-- 300LIVE: EUROPE, HIGHER WAGES, AND MODERNIZATION - MORAWIECKI'S 3 PILLARS: https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/12/15/

-- DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA ASKS IF SOLORZ IS CONNECTED TO THE AUTHORITIES BY AN INTRICATE WEB OF DEPENDENCIES - as she writes in GW: “We are trying to explain whether Zygmunt Solorz, one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs who provides entertainment, television, telecommunications services, and internet and electricity to Poles, is connected to the authorities by an intricate web of dependencies.”

-- POLSAT DOES NOT ENGAGE IN TOTAL PROPAGANDA, BUT PIS POLITICIANS ARE TREATED GENTLY - CLAIMS WIELOWIEYSKA: “Today, Polsat News's news services and commentaries do not feature crude propaganda in the style of TVP, but top politicians of the ruling camp appear on air more often, are interviewed gently, and journalists who critically speak about PiS on social media, or those who are disliked at Nowogrodzka [PiS headquarters], are slowly disappearing from the screen or from the company. PiS's strategy is well-thought-out: on one hand, the government television clubbers the opposition with a cudgel and engages in propaganda of success, satisfying the emotions of PiS's hardline electorate. On the other hand, a friendly but toned-down Polsat offers a platform for the moderate, unconvinced, and indifferent.”

-- WIELOWIEYSKA ON VARIOUS OPINIONS ABOUT SOLORZ'S MODEL: “From people in business circles, I hear various opinions. Some say: there is nothing wrong with the state accommodating Solorz, even with frequency fees. We must support domestic entrepreneurs; all countries do this. Solorz is building his business here, in Poland, and for the long term. He is not the type of businessman who buys cheaply from the government and sells dearly to foreign investors. If he buys something, it's to invest in that company. And besides, a billionaire plays according to how the opponent allows. Others counter: soon we will create an oligarchic system in Poland in the Hungarian style. Cooperation between the state and big business is beneficial and necessary, but if it crosses a certain line and intertwines with power, it will turn into pathology. Then Poland will turn into a country with no equal opportunities in business, where only those who follow the authorities' orders get ahead. And if they do business in media, finance, or telecommunications – they will destroy not only a free-market economy but also democracy.”

-- WIELOWIEYSKA RECOUNTS AN ANECDOTE ABOUT SOLORZ'S ENTREPRENEURIAL NATURE: "A few years ago, the then owners of TVN, Mariusz Walter and Jan Wejchert, decided to visit their industry colleague at his villa in southern France. Solorz received his guests in Chinese flip-flops and casual attire that could be bought at the Różycki Bazaar. On the table, he placed three white plastic cups and poured cheap wine from a carton. The anecdote illustrates Solorz's character. Yes, prestige must be maintained, so a villa in France worth a fortune is a must. Every self-respecting Polish billionaire has one. But Solorz is not an inflated snob; he creates and invests, rather than squandering money on consumer luxuries."

http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24280235,zygmunt-solorz-i-interesy-z-wladza-cz-ii.html

-- PAWEŁ WROŃSKI ON MORAWIECKI'S HEIR APPARENT - writes in GW: “Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki is taking over leadership in PiS and will likely lead the ruling camp to the electoral marathon in 2019. Saturday's party convention may answer the question of on what principles this generational change will occur.”

-- WROŃSKI ON MORAWIECKI AS A NATIONAL LIBERAL: “In essence, Morawiecki tries to convince that he, a national liberal, is not a 'morally better' but a significantly more effective manager than a European liberal, i.e., Tusk. And he disciplines the party by spreading rumors of early elections, for example, by dissolving the Sejm if it fails to pass the budget on time.”

-- WROŃSKI ON KACZYŃSKI'S ROLE: “However, it remains a mystery what role Kaczyński sees for himself. Will he remain in the shadows in the election year, agreeing to be an 'ideological patron'? It is certain that this time the generational change is happening with his consent and approval. There is only one limit to this change – electoral effectiveness.”

http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24279961,zmiana-pokolen-w-pis-delfin-morawiecki-zdobywa-wladze.html

-- THE PLATFORM'S PROMISES IN THE CAPITAL - ANDRZEJ GAJCY: “Interestingly, at the time, Platform councilors pointed out the need to regulate perpetual usufruct, in line with the spirit of social justice, as a priority. For some Warsaw residents, the new resolution means a loss of even tens of thousands of zlotys if they decide to buy their apartments. But it seems that PO councilors and President Rafał Trzaskowski himself care little about this. Politicians of the winning party in the capital have apparently decided that since the election campaign is over, keeping previous commitments is no longer necessary, and the social justice they so often invoked can be put on the shelf.”

-- GAJCY ON THE DECISION IN THE CAPITAL BENEFITING DEVELOPERS: “Furthermore, the resolution adopted yesterday means that the 38% reduction in the discount will in practice only apply to individual residents. However, in the case of developers, for example, they will be able to count – according to the city's 2017 resolution – on a 95% discount when purchasing an entire building. Thus, once again, thanks to politicians, owners of development companies profit, while ordinary residents will have to pay more.”

