-- BIELAN, SCHETYNA, MILLER ON BIEDROŃ - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/02/06/

-- OLEJNICZAK TO JOIN BIEDROŃ? - ŁÓDŹ GW: “Robert Biedroń, a day after Sunday's convention in Warsaw, began his tour across Poland. The former mayor of Słupsk, along with his closest collaborators, will visit 16 cities. He started in Łódź, and the meeting at Wytwórnia attracted over a thousand people. Among them, journalists noticed two well-known left-wing politicians: Cezary Olejniczak and Krzysztof Makowski. According to our information, Olejniczak is close to joining Wiosna (Spring). What's more, his younger and more well-known brother, Wojciech – former Minister of Agriculture (2003-2005), Chairman of the SLD (2005-2008), and MEP (2009-2014) – is said to be heading in the same direction. It is not impossible that he will become Wiosna's top candidate in Łódź for the European Parliament elections.” http://lodz.wyborcza.pl/lodz/7,35136,24432227,roberta-biedron-przyciaga-lewice-wiosna-z-bracmi-olejniczak.html

-- BIEDROŃ'S ENTRY DOESN'T HARM THE OPPOSITION, QUITE THE OPPOSITE - PIOTR PACEWICZ IN OKO: “The poll thus indicates a clearer advantage for pro-democratic forces than other surveys; Biedroń's entry into the game doesn't harm anything, quite the opposite. Of course, the question remains how these votes will be distributed among individual parties.”

-- BIEDROŃ HAS CAPTURED A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE ELECTORATE, THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF A TREND - PACEWICZ CONTINUES: “There is a lot of tension in the Civic Platform's reactions to Wiosna, which, as this analysis shows, is justified. Especially since the increase in support for Biedroń may not be just a temporary novelty effect. It could be the beginning of a trend, because – as it turns out – Biedroń has captivated a significant part of the electorate with something. And this effect may continue to work.” https://oko.press/juz-zima-wiosna-ma-14-proc-poparcia-biedron-polknal-jedna-trzecia-koalicji-obywatelskiej/

-- DOES THE CIVIC COALITION HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN? NOT RIGHT NOW - ŁUKASZ LIPIŃSKI IN POLITYKA: “PO is by far the strongest opposition grouping. But does such a coalition have a chance to win the European elections, and then the parliamentary elections? Not right now. With all due respect to the distinguished politicians who patronize it, it lacks energy or fresh ideas for the future. Nor are there new leaders who would attract new voters, and without that, success is difficult. The photo from the announcement of the European Coalition strongly contrasts with the photos of young people at Robert Biedroń's convention.”

-- LIPIŃSKI ON SCHETYNA'S FORCED ALLIANCE BETWEEN MODERN POLAND AND PSL: “The formation of this alliance was forced by Grzegorz Schetyna, building his coalition by force. In theory, the project might look good, but in the past, attempts to attach "urban" partners to the PSL have ended in failure. This alliance also lacks programmatic coherence, new ideas, and leaders. However, there are many political castaways with a significant baggage of defeats.”

-- BIEDROŃ OUTPACED THE COMPETITION, WHICH WAS BUSY WITH ITSELF - LIPIŃSKI CONTINUES: “Sunday's convention was ultimately a success. The former mayor of Słupsk outpaced the competition. While the 'old parties' of the opposition were still arranging their pieces, he had already announced his programmatic proposals. The realism of many of them can be questioned (access to a specialist doctor within 30 days, free internet, or a universal pension of PLN 1.6 thousand), but at least there is something to talk about. It seems that opposition voters are tired of discussions about who will go into the elections with whom. For a long time, the parties were primarily focused on themselves; now there is greater demand for programs. Biedroń's party has the advantage of freshness, and with its political uncompromisingness on many issues, especially social ones, it can attract many voters tired of the constant prevarication of existing parties regarding registered partnerships, abortion, or relations with the Church. However, it is still a project for a few, at most a dozen percent, not for electoral victory.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1781216,1,opozycja-idzie-na-wybory-w-trojpaku.read?src=mt

-- GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR ON BIEDROŃ AND THE NEW 500 PLUS, WHICH PLATFORM DOESN'T UNDERSTAND: “Secondly, the social message. No, Biedroń is not and never will be a typical left-wing politician. What he might succeed in, and what the PO still doesn't understand, is inventing a new 500+. Guaranteed pensions are such an idea. The problem with the current PiS is that after adopting the left-wing, welfare discourse, the party of Kaczyński can no longer, as in the days of Zyta Gilowska, criticize Biedroń from a liberal new-speak position about populists and handouts. Since Prime Minister Morawiecki's entire message is about giving money to citizens, it's hard to attack Biedroń now using Balcerowicz's rhetoric.”

