-- GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON'S STATEMENT ON MOSBACHER'S LETTER - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/11/28/

-- MORNING COURIER ON GENEROUS SEVERANCE PAY FOR MEMBERS OF THE FORMER PODLASKIE VOIVODESHIP BOARD FROM PSL AND PO: https://www.egazety.pl/polska-press/e-wydanie-kurier-poranny.html

-- LET'S PREPARE FOR FURTHER DETERIORATION OF RELATIONS WITH WASHINGTON - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI in RZ: “The uproar caused by the letter from US Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher suggests we should prepare for further deterioration of relations with Washington. It must be honestly admitted that the letter is not the happiest and may indicate that the new envoy from Washington has not yet learned all the intricacies of diplomacy. Typos in the recipients' names, misidentification of positions, addressing the Polish Prime Minister as 'Minister Moraweicki' gave the Polish side reasons to consider the letter an act of arrogance. And while in the name of freedom of speech the American ambassador writes that politicians should not attack the media, someone might maliciously say that an identical letter should be sent to President Donald Trump, who constantly lambasts them in the USA.”

-- ARE THE PiS POLITICIANS REALLY INNOCENT? - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “But the Polish politicians who are outraged should consider whether they are truly innocent. Can the criticism of the media by PiS politicians not be perceived as an attempt to limit freedom of speech? It's no secret that if the ruling party could, they would do to the media what Viktor Orbán did.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/311279924-Szuldrzynski-Rzad-bedzie-musial-z-Mosbacher-wspolpracowac.html&cid=44&template=restricted

-- ON MOSBACHER'S NEXT INTERVENTION REGARDING TAXES - WOJCIECH WYBRANOWSKI AND MARCIN MAKOWSKI in DO RZECZY: “Madam Ambassador very clearly, in plain text, declared that it should not be the case that all entities operating in the Polish market pay taxes at a similar rate. She said that the Polish and European market is difficult for American companies and expected solutions to be introduced that would reduce the tax burden for companies originating from the United States – says our informant. He adds: – The Ambassador expected that new regulations would ultimately put American entities in a privileged position compared to Polish companies. She mentioned Uber, among others. According to our interlocutor, Ambassador Mosbacher's demands caused consternation among Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's team. It is said that a special meeting was even convened – according to our source – to consider how to respond to Mosbacher's surprising demands and whether to send a letter to Washington on this matter. Our informant does not know how the matter progressed.” https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/85249/Kolejne-roszczenia-ambasador-Mosbacher.html

-- PiS ACHIEVED TWICE WHAT IT PLANNED - ŁUKASZ ROGOJSZ on gazeta.pl: “The division of election spoils turned out to be much more favorable for PiS. The party gained an outright majority in as many as six voivodeships – Podlaskie, Lubelskie, Podkarpackie, Świętokrzyskie, Łódzkie, and Małopolskie. In three others (Śląskie, Dolnośląskie, Mazowieckie), they had the best result, which opened up chances for coalition governments. On the other hand, the Civic Coalition planned to take power in ten regions where PiS did not gain an outright majority. The message was supposed to be simple – if Nowogrodzka cannot rule alone, it cannot rule at all. (...) The turmoil in Podlasie should not, however, overshadow the overall post-election picture of Poland. And this picture is very favorable for PiS. Nowogrodzka managed to achieve the best result (34.13%) in the history of local government elections in the Third Republic. In the final analysis, this allowed them to gain power in as many as eight voivodeship sejmiks (this is twice as many as PiS expected in the summer of this year). For comparison, in the 2014-18 term, PiS only ruled in Podkarpackie.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,24213469,powyborcza-mapa-polski-to-sukces-pis-u-i-kaczynskiego-osiagneli.html

-- ONET CLAIMS UP TO 11 MPS COULD LEAVE NOWOCZESNA - PAWEŁ PAWLIK: “– If Katarzyna Lubnauer and Adam Szłapka agree to the proposal and begin talks about merging the clubs, nothing will happen. However, if they stick to their guns, expel Misiło, and do not discuss merging the clubs, various scenarios are possible, including their departure from Nowoczesna – we learn from sources within the party. The exodus could involve even 7 to 11 MPs.”