-- PO POLITICIANS IN THE CAPITAL HAVE GIVEN A POWERFUL WEAPON TO PIS - GAJCY'S CONCLUSION: “It only took a month for PO politicians, using Warsaw as an example, to provide a powerful weapon to Law and Justice before the next campaign. And nothing sticks in voters' minds and angers them as much as politicians' lies and backtracking on their promises.”

https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/obiecanki-platformy-w-stolicy-opinia/mhbfhgg

-- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI WRITES THAT SCHETYNA HAS POSITIONED HIMSELF AS A POTENTIAL PRIME MINISTER AND IS BEING EVALUATED AGAINST MORAWIECKI: “The Platform leader risked a lot: he put himself forward as a potential prime minister, telling Poles to look at him as a possible successor to Prime Minister Morawiecki and Prime Minister Szydło. He had previously threatened that the Prime Minister would 'not like Fridays.' By implication – because he would deliver a political beating. Little of that has remained. The style of the speech was poor, jerky, read from a paper, tangential, at times hysterical, without any clear message that would stick in people's minds. The theses were unconvincing, like the one about a new tax program. It's no wonder that in the context of the testimony of Jacek Rostowski and Elżbieta Chojny-Duch before the parliamentary investigative committee on the VAT affair, it evoked laughter, not only from the government benches.”

-- WHY WAS SUCH AN OPERATION UNDERTAKEN - KARNOWSKI FURTHER: “If such an operation is undertaken, one must know why and present something. And when PiS, during its time in opposition, engaged in such maneuvers, it did so with a well-thought-out message. Schetyna didn't know why he was standing there, he was tired, and had nothing to convey. The price he will pay for this could be high, including undermining his position as leader of the entire 'anti-PiS' movement. Many there are wondering: can we win with him?”

https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/425720-po-co-schetyna-to-w-ogole-zrobil-cena-moze-byc-duza

-- I AM TOO HARSH - GRZEGORZ SCHETYNA in an interview with Piotr Witwicki in RZ: “Some people sometimes complain that I speak too harshly. Like with biblical locusts, although here some simply lacked knowledge. Generally, I try to build options that can be shared and acceptable to others. I am patient and consistent in building a large project. I believe that everything, and politics in particular today, must be built on trust.”

-- SCHETYNA ON POLAND'S DECLINING SIGNIFICANCE: “We were consulted on the most important matters. The German and French ministers, Steinmeier and Fabius, when they were going to negotiations with Ukraine in the so-called Minsk format, called me, talking about their plans, and then – reporting on those conversations. Now I go to EPP (European People's Party) summits and see how much Poland has lost. We have clearly less influence on reality. It is said that a position is built over years and lost in weeks. One can say that, but when you see it and experience it at every step, it is extremely unpleasant. It will not be easy to rebuild our influence. Even if we win the elections, it won't be like waving a magic wand. Recently, I hear in Europe that this Poland of our eight years was not the real Poland. That everyone was deceived, and our country is like the Szydło and Kaczyński government. Aggressive and conflict-prone. Petty and inferiority-complexed. One that doesn't seek partners but breaks community relations. The current Poland positions itself outside the main table and, what's worse, is still complaining about it to everyone.”

-- SCHETYNA ON NOT WANTING TO LOSE 8 ELECTIONS IN A ROW: “I do not want to lose eight elections in a row, like Kaczyński. The first ones, local government elections, were not our defeat. We could have won more regional assemblies, but we gave people hope. Today, PiS has problems and is decomposing. We will win the European Parliament elections against them, and then the parliamentary elections.”

-- SCHETYNA ON BIEDROŃ: EITHER WE DO POLITICS OR A T-SHIRT SHOP: “Either we do politics, or we run a shop and sell t-shirts. Today is a serious time and we are doing serious things: defending Polish rule of law, the constitution, and the separation of powers. We need to be together, because the d’Hondt system itself necessitates being on a common list, giving a bonus for a good result.”

-- SCHETYNA ON RECONSIDERING 500+: “At the same time, we must draw conclusions from the social effect of the 500+ program. We need to carefully consider how to modernize social policy, while also expanding 500+. So that this program fulfills its demographic role, because the birth rate continues to fall.”

https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/312139912-Grzegorz-Schetyna-Moim-projektem-zycia-jest-przegonic-PiS.html

-- NO LAWSUITS IN DEFENSE OF POLAND - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ: “When, under pressure from the USA and Israel, the government threw the controversial IPN law into the trash, PiS leaders argued that they had a better idea for prosecuting foreigners accusing Poland and Poles of co-responsibility for the Holocaust. The Institute of National Remembrance was supposed to initiate civil lawsuits against them. We checked how many such lawsuits there are after six months. It turned out that there are none.”

https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/ustawa-o-ipn-ile-pozwow/hcgk64h

-- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ ON THE CHURCH'S WRONG TACTIC: “I am willing to put forward the thesis that today, when the Church still enjoys considerable authority, it will be easier for it to confront the past than in a few or a dozen years, when it will be significantly weaker. Civilizational phenomena are relentless; slower than in the West, but the wave of secularization is also reaching Poland. The 'beleaguered fortress' tactic leads to subsequent cases erupting, the Church will slowly bleed out, and its authority will suffer.”

https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/312139908-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Nauczka-ks-Jankowskiego.html

-- ON SUNDAY, the 2nd anniversary of the so-called “coup.”

-- BIRTHDAYS: SATURDAY: Adam Pieczyński, Stanisłau Szuszkiewicz, Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak, Agnieszka Odorowicz, Jerzy Dziewulski, SUNDAY: Andrzej Wielowieyski turns 91, Anna Nehrebecka-Byczewska, Wojciech Szarama, Jacek Świat, Mirosław Czech.