-- CZERWIŃSKA REASSURES ON STABILITY COMMITTEE, SIEMONIAK ON VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/11/19/

-- PO-PiS COALITION IN BYTOM - DZIENNIK ZACHODNI's FRONT PAGE: https://www.press.pl/jedynki/pokaz/7/2018-11-19

-- KACZYŃSKI REPEATS MILLER'S MISTAKE - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA in GW: "After the Rywin affair erupted, Prime Minister Leszek Miller politically failed because he announced that everything was in order and did not change course regarding the media law. PiS is doing the same now, continuing to push through an amendment that facilitates the takeover of Leszek Czarnecki's banks for one zloty.

-- WIELOWIEYSKA ON TERLECKI'S STRANGE BEHAVIOR: "PiS, at this moment, right after the outbreak of the affair, is repeating Miller's mistakes. They are still pushing for changes concerning the takeover of banks for one zloty. Deputy Marshal Ryszard Terlecki is doing this personally. He is chairing the Sejm session, keeping his phone to his ear the whole time, as if carrying out orders from above. This image practically begs to be used in an opposition election spot."

-- CAN THE OPPOSITION CAPITALIZE ON THIS? - WIELOWIEYSKA'S CONCLUSION: "Kaczyński, by doing almost nothing regarding the KNF (Financial Supervision Authority), is making a political mistake and providing the opposition with excellent fuel: the PiS leader is covering up all the heroes of the affair and has effective tools to sweep the matter under the rug because he controls the prosecution. The question is whether the opposition will be able to use this effectively." http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24182739,po-wybuchu-afery-knf-kaczynski-powtarza-blad-millera-udaje.html

-- MORE HEADS SHOULD ROLL - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF of RZ: "If we are to avoid a crisis that will hit both depositors and the entire sector, effective intervention by the NBP (National Bank of Poland) and the rescue of Czarnecki's bank are needed. This will be proof of good intentions. Any other scenario will only confirm a conspiracy at the very top of the system. All the negative characters of the scandal should also step down. Not only Marek Chrzanowski, but also NBP President Adam Glapiński and President of the Bank Guarantee Fund Zdzisław Sokal. Their problem is not only political responsibility for Chrzanowski (Glapiński), but also zero credibility for both the industry and bank depositors. This must be understood, including on Nowogrodzka (PiS headquarters)." http://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1390586-Powinno-spasc-wiecej-glow.html

-- THE BIERECKI CONNECTION - WOJCIECH CZUCHNOWSKI and AGNIESZKA KUBLIK on GW's FRONT PAGE: "A few months after taking office as head of the KNF, Marek Chrzanowski purged the Commission of officials who were investigating irregularities in SKOKs (cooperative savings and credit unions). (...) After the dismissal of Gajek and Kwaśniak, the KNF stopped taking an interest in SKOKs. And the prosecutor's investigation into the finances of SKOKs and Senator Bierecki was discontinued two months after PiS won the elections." http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24183484,uklad-z-biereckim-w-tle.html

-- POLAND PATRIOTICALLY MILKED - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI in GW: "Patriotism is a beautiful idea, but it is so brutally, constantly, and collectively violated by the unscrupulous right-wing that in everyday language it now means a promise given to oneself and one's cronies to latch onto the teat of the homeland and loftily, therefore shamelessly and with impunity, milk it. PiS is not the first party whose politicians milk Poles and Poland collectively and individually. But there is a fundamental difference between PiS politicians milking Poland and Poles and their predecessors doing so. Until now, Poland was milked shamefully, therefore as discreetly as possible. PiS milks loftily – 'patrioticaly', proudly, and ostentatiously. The difference between the old (shameful) and the PiS-style (lofty) milking of Poles and Poland is unfortunately not just aesthetic." http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24182399,patriotyzm-oznacza-dzis-udzielana-sobie-i-totumfackim-promese.html

-- HABILITATION FULL OF SERIOUS ERRORS - GRAŻYNA ZAWADKA AND IZABELA KACPRZAK in RZ about CHRZANOWSKI: "He obtained a habilitated doctor degree in economic sciences at SGH (Warsaw School of Economics) despite accusations of plagiarism in his habilitation thesis (the monograph concerned regional European funds). Professor Wojciech Misiąg, former Deputy Minister of Finance and later Deputy Head of NIK (Supreme Audit Office), leveled these accusations against him. Professor Beata Zofia Filipiak from the University of Szczecin, on the other hand, issued a damning review. She pointed out: 'a superficial treatment of the subject, lack of precision, use of thought shortcuts, omissions, fragmented views, sometimes taken out of context or incomplete.' In her opinion, Chrzanowski should not have received his habilitation." https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/181119368-Brak-standardow-Szybka-habilitacja-Marka-Chrzanowskiego.html

-- PiS LOOKING FOR A NEW HEAD OF KNF - DGP: "Law and Justice is looking for a new head of the KNF. Six to seven candidates are being considered – one government member tells us. The search concerns individuals with diverse profiles. On the one hand, these are members of the government or public institutions familiar with the banking sector. On the other hand, people from the market. The third category includes economists from universities, experts in financial markets and banking. For now, the KNF is headed by Marek Pachucki, the former deputy to Marek Chrzanowski. It's possible that if there's a deadlock, he will become the full-fledged head – a person close to the government tells us." https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/585460,afera-knf-czarnecki-chrzanowski-nagranie-rozmowa-audio-calosc.html

-- GW ON THE STRANGE VOTE REGARDING KOWALCZYK TO THE WSE BOARD: "A video from the election of Grzegorz Kowalczyk to the Supervisory Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2017 shows that state treasury representatives were surprised by the candidacy and had to agree on it with someone." http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24183281,afera-knf-dziwne-glosowanie-nad-radca-kowalczykiem-w-gieldzie.html

-- TOMASZ SAWCZUK ON THE NEED FOR AN IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE KNF AFFAIR - writes in KL: "An impartial investigation would only be in PiS's interest if the ruling party cared about the existence of strong institutions independent of the party, but this is clearly not the case. PiS has been engaged in a hostile takeover of the state for three years and it is hard to believe that it will prosecute itself for this. Jarosław Kaczyński may dress up the changes made in Poland by PiS in lofty terms of 'regaining sovereignty,' but in practice, power is subject to less and less control." https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2018/11/19/sawczuk-czarnecki-knf-chrzanowski-komisja-sledcza/#

-- THE RULING CAMP HAS SUFFICIENT TOOLS TO END THE POLEXIT DEBATE - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: "Enough of this 'Polexit' manipulation! The ruling camp has sufficient tools to end this discussion. To show its true face – a force striving to reform the EU, but pro-European. A force that restores European standards (e.g., by ending post-communist thievery, returning 40 billion annually to the budget), that is innovative, modernizing, capable of cooperation (the great success of the Three Seas Initiative). This is truly not an overly complicated task." https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/421612-dosc-juz-tej-polexitowej-manipulacji-czas-to-uciac

-- LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI WANTS A CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION STATING THAT LEAVING THE EU CAN ONLY HAPPEN THROUGH A REFERENDUM: "If Law and Justice truly does not want Poland to leave the European Union, it must agree to a constitutional provision guaranteeing that leaving the Union, like joining it, can only happen through a referendum." https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1771910,1,wyjscie-z-unii-europejskiej-tylko-w-drodze-referendum.read

-- MICHAŁ WOJTCZUK ON FEARS IN THE CIVIC COALITION THAT PiS WILL TAKE OVER MAZOWIA REGION - writes in Gazeta Stołeczna: "There is tension among Mazovian politicians from PO, Nowoczesna, and PSL. This coalition has a precarious, single-mandate majority in the Mazovian regional assembly. PO and Nowoczesna, grouped in the Civic Coalition club, have 18 mandates, while the Polish People's Party has eight. Law and Justice has 24 mandates and the possibility of cooperating with the single councilor from Bezpartyjni (Independents), Konrad Rytel. If PiS wins over even one councilor, it will take power in Mazovia."

-- GRUPIŃSKA AS FOURTH DEPUTY MAYOR? - WOJTCZUK continues in Stołeczna: "Simultaneously, Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor-elect of Warsaw, was holding talks with candidates for deputy mayors. According to our information, Michał Olszewski (his scope of duties will be reduced, focusing on supervising the architecture and investment departments) and Renata Kaznowska will almost certainly remain in the city government. Paweł Rabiej from Nowoczesna will be the third deputy mayor – this was decided at the very beginning of the campaign. The identity of the fourth deputy mayor is a mystery. We heard that Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska (PO), chairwoman of the Warsaw City Council, was among those considered. – I will make the decision just before November 20. I still have many conversations ahead of me – Trzaskowski told a 'Stołeczna' journalist a few days ago." http://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,24182953,kto-bedzie-rzadzic-na-mazowszu-nerwowka-w-psl-i-w-po.html

-- CASHIERS HAPPY WITH THE TRADING BAN - GW: "While city residents perceive the ban as an attack on their habits, among retail workers, there is already a certain stabilization of opinions, or rather, a stabilization of support for this idea. How do we know this? This survey was commissioned by 'Wyborcza' and conducted by TakeTask, a platform specializing in retail analyses. This is the third such analysis this year (...). 'Was the government's decision good for you?' – as many as 71% of respondents answered yes. In the first survey immediately after the ban was introduced, only 56% of respondents expressed this opinion. 25% are against. This is 3 percentage points more than in the previous survey conducted in the summer." http://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,24176878,kasjerki-sie-ciesza-z-zakazu-handlu-w-niedziele-ale-nie-chca.html

-- ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI CELEBRATED HIS 64TH BIRTHDAY AT RAFFLES EUROPEAN: https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/aleksander-kwasniewski-mocno-trzyma-sie-postanowienia-wodki-juz-nie-pije-przy-tym-swietowal-urodziny-aa-JhXT-WjzR-2uGp.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Wojciech Duda, Elżbieta Kruk, Bogdan Wenta, Krzysztof Berenda.