-- PIS HAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS NO LONGER THE ONLY MAJOR PLAYER PROPOSING REAL SOCIAL DEMANDS - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR CONTINUES IN KP: “Biedroń's proposal is simple and catchy: PLN 1600 minimum pension. In the times before the introduction of 500+, this would have seemed like a moonshot to voters, but today it seems quite realistic. So, PiS has a problem because it is no longer the only major player seriously proposing real social demands.”

-- I WOULDN'T BE SO HAPPY IN PIS'S PLACE - MAJOR'S CONCLUSION: “That's why, if I were a Law and Justice voter, I wouldn't be so happy about the emergence of Wiosna. Because until yesterday they only competed with one Platform, now they will compete with two: Schetyna's stale one and Biedroń's fresh one. And even if both Platforms attack each other during the campaign, they can still be considered potential allies after the elections.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/galopujacy-major/wiosna-biedron-pis/

-- PIOTR WÓJCIK IN KP CRITICIZES BIEDROŃ'S PROPOSAL TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE - IT'S BETTER TO INTRODUCE A PROGRESSIVE TAX: “Instead of experimenting very riskily with the minimum wage, it would be better to maintain its current rate of growth, which is very decent, and to reform the tax system towards progression. For example, by introducing a uniform progressive levy on earned income, with about five rates, from almost 15% to 45% (or even 50%). This levy would cover all personal income, including capital gains (e.g., dividends), as well as income of individuals running businesses. In this way, we would eliminate the practice of millionaires escaping to a flat tax, and the budget would gain billions of zlotys needed to implement other ambitious proposals of Wiosna (e.g., increasing spending on public healthcare to 7% of GDP). And at the same time, we would significantly improve the situation of the lowest earners.”

-- IT'S AS IF BIEDROŃ IS AFRAID TO STEP ON THE MIDDLE CLASS'S TOES - WÓJCIK CONTINUES: “Unfortunately, there is nothing in Wiosna's program about tax reform, as if Biedroń and his team were afraid to step on the toes of the middle class, which likely includes many of his potential voters. But without a progressive tax reform, it will be impossible to introduce progressive reforms in other areas in Poland. Let's hope that Robert Biedroń and his collaborators quickly understand this.” http://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/biedron-podniesienie-placy-minimalnej/

-- MOBILIZE THE DEMOBILIZED TODAY - MACIEJ GDULA IN CONVERSATION WITH MARCIN ANTOSIEWICZ IN NEWSWEEK: “Certainly, we won't be able to convince all of PiS's supporters. Moreover, from the beginning, I have argued that PiS cannot be defeated by smiling at their voters and offering slogans similar to PiS's. We need a different, positive vision that has a chance to mobilize those who are currently demobilized and feel aversion to politics.

-- THERE MUST BE ROOM FOR EVERYONE IN POLAND - GDULA ON PIS VOTERS' FEARS OF ACCOUNTABILITY: “I would very much like some PiS voters to find themselves in the Wiosna project, to recognize that it is a party for them. I think we can reach people who are discouraged by the current political climate in Poland and fear what will happen if PiS loses the elections. Wiosna says that Poland needs to be re-imagined, that it must be more diverse, that there must be a place for everyone in it.”

-- IT'S ABOUT JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION, WE ARE NOT PIS - GDULA CONTINUES: “We are convinced that PiS is violating the constitution, but we would be like PiS if we said that our conviction is sufficient basis for a verdict. That is their style, not ours. Therefore, we will appoint a commission to determine whether the constitution has been violated and what responsibility should be borne by politicians who have violated it. We are not saying that if we come to power, we will impale Jarosław Kaczyński's head on a pike. For us, justice and reconciliation are important. It's about both.”

