-- JACEK ŻAKOWSKI, AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK, AND ŁUKASZ WARZECHA, IN THEIR SUMMARY OF THE YEAR FOR WIRTUALNA POLSKA, HAD TO PRAISE SOMEONE THEY DISLIKE AND SUMMARIZE 2019 IN ONE WORD: https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/rok-2018-w-polityce-nasze-podsumowanie-6333388968339073a

-- IS PIS MORE AFRAID OF THE RIGHT SECTOR (INCLUDING FROM TVP) THAN IT WANTS TO WIN AGAINST THE OPPOSITION? - ANALYSIS BY 300POLITYKA: https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/12/31/pis-bardziej-obawia-sie-prawego-sektora-takze-z-tvp-niz-chce-wygrac-z-opozycja-analiza/

-- PIS REMAINS IN THE LEADING POSITION, BUT ENTERS 2019 WITH A STUMBLE - ANALYSIS BY 300POLITYKA: https://300polityka.pl/news/2018/12/30/pis-ciagle-na-pozycji-lidera-ale-w-2019-rok-wchodzi-jednak-z-zadyszka-analiza-300polityki/

-- ON 300LIVE, PARUCH DISCUSSES THE INFLUENCE OF VOTER TURNOUT: Paruch: If turnout for the European elections is significantly higher than it has been in previous years, PiS should win these elections. https://300polityka.pl/live/2018/12/31/#post-444273

-- DID MORAWIECKI OPEN THE DOOR TO A POTENTIAL COALITION WITH PSL OR SLD - MARCIN FIJOŁEK: The Prime Minister's "merciful attitude" does not, of course, mean building such a coalition, nor is it enough to persuade politicians from other camps to cooperate. Nevertheless, such a mild message is a clear signal sent into the political sphere at the dawn of 2019: we are not ruling anything out, we are not presenting the issue in black and white, we are opening the floor for discussion and interpretation. On the one hand, this is of course a natural behavior for a party in an election year (Jarosław Kaczyński also winked at the electorates of other parties), and on the other hand, such a signal fits into broader changes in the way politics is conducted (at least in terms of language and rhetoric) by the United Right camp.

-- FIJOŁEK ON THE PRIME MINISTER OPENING THE DOOR TO POLITICAL GAMING: "And this is why the Prime Minister may be opening the door to potential coalition play: not only with groups like Kukiz‘15 or Independent Samorządowcy (here everything will depend not only on the results but also on the composition of parliamentary clubs after the elections), but precisely to broaden the scope of engagement to include talks with PSL or SLD. Of course, no one on the other side will, in declarative terms, engage in such discussions before the elections. But after the autumn, if it turns out to be the only way to build a relatively stable majority, the scenarios can be very different. It's hard to be surprised that Prime Minister Morawiecki is slightly ajarring this door – nevertheless, it's worth noting this decision and keeping it in mind in the coming year, during subsequent debates, arguments, and disputes." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/427583-czy-premier-otworzyl-furtke-do-ew-koalicji-z-sld-lub-psl

-- PIOTR SKWIECIŃSKI ON HOW THE LIBERAL OPPOSITION, UPON COMING TO POWER, MAY SHOW THE CONVICTION OF ELITES THAT THEY ARE THE "NATURAL MASTERS OF THE REPUBLIC": "The whole matter is a clear announcement of the direction of actions. If the liberals regain central power after surviving the Great Fear of 2015–2018 (2018, not 2019, because only the most insane KOD members have been seriously feeling this fear for months), then overtly anti-democratic actions can be expected from them. Actions, we might add, that PiS has never allowed itself. Did it feel the breath of mostly hostile media on its neck? Or perhaps also because – oh, what heresy – there are more sincere democrats in this party than in today's opposition, convinced that power simply belongs to them by nature...? I must state here – of course, within the ruling party there is a strong syndrome of identifying "true Poland" with PiS, but nevertheless, it is weaker than the conviction of the elites of the Third Republic that they are the "natural masters" of the Commonwealth."

-- "LET THE REBELLIOUS RABBLE FEEL THAT THE MASTERS HAVE RETURNED" - SKWIECIŃSKI CONTINUES: "And all this allows me to say: they promise not to roll back 500+? Yes, they indeed promise... I am sure that if they have the appropriate majority, and three years without elections ahead of them (and such a moment will come after the presidential election in 2020), they will try. Class hatred will force them to do so. Let the rebellious rabble feel that the masters have returned. All of this, of course, must end very badly. Because the stupidity of counter-revolutions, consisting of reacting to one's own fear and sense of humiliation by attempting a simple, if not crude, restitution of what the counter-revolutionaries consider the old, good order, usually ends badly. But our counter-revolutionaries are like that and cannot overcome themselves. And they are not even trying." https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/427520-nasza-polska-kontrrewolucja

-- FOLLOWING OUR POSITIVE REFORMS, NOT A SINGLE STONE WOULD BE LEFT ON A STONE - JAROSŁAW GOWIN IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MARCIN MAKOWSKI FOR WP: "We have no illusions. We know that we must win the 2019 elections to consolidate the changes we have implemented in the current term. If we lose them, not a single stone will be left on a stone of almost all our positive reforms. The path to victory, of course, leads through the spring European vote, which is why there is full mobilization in the camp already now."

-- PEOPLE DO NOT WANT CONFLICTS AND DRASTIC CHANGES - GOWIN CONTINUES IN WP: "Of course I see it, but I won't take bread from the opposition or journalists from 'Wyborcza' by talking about them publicly (laughter). I don't see signs of nervousness, rather seriousness, because the outcome of the autumn elections is an open question. We know that we must work hard and listen to the voice of Poles. And public opinion polls are unambiguous; people do not want conflicts and drastic changes. They do not want political or moral revolutions. Instead, they expect the entire political class to allow them to peacefully enjoy the fruits of rapid economic growth, by creating predictable legal rules. Polls also show that even among PiS voters, the issue of the rule of law is gaining importance."

-- THIS IS A TIME FOR CALMING MOODS, BUT NOT FOR "WARM WATER IN THE TAP" - GOWIN CONTINUES: "Now is the time for calming moods, but this has nothing to do with 'warm water in the tap' politics. Please remember that Donald Tusk halted any bolder reform projects immediately after taking power. We, on the other hand, are slowing down after three years of strenuous running." https://opinie.wp.pl/jaroslaw-gowin-dla-wp-wybory-2019-musimy-wygrac-inaczej-z-reform-nie-zostanie-kamien-na-kamieniu-6333414360786561a?fbclid=IwAR0iPw1v0c_lDMItZ1aNXd6_6GsSNad0gqE1m8_Qc2_sGUqN5Wlsm4w_Iy0

-- KUKIZ NO LONGER WANTS TO COOPERATE WITH PIS - RZ: "Paweł Kukiz has undergone an evolution and is now fiercely anti-PiS. He believes that Kukiz'15's projects are substantively very good, and PiS rejects them all or copies them as its own – says our interlocutor from the Kukiz'15 club. According to 'Rzeczpospolita's' conversations, any cooperation with PiS is out of the question. We learn that at Friday's meeting of the Kukiz'15 club, the strategy for 2019 was discussed. One of its elements is to be a pivot away from PiS."

-- RZ ON WOJTUNIK'S INFLUENCE ON KUKIZ: "– Not without significance, regarding Kukiz's turn towards PiS, may be his long-standing acquaintance with Paweł Wojtunik, head of the CBA during the PO-PSL coalition – summarizes our interlocutor from the Sejm." https://www.rp.pl/Kukiz15/181239946-Kukiz-nie-chce-juz-wspolpracy-z-PiS.html&template=restricted

-- PIS'S HARDEST BATTLE IS WITH ITSELF - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: "In 2019, Law and Justice will have to fight its hardest battle with itself. If anything can turn voters against PiS, so that they take power away from it in the autumn parliamentary elections, it will be the party's actions, not the opposition's. In the past year, the ruling party showed a face that it might pay dearly for at the ballot box."

-- VOTERS EXPECT A NEW OFFER - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: "However, the party is becoming a victim of its own success. Polls are beginning to show that no one wants to thank them anymore for 500+, 300+, or other social programs. Voters expect a new offer; they have different dreams and aspirations than in 2015. If PiS loses, it will be because it failed to understand that it must transform itself, after transforming Polish society and the Polish state." https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/181239952-Cel-PiS-w-2019-roku-Nie-rozsierdzic-wyborcow.html

-- 2019 COULD BE THE END OF THE OPPOSITION AS WE KNOW IT, NOT PIS - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: "The authorities can survive scandals. Poles have also gotten used to the fact that PiS is not an acronym for Humility and Modesty. If they have to choose between those who figuratively "stole" and those who "steal" but life is better with them, they won't think twice and will turn a blind eye to PiS's state within a state. 2019 may therefore turn out to be not the end of PiS's rule, but of the opposition as we know it. Unless it comes up with some idea for itself." https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/181239934-Czy-to-ostatnie-miesiace-dobrej-zmiany.html&template=restricted

-- THE Jagiellonian Club Analysis Center Rated Bańka's State Policies Highest - Onet Announces Report: "The Government Under Scrutiny. Public Policy Ranking 2018" was edited by: Tomasz Ociepka, Paweł Musiałek, and Dr. Marcin Kędzierski. Sports policy received the highest rating. "Minister Witold Bańka has shown consistency and effectiveness in the fight for the purity of elite sports since the beginning of his tenure." Many areas were rated significantly worse. Some acceptable ratings also appear." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/rzad-pod-lupa-ranking-polityk-publicznych-2018-kto-radzil-sobie-najlepiej/lrxpqs1

-- IF THE GOVERNMENT'S COMPOSITION DEPENDED ON MORAWIECKI, HALF THE MINISTERS WOULD BE GONE - JACEK GĄDEK IN GAZETA.PL'S FAIR ASSESSMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER: "If the composition of his government depended on Mateusz Morawiecki, half the ministers, or even more, would no longer be in it. However, he has as much influence on the composition as on the shape of his own policy. He can go as far as the PiS leader allows him – but he has a unique advantage within PiS: he can convince the leader of his ideas. Morawiecki's first year was mainly about putting out fires, seasoned with bombastic rhetoric about successes. Morawiecki aimed to close the front in relations with the USA and Israel – he managed to get the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance repealed, which is a huge success for him. Although previously the prime minister senselessly poured oil on the fire by speaking of "Jewish perpetrators" of the Holocaust. And still the conflict with Brussels – a swift reversal from the purge of Supreme Court judges was achieved here. However, Poland remains in the EU's crosshairs due to the National Council of the Judiciary and the Constitutional Tribunal. So, he has successes in putting out fires, but great future-oriented achievements are lacking. On the other hand, frequent stretching of facts or outright lies cause irritation. Similarly, squandering vast sums on beautiful-sounding programs, although it is largely the same money wrapped in new packaging. Nevertheless, there is no better candidate for head of government in the PiS camp."

-- GĄDEK PRAISES CZERWIŃSKA: "An invisible professional. She comes from the Prime Minister's technocratic background. She is rarely present in the media. After the KNF affair broke out, she sent calming signals. The current budget surplus can also be credited to her." http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/56,114884,24294348,oceny-rzadu-premiera-na-x-ministrowie-na-prawie-dostateczny.html#s=BoxMMtImg1

-- ON THE RIGHT INTUITIONS OF BIEDROŃ AND SCHETYNA - TOMASZ SAWCZUK IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: "However, one can draw a lesson from the disputes over the opposition's policy. On the one hand, Grzegorz Schetyna has a sound intuition when he tries to build the largest opposition force competitive to PiS. PiS may fall, tripping over its own feet, and then the electoral strategy of the "defenders of democracy" may prove effective. On the other hand, Robert Biedroń has a sound intuition when he says in an interview for 'Kultura Liberalna' that he wants to tell "a different story" that is "not directed at this or that person," but is "simply completely different." It is worth striving not only to change the current government but also to think about how to make Poland a better place to live for years to come." https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2018/12/31/sawczuk-schetyna-biedron-obrona-demokracji-symetryzm/