-- CIVIC PLATFORM WOULD LIKE NOWOCZESNA TO REMAIN A 'COUCH PARTY' - ONET CONTINUES: “However, it may turn out that Civic Platform will not wait with open arms. In a conversation with Onet, one of the leading politicians of this party admits that no one doubts who is responsible for the slip-up in Silesia. He adds, however, that Platform will want to remain under the Civic Coalition banner, because it has been marketed well and it is convenient for PO to keep Nowoczesna alive, even if only as a 'couch party'.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/bedzie-trzesienie-ziemi-w-nowoczesnej-katarzyna-lubnauer-moze-dostac-ultimatum/7l54lst

-- VOTES WON'T COME SOLELY FROM GRATITUDE FOR 500+, UNLESS PEOPLE ARE AFRAID THE OPPOSITION WILL ABOLISH IT - JAKUB MAJMUREK: “It would be most convenient for the opposition if the topic of 500+ disappeared from the daily narrative. To achieve this, they had to shed the image of a force that wants to take away the benefit. Voters quickly get used to such transfers and are not necessarily willing to thank politicians for them at the ballot box. For this reason, PiS already knows that they won't win elections solely on gratitude for 500+. It's another matter if people become afraid that the opposition will abolish it.”

-- THE LEFT SHOULD CIRCLE PiS FROM THE LEFT - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: “While liberals will suffice in a year by not standing in the firing line on the issue of 500+, the left can and should circle PiS from the left regarding state aid for families. PiS has awakened the appetite of Poles for social policy, which, within its framework, the party from Nowogrodzka will never be able to satisfy. The left wing of the opposition should capitalize on this politically as soon as possible.” https://www.newsweek.pl/opinie/500-liberalowie-powinni-zejsc-z-linii-pisowskiego-strzalu/gp6kg09

-- SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI ON A POLE HEADING THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: “There is a way for Brussels to snub PiS. The probable balance of power in the European Parliament shows that if the opposition wins, Poland might get the President of the European Parliament. The European People's Party, to which Civic Platform and PSL belong, could announce today that their candidate is, for example, Róża Thun, and thus help the opposition win. Instead of accepting the overtures of Kaczyński's envoys, the European center-right should help Poland. Why not join a candidate from the Vistula River with a German from Bavaria on a parity basis and fight not for one, but for two key positions in Europe? It could be Róża Thun or former commissioner Danuta Hübner – very experienced and respected MEPs. The Commission would show all populists in Europe that it knows how to deal with them.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/slawomir-sierakowski-polka-szefowa-pe-jesli-wygra-opozycja/

-- KNF SCANDAL, FIRST CHARGES - GW front page.

-- CBA DETAINS MAREK CH.- RZ front page.

-- FORMER HEAD OF SUPERVISION FACES CHARGES - DGP front page.

-- AN INVESTIGATIVE COMMISSION IS A MUST - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA in GW: “The prosecution should answer the question of what this story was really about and who played what roles in it. However, it is completely dependent on the government and the Minister of Justice-Prosecutor General, Zbigniew Ziobro, who is part of the political arrangement connected with the PiS business empire. Because Ziobro has his people, for example, in state-owned companies. Therefore, the Sejm should get involved. It matters much less whether PiS has a majority on the investigative commission. Let them even have their own chairman. The most important thing is that key officials appear before the MPs and answer questions under oath about what this scandal is about. This is what the transparency of public life and the standards of a democratic state demand.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24218744,musi-powstac-komisja-sledcza-w-sprawie-afery-knf-marek-ch.html

-- MAREK C. AS A SCAPEGOAT - JOANNA SOLSKA: “After a multi-hour interrogation at the prosecutor's office, Marek Ch., the former head of the Financial Supervision Commission, was charged with exceeding his authority to benefit another person. He faces up to 10 years in prison. It looks like PiS's black sheep will become their scapegoat. (...) Marek Ch.'s further fate will depend on how he performs in the role chosen for him. If he pleads guilty and takes all the blame, he might count on a milder sentence. However, if he starts talking... then God have mercy on him.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/1773150,1,czarna-owca-kozlem-ofiarnym-marek-ch-z-zarzutami.read?src=mt

-- ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA in RZ ON THE KNF SCANDAL AND 'JUST DON'T STEAL' BY SZYDŁO: “The KNF scandal shows that Prime Minister Beata Szydło's words at the beginning of the PiS government, that 'it's enough to not steal,' remained just words. Someone, after all, wanted to steal. The current government has reached a point where nothing guarantees that it will be honest from now on. What can one answer to the question, 'Have you stopped stealing from our store?' It is no consolation that another scandal involving officials and politicians is not an extraordinary situation in the history of subsequent governments of the Third Republic.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/311279925-Dabrowska-Kopnac--w-ten-stolik.html&template=restricted

-- CZESŁAW BIELECKI in RZ OPINIONS ON THE POWERLESSNESS OF OFFICIALS: “A generational change in power is taking place in Poland. But what was the rotten fruit of the rotten compromise of the early 90s, those times of the Great Obscuration, does not change. What could be more foolish than believing that without changing the way state officials think and act, the state will become normal? That is, simply, that it will serve citizens, and citizens will serve it.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/311279941-Bielecki-Kto-naprawde-rzadzi-Polska.html&cid=44&template=restricted

-- BIRTHDAYS: Agnieszka Holland, Wiesław Walendziak.