-- 8 POLITICAL TOPICS OF JANUARY ACCORDING TO MICHAŁ OLECH: https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/12/29/8-politycznych-tematow-stycznia/

-- WITOLD GADOMSKI IN GW SURPRISINGLY ON TRUMP: "His achievements, contrary to the prevailing opinion, are not unequivocally negative. He introduced a lot of chaos in his administration, alienated allies in Europe and Canada in foreign policy, and did not fulfill election promises that were impossible to deliver – e.g., rebuilding traditional industry in the fallen 'rust belt'. However, deregulation of the economy and tax cuts gave the American economy a strong growth impetus. He persuaded Canada and Mexico to adjust the free trade agreement in favor of the USA and is well on his way to negotiating a trade treaty with China that is beneficial for America. His announcement to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was naive, but a year ago political observers seriously considered the scenario of a nuclear war between Kim Jong Un's state and the United States. Even fragile détente is better than nuclear war. The president's style is irritating, but let's not treat Trump, who for years was a successful, albeit not always honest, businessman, like an idiot. However, in 2019, he will be blocked by the U.S. House of Representatives, so his activity will decrease." http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24315963,czasem-burza-czasem-deszcz-pieniadze-i-wojny-2019.html

-- FRAGMENT OF ALEKSANDRA KLICH'S MEMOIR ABOUT BISHOP PIERONEK: "The most famous joke about Bishop Pieronk circulates among journalists: The Bishop took advantage of a moment when God descended from his throne and took his place. No one could drive him away: not Saint Peter, nor the archangels. Finally, a small angel flew in and whispered something in Pieronk's ear. The Bishop jumped up and ran out. Saint Peter, surprised: 'What did you tell him?' The angel: 'That there's a press conference downstairs.' Journalists affectionately call him 'Pierścionek' (Ring). He always answers his phone. He answers questions about elections, the constitution, but also about his favorite drink (beer) and his high school exam (he took the squaring of the circle in math). He only refused Monika Olejnik once – when she asked him to go see the film 'The Priest,' criticized by the Church." http://wyborcza.pl/1,75968,2353308.html

-- MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON THE SCENARIO WITH KOSINIAK AS PRIME MINISTER: "For several weeks now, there have been rumors on the opposition side about a considered scenario where Grzegorz Schetyna would step slightly into the background during the election campaign, promoting another politician as the Civic Coalition's candidate for prime minister. There's talk of a scenario involving Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (the circle around Donald Tusk, and of course the Peasants' Party, is said to be lobbying for this), and the proposal of Rafał Trzaskowski (riding the wave of euphoria after winning the local government elections) has also been floated. It's not that Schetyna lacks political aspirations or ambition, but rather that trust rankings are unforgiving, and the leader of Platform is not overly liked (especially after the recent poaching of half of Nowoczesna by PO) among other opposition leaders."

-- SCHETYNA WILL NOT AGREE TO A SCENARIO WITH ANOTHER PRIME MINISTER CANDIDATE - FIJOŁEK CONTINUES: "I don't want to draw far-reaching conclusions based on a single statement, but both these words and the sentiment heard in the corridors of the Sejm clearly suggest: Schetyna will not agree to such a scenario. There are several reasons: firstly, a leader who is absolutely certain of their position within the party might decide on such a move, aware that allocating resources, energy, and money to build up another politician will not diminish the importance of the leader remaining in the background. Grzegorz Schetyna is aware that he would not be able to keep such tension under control." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/427358-czy-schetyna-umie-wskazac-innego-kandydata-na-premiera

-- THE ENTIRE MODEL OF POLITICS IS TOTAL - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: "It cannot be, because it is not so much the opposition itself that is 'total,' but the entire model of politics. People who uncritically believe every argument of one side or the other would simply be advised to listen more carefully to the content of subsequent debates and observe reality. But PiS voters saw queues to doctors during the PO era. Now they don't notice them at all, even when they are patients themselves. PO voters are ready to condemn every fee, every bureaucratic absurdity, forgetting that it was similar during their government."

-- NEW LAWS HAVE OFTEN GONE TOO FAR - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: "Such 'corrections' grew out of the often valid conviction that the existing system, based on the autonomy of various institutions and environments, served liberals rather than the right. The response has been new laws, and they have often gone too far. Too far, because in the direction of a state where life for the opposition is made difficult almost openly and in a formalized way. For now, these are merely outlines of a new system. Their completion was abandoned before these elections, even by attempting to improve the media market. But what comes next?"

-- ZAREMBA ON THE EXAMPLE OF CHANGES PROPOSED BY ZIOBRO: "Zbigniew Ziobro's ministry proposes simplifying court procedures in civil and criminal cases. The liberal opposition immediately downplays this step – with the thesis that the problem is not protracted proceedings, but new, bad cadres in the courts. But it was the old, 'good' cadres that tolerated the scandalous slowness. Moreover, when the current government undertook other changes in the judiciary, this same opposition called for: first, make proceedings less burdensome. But now it cannot admit that another change is supposed to be a change for the better."

-- I WOULD NOT WISH AN ORBÁN-LIKE PATH FOR POLAND - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: "The eight-year rule of the Civic Platform, a product of system stabilization and party strengthening, shows that the two-term cycle itself is something natural in Polish democracy and not necessarily dangerous. Although under PO we dealt with many examples of tilting towards power and appropriating the state, the party was eventually democratically removed from power. If PiS were to repeat this path, there would be nothing wrong or strange about it. But I would certainly not wish an Orbán-like path upon our homeland. https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/312279965-Jak-zrozumiec-polityke-w-2019-roku.html&template=restricted

-- MAREK BEYLIN IN GW WITH NEW YEAR'S WISHES FOR THE OPPOSITION - HALF-BAKED PROPOSALS DO NOT WIN VOTERS: "I sincerely wish Grzegorz Schetyna and the entire Civic Platform to understand that throwing out half-baked programmatic proposals does not win voters. I mean, for example, the recent idea of 'Higher Wages,' i.e., state subsidies for the lowest salaries, and tax cuts. Because, as Adriana Rozwadowska rightly pointed out, such a program would freeze low wages and incur enormous costs. I also wish for the Platform, instead of contenting itself with chaotic concepts, to grasp what all the polls show: that its attractiveness depends less on how much PiS messes up, and more on a common program for a new Poland, built within the framework of the Civic Coalition. Because most voters reject the old Third Republic."

