkach

-- MAREK BIERNACKI ON DONALD TUSK'S DISTANCE FROM SPECIAL SERVICES - states in a conversation with Eliza Olczyk in RZ: "Donald feared the services and interference in proceedings like the devil fears holy water. He had an aversion to the services from his underground days. It would never have occurred to him to interfere in this matter. In my opinion, this was a serious game by one of our eastern neighbors, calculated to destabilize the state."

-- BIERNACKI ON THE GLARINGLY UNFAIR DE-SB LAW: "And do you know what hurts me? Jurek Kowalski, an officer who led the operation against Pruszków, had his pension cut by the 'good change' because he worked in the SB for a few months. A person who built the drug division in organized crime, was in the CBŚ, led Operation Enigma, i.e., the dismantling of the Pruszków gang, organized services that operated in Afghanistan, was ready to die for Poland, is not entitled to a decent pension."

-- I AM NOT INTERESTED IN POLITICS WHOSE CONSEQUENCE IS THE CHOICE OF THE LESSER EVIL - BIERNACKI FURTHER IN RZ: "I will not appeal the decision of the party's board, which I consider unjust. We all knew and know the values I represent and my views on worldview issues. I cannot imagine returning to PO. It would only be possible if we were apologized to. For years, I was added value in PO, and it wasn't me who left it. Besides, I am not interested in politics whose consequence is that the only choice for a citizen standing at the ballot box is the choice of the lesser evil." https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/181109543-Marek-Biernacki-Pranie-pieniedzy-w-kasynach-to-byl-polski-patent.html&cid=44&template=restricted

-- PIOTR GUZIAŁ SUGGESTS THAT THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL PUBLISHED ZIOBRO'S MOTION REGARDING THE TREATY INADVERTENTLY - in a conversation with Piotr Witwicki in RZ: "Zbigniew Ziobro's motion (on whether one of the articles of the EU treaty is consistent with the Polish constitution – editor's note) was filed with the Constitutional Tribunal on October 4th, and was published on its website two weeks later, before the election silence. Someone was interested in it happening this way, and the question is whether it was premeditated or foolish."

-- GUZIAŁ ON BIEDROŃ AND JAKIM: "Patryk is a titan of work, and I admire him for that. But worldview-wise, I am much closer to Robert Biedroń, whom I have known for 20 years. I will even risk the thesis that we like each other." https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/181109531-Piotr-Guzial-Robert-Biedron-moze-na-mnie-liczyc.html&template=restricted

-- BRUDZIŃSKI CALMED DOWN THE POLICE OFFICERS - headline in Fakt.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Joanna Solska, Bogdan Lis, Krzysztof Wyszkowski, Wacław Martyniuk, Jan Klawiter, Tadeusz Arkit, Lech Nikolski, Andrzej Seremet, Andrzej Orzechowski, Andrzej Bratkowski, Piotr Schramm, SUNDAY: Jolanta Banach, Mikołaj Budzanowski, MONDAY: Jakub Kulesza, Norbert Wojnarowski, Piotr Różycki, Marek Tatała, Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak.