-- EWA MILEWICZ ON THE BOOK ABOUT JACK KURON: “The book written by Anna Bikont and Helena Łuczywo very well shows what kind of person Jacek Kuroń was. It’s a book written without anesthesia. They write things about Jacek that even if I knew, I would be afraid to write about them,” says Ewa Milewicz, an opposition activist in PRL.

-- DON'T YOU FEEL RIDICULOUS? - PIOTR ZAREMBA TO TVP WIADOMOŚCI JOURNALISTS: “TVP Wiadomości did inform, with one sentence from Krzysztof Ziemiec, about the resignation of the KNF head at the beginning, but considered it the fifth most important piece of news of the day. It was presented in such a way that Leszek Czarnecki, the subject of the corruption proposal in this particular story, was portrayed as the main culprit. We were informed that Marek Chrzanowski left nobly for the good of Poland. P.S. This is not a defense of Czarnecki; I think we have witnessed a snippet of a war of monsters under the carpet. But the recorded words of the KNF head, even without that mythical sum, are a huge SCANDAL! The meeting itself was a scandal. But routine information about arms talks with the USA is more important to state television, and news from the commission investigating VAT fraud is, of course, meant to create the impression that scandals only happened during the PO era. I no longer want to engage in a discussion about whether such crude propaganda is effective. Perhaps it is. But people, do you truly have no sense of your own ridiculousness? What profession are you practicing?” https://www.facebook.com/100011509202636/posts/674135136313454/

-- SCHETYNA ON THE KNF AND LOWER SILESIAN ASSEMBLY CASE, DWORCZYK ON THE LACK OF NEED FOR PMM TO MEET WITH KNF, TK QUESTIONS THE ABOLITION OF THE 30-FOLD CAP - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/11/14/

-- TAPES SWEPT AWAY THE KNF HEAD - front page of RZ.

-- KNF AFFAIR SHAKES POLAND'S POLITICS - front page of GW.

-- MORAWIECKI LEARNED FROM TUSK HOW TO REACT IN A CRISIS - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: “Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has learned from his predecessors: Donald Tusk and Leszek Miller, how to react in a crisis situation. (...) The government's reaction to the crisis situation is very reminiscent of Donald Tusk's actions as Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland. The former prime minister also sought immediate explanations in emergency situations. (...) Mateusz Morawiecki knows that his survival depends on his reaction to the crisis situation, which is why he acts like Tusk.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/181119812-Oczekiwanie-na-nowa-afere-Rywina.html

-- MORAWIECKI MUST TAKE CONTROL OF KNF - ANDRZEJ STEC in RZ: “Prime Minister Morawiecki, to whom this office theoretically reports (in practice, the head of the NBP has more influence there), must take control of it without delay. After all, it is no longer just about the capital market, but more broadly – the financial market: banks, insurers, pension funds, investment funds... The revelations in 'GW' contain everything: serious accusations against one of Poland's biggest businessmen and strong evidence: audio and video recordings, transcripts, and a criminal report. It is difficult to interpret events here in any other way.” http://www.rp.pl/Opinie/181119777-KNF-to-nie-posrednictwo-pracy.html

-- THE PRIME MINISTER WANTS TO TAKE OVER KNF (Kublik, Kondzińska, Czuchnowski) in GW: “In the Prime Minister's chancellery, there is speculation that Antczak could become the new head of KNF. They want to cut short the whole matter quickly. And they see it in two aspects. – The first is that it will be difficult to prove that someone promised someone 40 million zł. Such a proposal is not made directly; someone wrote something on a piece of paper [Czarnecki claims this], but it's unclear what,” emphasizes one of the important politicians of the ruling camp. In his opinion, Sokal and Deputy Minister of Finance Piotr Nowak are emerging as heroes because, as he says, “banks that are in trouble are nationalized so that the entire country's banking system does not collapse.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24164869,afera-w-knf-c-d-jest-sledztwo-dymisja-szefa-a-komisje-chce.html

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ON THE FACT THAT PIS MUST MERCILESSLY ELIMINATE PROVEN CORRUPTION FROM ITS RANKS: “Therefore, for the ruling party, there is no more important issue than to ensure that the resolution of this case confirms the existing image of the group as one that – unlike others – can mercilessly eliminate not only proven corruption from its ranks but also practices and atmospheres that can be associated with it.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/421017-skwiecinski-jedyny-wrazliwy-punkt

-- PEOPLE YOU SHOULDN'T TALK TO, BECAUSE WHEN ALLOWED TOO CLOSE, THEY'LL ALWAYS PULL OUT A KNIFE, EVEN A MICROPHONE ONE - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “So this is not a government affair. It is perhaps an affair of the KNF head (we don't know that), and certainly an affair of business from the core of the Third Polish Republic, business with post-communist roots, which has started to run out of oxygen in the new conditions. I think there will be more such maneuvers. In the new conditions for this world, class struggle is intensifying every year, reserves are dwindling, and elections are approaching. Any trick and any ploy can be expected. Because if someone records and reveals it, they are stepping out of their role, unmasking themselves. Remember this, Good Change, and be more careful than ever. There are people you should never talk to, who, when allowed too close, will always pull out a knife. Even a microphone one.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/spoleczenstwo/420989-afera-knf-i-czarneckiego-to-dowod-ze-rekinom-brakuje-tlenu

-- EWA SIEDLECKA WRITES ABOUT THE NEED TO APPOINT AN INVESTIGATIVE COMMISSION: “However, that does not settle the matter. As in the Rywin case, the question remains whether he acted on behalf of the 'group holding power.' Because the story with Czarnecki's bank is happening in an atmosphere where the ruling party is promoting the idea of 'repolonization' of banks, which in fact consists of them being taken over by banks over which the state treasury has control. The scenario outlined in connection with Getin Noble Bank looks like this: with the help of KNF, restructuring and other corrective decisions will be blocked, leading the bank to the brink of bankruptcy – and then it will be bought for a symbolic amount.” https://siedlecka.blog.polityka.pl/2018/11/13/potrzebna-komisja-sledcza-w-sprawie-tasm-czarneckiego/?nocheck=1

-- WITOLD GADOMSKI in GW ON A POLITICAL UMBRELLA: “Politicians of the ruling party naturally deny having any connections with Chrzanowski, but it is hard to believe that the 'family business' of the KNF chairman – an institution particularly protected by the CBA – would flourish without a political umbrella.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,155290,24164834,uklad-chrzanowskiego-czyli-afera-w-knf-nie-chce-sie-wierzyc.html

-- FACTIONS IN PIS ARE FIGHTING FOR POWER - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA in GW: “Formally, the head of KNF, Marek Chrzanowski, reports to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, but he was appointed during the tenure of Prime Minister Beata Szydło. However, Ms. Szydło had no real influence on whom she appointed. Chrzanowski is a man of NBP President Adam Glapiński, who is now in an alliance with Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro within PiS. The Ziobro faction also includes the influential senator and co-creator of SKOKs, Grzegorz Bierecki. This group is playing against Morawiecki. (...) So Morawiecki is formally responsible for KNF, but in reality, he has little influence on what happens there. Perhaps the affair revealed by 'Wyborcza' will allow him to play against Ziobro and Glapiński and install his own man there. http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24164597,ziobro-morawiecki-i-afera-knf-frakcje-pis-walcza-o-wladze.html

-- DID CZARNECKI DROWN THE KNF HEAD, OR WILL HE SURVIVE HIMSELF? - BARTEK GODUSŁAWSKI in DGP: “The chairman of KNF resigned after accusations of a corrupt proposal to billionaire Leszek Czarnecki. This all happened shortly after an inspection that found his bank had violated the law in selling GetBack bonds. (...) KNF is conducting proceedings and inspections in four investment fund companies in connection with their cooperation with GetBack: Altus, Trigon, Saturn, and Noble Funds. Additionally, last week Polski Dom Maklerski lost its license and received a PLN 2.5 million fine for irregularities in the sale of bonds of the Wrocław debt collection company. In September, an inspection related to the distribution of GetBack securities by Idea Bank was also completed.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/585117,czarnecki-chrzanowski-afera-knf-korupcja-dymisja.html

-- DGP ON CZARNECKI'S MISHANDLED INVESTMENTS: “When Czarnecki visited Chrzanowski in March, the problems of another of the businessman's institutions – Idea Bank – were not yet known. It was heavily involved in offering bonds of the debt collection company GetBack, which was fighting bankruptcy. The problems related to GetBack were already felt in Idea's Q2 results – PLN 46 million is the value of write-downs on unpaid liabilities of a fund owned by the debt collector, and PLN 16 million is a provision for 'client claims related to participation in the GetBack bond offering process.' However, the loss in Q2 (banks of Czarnecki have not yet published results for the next three months) exceeded PLN 400 million. The bank also made provisions for bancassurance products, investments in subsidiaries, and for the impairment of factoring receivables.” https://gospodarka.dziennik.pl/finanse/artykuly/585118,czarnecki-chrzanowski-afera-knf-getin-noble-idea-bank.html

-- THE LAST ELECTIONS SHOW THAT POLES DO NOT WANT THE POLITICIZATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS - BELIEVES DR WALDEMAR PARUCH IN A CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: “The defeat in the cities could be a problem for PiS only if failing to gain power in small towns affects their performance in parliamentary elections. Polls show that such a correlation is unlikely. Poles distinguish very well between local government officials and politicians. The last elections showed that they do not want the simple politicization of cities, i.e., their party-politicization.”