-- BEYLIN ON SCHETYNA NEEDING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VASSALIZATION AND COOPERATION: "And to Schetyna himself, I wish that he understands the difference between vassalizing coalition partners, as in the case of Nowoczesna, and cooperating with them as partners. This will determine how broad an electoral front PO can co-create. That is, whether PiS can be defeated?" http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24316093,zyczenia-noworoczne-dla-opozycji-jej-politycy-musza-zrozumiec.html

-- IT'S NOT ABOUT ELECTRICITY BUT ABOUT ELECTIONS - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI in GW: "The meaning of the parody of parliamentarism that unfolded on Friday on Wiejska Street is captured by the request of Deputy Speaker Stanisław Tyszka (Kukiz'15) to call the 'electricity bill' being processed at breakneck speed 'the bill for keeping PiS in power.' http://wyborcza.pl/7,155290,24316021,nie-chodzi-o-prad-chodzi-o-wybory.html

-- WITOLD GADOMSKI ON THE HARMFUL JINXING OF ELECTRICITY - in GW: "However, the most important thing is that adopting an ad-hoc solution that allows costs to be hidden for a certain period does not encourage a more serious discussion about the future of our energy sector, nor does it encourage households to invest in energy-saving solutions. The pool of free CO2 emission allowances is decreasing, and after 2025, they will be gone, so we will pay even more for electricity produced from coal. A deep reform of the energy sector is necessary – privatization of companies, halting senseless investments in coal-fired power plants, creating stable legal and institutional conditions for small, medium, and large producers of electricity from renewable sources." http://wyborcza.pl/7,155290,24316286,szkodliwe-zaklinanie-pradu.html

-- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF KOPACZ AND TUSK FOR ENERGY POLICY - THIS SHOULD BE CLARIFIED: "There is no doubt that the current team has made several mistakes regarding energy policy. However, these mistakes pale in comparison to the real responsibility of the PO-PSL government. Therefore, precisely in the name of security and the future, the responsibility for the disastrous consequences for Poland of the EU's energy policy, approved by Tusk and Kopacz, should be clarified by a parliamentary committee – preferably an investigative one, but a regular one would also suffice. It is important not to leave this topic unresolved. It is a topic so serious that Polish democracy should reach for an extraordinary tool. It is also a topic so concrete that Tusk's fine words won't help either." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/427430-niech-odpowiedzialnosc-tuska-i-kopacz-wyjasni-komisja

-- MICHAŁ SZCZERBA IN A CONVERSATION WITH PIOTR WITWICKI AND HIS FATHER, AN OLYMPIC BOXER, in RZ: "The 1997 campaign. I visited Jan Rokita in Krakow, and he recommended me to Bronisław Komorowski. I joined their campaigns and became friends with the former president for many years. In 2000, at the age of 22, I ran for district council. I got elected from a distant position, and I have to admit that my father's name probably helped a bit too."

-- SZCZERBA'S FATHER ON HAVING TO BE TOUGH IN BOXING: "They always hung around training, although I didn't really want them to be boxers. Now I regret that I didn't take Wojtek into boxing. Boxing is different from football, which he trained. It's an individual sport and everything depends on you. If you're tough, you win. In a football team, everything is distributed among a dozen or so players. In boxing, you owe everything to yourself. But there's also a dark side to boxing, which is that some boxers your age can't pour themselves tea or form a sentence. https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/312279964-Michal-Szczerba-i-Kazimierz-Szczerba-Jak-jestes-kozak-to-wygrywasz.html&template=restricted

-- JUG AMONG THE 12 WORDS OF 2018: Katarzyna Kłosińska in GW: "'Dzban' (Jug) was made famous worldwide by one of the most popular YouTubers today, Klocuch. Although this word is commonly considered a synonym for an idiot, a blockhead, or a cretin, it doesn't have to be – as one of the jury members, Marek Łaziński, claims – 'a mortal offense, but rather funny, somewhat provocative.' This is reassuring, but the sad truth is that any of us can be a 'dzban' – as long as we do or say something that someone else dislikes. Surprisingly, it is said that 'dzban' can also be a 'terms of endearment for a friend,' although this should rather put a big question mark over a specific friendship. http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,24316022,dyfamacja-niepodleglej-zarowki-czyli-12-slow-dzieki-ktorym.html

-- A YEAR AGO, Longin Komołowski passed away.

-- A YEAR AGO, the Czartoryski Princes Foundation sold the entire collection of the Czartoryski Princes Museum in Krakow, along with the museum buildings, to the State Treasury for 100 million euros. Among the 86,000 exhibits are Leonardo da Vinci's 'Lady with an Ermine' and Rembrandt's 'Landscape with the Good Samaritan,' and among the 250,000 books, old prints, and manuscripts are, among others, Jan Długosz's manuscript and the original act of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This was the largest art purchase in Poland's post-war history.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Eugeniusz Grzeszczak, Maciej Kaczmarski, SUNDAY: Bartosz Arłukowicz, Bogusław Chrabota, Maciej Świderski, Sylwester Tułajew, Tomasz Głogowski.