-- MORAWIECKI SURPRISES THE OPPOSITION AND, IN TUSK'S STYLE, DELIVERS A SECOND EXPOSE - 300POLITYKA: “An important aspect of Morawiecki's political calculation is his trip to the EU summit after securing a vote of confidence, especially against the backdrop of May's struggles to maintain her party's support in the House of Commons, Macron's wavering, the change of guard in the CDU, the dramatic situation of the new Italian government with its soaring deficit, and Spain's continued instability surrounding the situation in Catalonia. Morawiecki wants to show in Brussels that among the 5 largest EU countries, Poland maintains significant political stability – in this context – and public finances close to equilibrium.” https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/12/12/morawiecki-w-stylu-tuska-zaskakuje-opozycje-i-wystepuje-o-wotum-zaufania-zeby-wyglosic-drugie-expose/

-- MORAWIECKI SEEKS A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE SEJM - 300LIVE FROM THE SEJM: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/12/12/

-- ORLEN LAUNCHES STATIONS UNDER THE CPN BRAND: “PKN Orlen will launch one petrol station each under the CPN and Petrochemia Płock brands – in Warsaw's Praga district and near Płock. In this way, the Płock-based concern wants to commemorate the approaching 20th anniversary of the merger of entities and secure its rights to these brands.” https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/pkn-orlen-reaktywuje-stacje-cpn-i-petrochemia-plock

-- MORE TERRESTRIAL TVP CHANNELS COMING - DGP: “Negotiations regarding the public broadcaster's entry into the eighth terrestrial television multiplex have concluded – DGP has learned. The multiplex was ready for use in the summer of 2016. The first channel – Zoom TV, which now belongs to Kino Polska TV – began broadcasting in October 2016, and three more joined in the following months. However, until today, almost half of MUX8 has remained unused. The National Broadcasting Council allocated three of the seven slots to the public broadcaster, but it was neither eager to occupy them nor willing to cede them to other companies.” https://serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/media/artykuly/1386883,koniec-negocjacji-ws-wejscia-tvp-na-osmy-multipleks.html

-- MILLIONS FOR KUCHCIŃSKI'S ENTOURAGE - Fakt's front-page story.

-- FAKT ON KUCHCIŃSKI'S BYZANTIUM: “The current Sejm's term will last another year. Marshal Marek Kuchciński is not skimping on expenses and is building his Byzantium in the Sejm with public money. Millions are flowing to the Marshal's guard, as well as to officials. And by the end of November alone, the Sejm Chancellery, which reports to Kuchciński, had distributed over 3 million zlotys to its subordinates.” https://www.onet.pl/?utm_source=www.fakt.pl_viasg_fakt&utm_medium=referal&utm_campaign=leo_automatic&srcc=ucs&pid=847b0200-87ab-5fcf-a900-5a229e115a22&sid=f13b4999-dba8-44e4-a9ae-cb9ebb087cc8&utm_v=2

-- WYBORCZA.PL ON PI'S CANDIDATES FOR COMMISSIONER - BIELAN, SZYMAŃSKI, OR PORĘBA? - as written by Tomasz Bielecki, Brussels, Agata Kondzińska, Bartosz T. Wieliński: “Currently, there are three candidates for commissioner:

Adam Bielan, Deputy Speaker of the Senate, international envoy for PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński;

Konrad Szymański, Minister for European Affairs, considered a moderate face of the party;

and MEP Tomasz Poręba, the party's campaign manager before the local elections. The latter politician has the lowest chance, as PiS's election results did not meet the leader's expectations.”

-- WYBORCZA ON PI'S PROBLEM WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: “Political tensions surrounding Poland mean that some of our contacts in Brussels are already betting that in 2019, the European Parliament will reject the PiS government's candidate for the EC, for example. This would force Warsaw – and this is always a form of political humiliation – to nominate someone else. Such a scenario would mean that PiS faces a tactical choice: whether to nominate their true candidate only in the second round, and in the first – someone destined for rejection from the outset.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,24242925,bielan-szymanski-a-moze-poreba-kogo-pis-wystawi-na-eurokomisarza.html

-- MORAWIECKI HAS BECOME PI'S GOOD SPIRIT - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI in RZ: “It can be said that Morawiecki has become the good spirit of Law and Justice. Objectively, he is not a particularly moderate politician, but against the backdrop of his party's base, he appears to be a haven of common sense. Thanks to the immense trust he has gained from Jarosław Kaczyński, Morawiecki is able to implement important political projects that help PiS return to earth from the stratosphere. This was the case when he managed to convince PiS to amend the IPN law to de-escalate the dispute with Israel and the USA, and it was also the case when, thanks to him, Jarosław Kaczyński agreed to concessions regarding changes to the Supreme Court.”

-- DOES PI'S FACE TODAY BELONG TO MORAWIECKI OR ZIOBRO? - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “The question is whether PiS today should have the face of Morawiecki or Zbigniew Ziobro, who announces that an official, once allegedly beaten to death, who fought against abuses in SKOK (Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions), is to blame himself. Zbigniew Ziobro has already led PiS to electoral defeat once. Will Morawiecki lead PiS to victory?” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/312119920-Szuldrzynski-Twarz-Morawieckiego-czy-Ziobry.html

-- DECISIONS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY, BUT BAD FOR PI'S - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI in GW: “Under Prime Minister Morawiecki, PiS has experienced a string of 'ignominious successes'. It had to retreat from its flagship projects concerning the protection of Poland's dignity and the 'reform' of the Supreme Court. These decisions were good for the country, though bad for PiS.”

-- WROŃSKI WRITES THAT PM IS THE IDEAL PRIME MINISTER FOR JK: “Mateusz Morawiecki seems to be the ideal prime minister for leader Jarosław Kaczyński, found after a long search. He understands economic issues, which the leader does not, and additionally possesses historical knowledge, making him a good conversationalist. Despite a series of blunders, everything indicates that the leader still trusts him. However, not enough to allow him to shape the government as Morawiecki would wish. The faction of Zbigniew Ziobro and Mariusz Kamiński remains strong, while Mariusz Błaszczak has been marginalized. It is not impossible that Morawiecki will receive a free hand after the European elections. It is evident that Jarosław Kaczyński has accepted that some of his former party comrades from the PC order are no longer fit to govern in today's times.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24267305,stal-sie-leje-moc-truchleje-klamstwa-plyna-rok-rzadow-morawieckiego.html

-- THE CIVIC COALITION LEADER'S SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: “Despite all his cleverness, Grzegorz Schetyna does not consider that after a potential victory, his current coalition partners might betray him. And then Kaczyński will return to power. This time for longer. And the leader's dream is to rule until he is 90 years old. Schetyna seems not to be thinking about this today, ignoring the partnership conditions within the opposition, aiming solely to achieve his coveted power.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/312119930-Nizinkiewicz-Krotki-wzrok-lidera-Koalicji-Obywatelskiej.html

-- MAGDALENA ŚRODA CRITICIZES SCHETYNA - writes in GW: “Power for power's sake is as meaningless as writing columns for the sake of writing. One can lie, break promises, betray, if one is fighting for the value of the Republic, its survival and prosperity. However, over the last five hundred years, humanity has learned to care for these values through means other than those recommended by Machiavelli. Bismarck did not model himself on Agathocles. Schetyna does not have to imitate the Borgias. Moreover, if politics is truly to consist of male boxing and 'achieving leadership in the pack,' then the only thing citizens, especially female citizens, can do is turn their backs on such politics. Or build their own.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24267348,machiavelli-z-newsweeka-prawdziwy-polityk-wg-lisa-walczy.html

-- TIMMERMANS, AS BEFITS A CLASSIC STALKER, WON'T LET US GO - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “Timmermans, as befits a classic stalker, won't let us go. Only Poles can chase him away – in the autumn of 2019. One should not have too many illusions: little depends on Poland now. But much still depends on Poles. If next autumn they confirm the mandate of the camp of repair of the Republic, freedom will win, and Timmermans will lose, also in the eyes of his superiors. There is no other way.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/425186-timmermansa-moga-pogonic-jedynie-polacy-jesienia-2019-go

-- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ASKS WHY THE KNF DID NOT APPOINT A RECEIVER FOR SKOK WOŁOMIN: “The 'SKOK affair' dominates the media, which in the current situation has taken the form of a bad National Association that did nothing regarding SKOK Wołomin. It didn't do anything because it couldn't, but it did notify those who should have and could have, namely the KNF. However, the KNF, under the leadership of Andrzej Jakubiak, practically ceased cooperation with the National Association. The 'SKOK affair' is alive, and there is likely much more to come. MP Krzysztof Brejza from Civic Platform is very active in connecting the Amber Gold affair with SKOKs. In light of the information about the fire that engulfed a portable toilet in the courtyard of the apartment building where the MP lives, we can expect further revelations. Instead of that, it would be better to seek an answer to the key question: why did the KNF not appoint a receiver for SKOK Wołomin, which was controlled by a criminal gang, for so long? That is the core of the matter. And no obfuscation of the issue, no substitute smear campaigns against the prosecutor's office, will get around this question.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/gospodarka/425131-oto-kluczowe-pytanie-w-sprawie-skok-wolomin

-- POLICE VISIT OKO.PRESS JOURNALISTS, THREATEN, MISLEAD, VIOLATE JOURNALISTIC PRIVILEGE - PIOTR PACEWICZ: “OKO.press is filing a complaint with the court against the police's actions towards the authors of a report on a pro-Ukrainian protest. Five police officers visited the journalists and took away recordings despite being informed that they contained journalistic privilege. They misled, threatened. They violated police ethics. The police's overzealousness fits into the fashionable trend of intimidating the media.” https://oko.press/policja-nachodzi-dziennikarzy-oko-press-straszy-wprowadza-w-blad-narusza-tajemnice-dziennikarska/

-- ENERGY POLICY IN POLAND IS A 'FIRE-FIGHTING' POLICY - AGATA STASIK in Krytyka Polityczna: “An energy price hike before the elections could shake PiS's position more than all previous scandals or affairs. The French 'yellow vests' movement shows that a rise in energy prices (in that case, gasoline) can become a flashpoint for a truly massive explosion of anger and dissatisfaction.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/polityka-energetyczna-w-polsce-to-polityka-gaszenia-pozarow/

-- THE LATEST FRENCH REVOLUTION - DARIUSZ ROSIAK in TP: “The 'yellow vests' are people who react with rage and aggression to what they consider a betrayal by the political establishment. They can be found all over Europe. It is said that the latest French revolution, called the 'yellow vests protest,' is about the same thing as all protests after 1968: earning more and paying fewer taxes, while gaining new social privileges. But enough sarcasm. It's not just those who haven't outgrown their childhood dream of becoming a postman – because then you can deliver packages to yourself. And not just street thugs. The 'yellow vests' are a phenomenon known throughout Europe, at the center of which are people reacting with aggression to what they consider a betrayal by the political establishment. Macron is suited to the role of a traitor like few others. The self-confidence that led him to the Elysée Palace in 2017, promising a new style and substance of politics, is today his greatest weakness. 'The president of the rich,' the 'yellow vests' call him. https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/najnowsza-rewolucja-francuska-156764

-- PBK GOES JEWELRY SHOPPING - SE: https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/byly-prezydent-nie-oszczedza-na-prezentach-komorowski-kupil-brylanty-aa-oD6k-kFgm-PXSE.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Jerzy Starak, Krzysztof Bondaryk, Jacek Najder, Krzysztof Zaremba.