-- ON THE ISSUES THAT RAISE BLOOD PRESSURE, KAJA PUTO IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA WRITES ABOUT THE LIBERAL "BUBBLE'S" AMNESIA REGARDING BISHOP PIERONEK: "After Pieronka's death, liberal media decided to praise him to the skies nonetheless. "He called a spade a spade," "inconvenient for bishops," "open to contact" – guests on TVN24 recalled the deceased. "Bishop Pieronek's Church was an open, post-conciliar Church, and his speech was free from hatred," argued Adam Michnik. "Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek criticizes the authorities in his latest column" – the Krakow "Gazeta Wyborcza" reminded. In this last headline lies the key to the sudden amnesia of the liberal bubble. Pieronka was given an uncritical eulogy solely because he attacked PiS. And this was supposed to be an asset and proof of the existence of an open Church, as liberals believe. The same liberals who allegedly demand the separation of the Catholic Church from politics. If it weren't for this eulogy, we wouldn't be bringing all this up about a person in the hour of their death. But such an image requires completion. And no, Pieronek did not have "unpopular views" with which one could "partially disagree." He propagated hate speech from a position of power." http://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/5-bzdur-ktore-podniosly-nam-cisnienie-w-roku-2018/

-- OKO.PRESS ON THE CONFLICT BETWEEN PRZYŁĘBSKA AND MUSZYŃSKI IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL: "Recently, Mariusz Muszyński has been seen relatively rarely in the Tribunal. He did not participate in the ruling Kp 1/18 (reportedly for health reasons). He also did not appear on December 18, 2018, at the solemn session of the General Assembly of TK Judges with the participation of President Andrzej Duda. According to my informants, Muszyński is a loyal ally of the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro, whose political position in the government is weakening. Some even claim that he will be dismissed sooner or later. And this is causing frustration for the Vice-President of the TK. Julia Przyłębska, on the other hand – according to my sources – has decided to ally with Mateusz Morawiecki, who, as is known, is in conflict with Ziobro." https://oko.press/przylebska-muszynski-rozlam-trybunal/

-- ACCORDING TO SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI, RADEK SIKORSKI WROTE THE POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR: "In my opinion, this is the political book of the year. Sikorski has written an extensive and detailed, yet accessible and sometimes funny, textbook of professionalism in government politics. And yet, it is precisely the lack of professionalism that we complain about a hundred times a day. Perhaps we have even stopped demanding it. After all, ministers come and go, they exchange positions and are chosen based on criteria other than substantive usefulness. The media are mainly interested in what one politician said about another anyway. And media that are interested in more do not necessarily interest the reader. Besides, politicians are most often ministers for such a short time, a year or two, that it's actually unclear what to evaluate them for. Especially since in the world of PR and marketing, anything can be presented in black or white. And very easily." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/przeszlosc-i-przyszlosc-sikorskiego-opinia/5nw8m6p

-- POLAND UNDER PIS RULE IS NO MORE MY COUNTRY THAN IT WAS UNDER PO RULE - SZCZEPAN TWARDOCH IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEKSANDRA PAWLICKA: "I understand their fears, uncertainty, persecution, but I do not share them. My space of freedom has not diminished particularly since 2015, and Poland under PO rule was no more my country than Poland under PiS rule is mine."

-- PO GOVERNMENTS ACTED EXACTLY LIKE PIS GOVERNMENTS - TWARDOCH CONTINUES: "For my generation, the Third Republic was never a country of chances and opportunities, as it was for people ten or fifteen years older than me, who made rapid careers in Warsaw corporations in the early 90s because the job market was so receptive that speaking English was enough to get into the best advertising agencies straight after studying philosophy. When we entered the job market, colleagues a decade older were already there and, for obvious reasons, were not retiring. Such is my experience. I had no reason to love the Third Republic. Not to mention that on issues that are important to me, PO governments acted exactly the same as PiS." https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/polska-pod-rzadami-po-tak-samo-nie-byla-moja-jak-nie-jest-moja-ta-pod-rzadami-pis/5zp4e62

-- BIRTHDAY TODAY would have been celebrated by the recently deceased journalist Krystyna Grzybowska.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Eugeniusz Smolar, Tomasz Sakiewicz, Sylwester Ruszkiewicz, Marcin Walecki.