-- PARUCH SPEAKS ABOUT THE ELECTORATE STRUCTURE: “The European elections are not of fundamental importance for the shape of the Polish political scene. Around 20% of voters are the hard electorate of PiS, mainly due to President Kaczyński. 20% are opponents of PiS. 60% vote for situational, contextual reasons, and other factors important at a given time. Only one in four voters is guided by political reasoning. The remaining 75% do not think in left-wing-right-wing categories.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/181119755-Waldemar-Paruch-PiS-wygralo-wybory-z-naddatkiem.html&template=restricted

-- TRÓJMIEJSKA GW ON ATTEMPTS TO FORM COALITIONS IN POMERANIA AND MARSZALEK STRUK'S CLAIMS OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION: “Dariusz Męczykowski from PSL is trying to lure regional assembly councilors from Civic Coalition to form a coalition with PiS, which would take over power in Pomerania. Promises of positions in state-owned companies were allegedly made during negotiations. According to Marshal Mieczysław Struka (PO), such actions bear the hallmarks of corruption. Struka is therefore appealing to law enforcement agencies to provide councilors of the regional assembly with anti-corruption protection.” http://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,24164746,pis-bedzie-rzadzic-na-pomorzu-radny-meczykowski-z-psl.html

-- SZCZECIŃSKA GW ON STANISŁAW WZIĄTEK'S (SLD) HESITATION REGARDING A COALITION IN THE WEST POMERANIAN ASSEMBLY: “Theoretically, SLD is a natural ally of KO and PSL. Chairman Włodzimierz Czarzasty announced that the Alliance will not enter into coalitions with PiS, and those who do not comply will be expelled from the party. However, Stanisław Wziątek does not show such reluctance towards PiS. – I am talking to both sides [PiS and PO – ed.]. My decision on cooperation will depend on programmatic agreements,” he tells ‘Wyborcza.’

-- TRAVELER DOBA DECLARES HE WON'T BE AT THE ASSEMBLY SESSION BECAUSE HE IS PRIMARILY A TRAVELER…: “Aleksander Doba told ‘Wyborcza’ that theoretically a regional coalition of Independents with PiS is possible, but it would be a shock to him. – I am observing what is happening now, I am refraining from comments. – I will not be at the inaugural session. I am primarily a traveler and will be abroad.” http://szczecin.wyborcza.pl/szczecin/7,34939,24164439,kto-ma-dylemat-by-pojsc-z-pis-em-caly-czas-patowa-sytuacja.html

-- TOMASZ BIELECKI in POLITYKA ON THE COUNCIL RETURNING TO THE POLAND ISSUE DESPITE BREXIT: “In any case, the issue of Polish rule of law will return at the next, i.e., December, session of the Council of the EU General Affairs. Polish authorities (including some PiS EU experts) have been feeding themselves and the media since 2016 with predictions that the EU will be so consumed by other problems, especially Brexit, that it will drop the rule of law issue. It's time to dismiss this prognostic failure – although Brexit negotiations are getting hotter and hotter, the EU is not abandoning the issue of the rule of law in Poland.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1771240,1,w-brukseli-znowu-o-polsce.read

-- ARMY MODERNIZATION SWEPT UNDER THE RUG - MACIEJ MIŁOSZ in DGP: “Of course, a certain explanation for this state of affairs is that the already signed purchase of Patriots and the ongoing negotiation of another tranche will drain the Ministry of National Defense budget for new equipment. If this is the main reason, then there is only one clear and prudent solution: defense spending must be increased and rationalized. A much worse explanation for the lack of attention to this issue would be that the government simply does not consider military modernization to be crucial. Regardless of which explanation is true – this state of affairs must be urgently changed.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/585121,modernizacja-armia-patrioty-adelaide-wojsko-polskie-farsa.html

-- SROCZYŃSKI'S TALKS ARE RETURNING - FRAGMENT OF A CONVERSATION WITH DR HANNA SZYMBORSKA - ABDICATION OF THE STATE: “The first reason is the abdication of the state. Industrial policy has become dependent solely on markets, and states have withdrawn from supporting specific sectors of the economy, for example, those that create more valuable and stable jobs. Secondly, trade unions have been broken; unionization is declining, meaning the strength of employees in disputes with capital has weakened. Thirdly, it was acknowledged that the stagnation of middle-class wages is a consequence of globalization and robotization, an objective phenomenon that cannot be fought. In reality, the fundamental problem is the way of thinking. The political mainstream in most Western countries believes that the only tool for governments to influence the economy is monetary policy. Interest rates can be raised or lowered – depending on the economic situation – and we can see what happens.”

-- DR SZYMBORSKA TELLS SROCZYŃSKI ABOUT THE PARADOX THAT AUTOMOTIVE COMPANIES ARE INVESTING IN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS INSTEAD OF PRODUCING CARS: “This was the biggest surprise for the authors of this policy. It turned out that companies are not spending money at all, but saving it. And then they put it back into banks as their own financial investments. Absurdities arise. An automotive concern prefers to allocate billions of dollars to buy short-term financial instruments rather than build a new factory and stick to its core business, which is producing cars. (...) Companies are behaving rationally from their point of view. CEOs are under enormous pressure from shareholders, and it is not profitable for them to invest in long-term projects that would provide more stable jobs and higher wages for employees.” http://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151003,24144057,rozmowy-sroczynskiego-kapitalizm-sie-chwieje-kolejny-kryzys.html

-- BARTOSZ MARCZUK ON THE PFR BOARD: “From November 19, he will be the vice-president responsible for implementing the Employee Capital Plans (PPK) program.” https://www.pb.pl/bartosz-marczuk-w-zarzadzie-pfr-945433

-- BIRTHDAYS: Stanisław Karczewski, Marek Ostrowski, Michał Strąk.