-- GDULA ON THE NAME WIOSNA, WHICH HE INVENTED - tells Antosiewicz: “Wiosna expresses hope, change, novelty. It fits perfectly with our project, which tries to redefine politics so that it is not practiced against someone, but primarily for something. We will always be ready to confront something new. Wiosna always means something new, something fresh. We are a party that will face new challenges, we will not escape them into dogmas or into something that has been proven but no longer works.” https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/biedron-twierdzi-ze-zawalczy-o-wyborcow-pis-ale-czy-mieszkancy-polski-powiatowej/egxw6q4

-- COLLEAGUES, THEN THE CHURCH WILL APPEAR, AND CONFORMISM, AS ALWAYS, WILL GLUE IT ALL TOGETHER - MAGDALENA ŚRODA IN GW ON PLATFORM: “That's why two weeks earlier, Grzegorz Schetyna's Women's Convention delighted me so much. Finally, the leader not only noticed women but also gave them a voice. It was normal and modern. But what good is it? A few days later, Schetyna appeared at another, more important convention (European) dressed, as always, in a string of men in suits. This time, very important ones. I know he couldn't have done otherwise, given that the 'European convention' formula included prime ministers. But a different formula should have been chosen! This is a matter of political will and imagination. Schetyna still likes the '3Ks' (Koledzy - Colleagues, Kościół - Church, Konformizm - Conformism). Now there were colleagues, then the Church will appear, and conformity, as always, will glue it all together.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24432812,wazny-mezczyzna-i-klaszczacy-chor-czyli-jedna-jaskolka-wiosny.html

-- HOW TVP USES THE ATTACK ON MAGDALENA OGÓREK - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “The next time an act of aggression occurs, the other side will quite loudly say: serves them right, instead of unanimously condemning the brutalization of public debate. And a large part of the blame for this will be borne by Jacek Kurski and all those who contributed to him sitting in the chairman's seat of TVP. Especially since the situation in public media is ceasing to please not only political opponents but also an increasingly wide range of right-wing politicians, and even some people who initially cooperated with Kurski at TVP.” https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/190209651-Szuldrzynski-Jak-TVP-wykorzystuje-atak-na-Magdalene-Ogorek.html

-- THE OPPOSITION WANTS THE EXTERMINATION OF ONE SIDE OF THE DISPUTE - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “Less than a month after the death of Paweł Adamowicz, after numerous calls to stop, to reflect, the opposition has shifted into a higher gear of escalation. It still wants 'reconciliation,' but it's to be reconciliation through the extermination of one side of the dispute. That's how it understood its own appeals for mutual respect.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/432540-w-ramach-refleksji-opozycja-wlaczyla-wyzszy-bieg-eskalacji

-- I WOULD PREFER TO BE UNDER KACZYŃSKI'S BOOT THAN UNDER GIERTYCH'S PROTECTION - RYSZARD BUGAJ IN CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “Miller or Marcinkiewicz should be retired politicians. I cannot imagine voting for a Coalition from Giertych to Nowacka and from Sikorski to Miller. I would prefer to be under Kaczyński's boot than under Giertych's protection.”

-- THEY WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN PIS - BUGAJ CONTINUES IN RZ: “The European Coalition, like Biedroń's Wiosna, will only strengthen PiS and help the Kaczyński party get re-elected in the parliamentary elections. Everything points to this today, although much can still happen before the elections. Such an opposition unity, without a common program excluding issues they disagree on, is doomed to failure. Biedroń's initiative undermines not only the chance of defeating PiS but also the creation of a ruling coalition, should the opposition win the elections.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/302059925-Bugaj-Wiosna-moze-wzmocnic-PiS.html&template=restricted

-- WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE PHARAOH - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI in GW: “And what if the goal of Jarosław Kaczyński's entire policy is to commemorate his tragically deceased brother and himself? The funeral rites lasting 96 months have smoothly transformed into a political campaign aimed at building a monument to his brother and the victims of the Smolensk catastrophe. All of PiS's historical policy is aimed at exalting the Kaczyński brothers and clearing other historical figures associated with 'Solidarity' from their path. Power becomes a means, not an end. As the recording of Kazimierz Kujda's words ('giving money to people is essential') shows, winning the elections and a second term serve to build Silver 16 – another monument.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24432627,zyjemy-w-kraju-faraona.html

-- THERE WAS NO DEMAND FOR THE IPHONE UNTIL JOBS PUT IT ON THE TABLE - ROBERT GWIAZDOWSKI ON HIS POLITICAL INITIATIVE IN NOWA KONFEDERACJA: “Let me remind you that there was no demand for the iPhone until Steve Jobs put it on the table. It's exactly the same in the market of ideas and political movements. Perhaps a large part of voters are boycotting elections because there is no one to vote for. So I say: look, I'm putting something like this on the table – I don't know if it's an iPhone – and we'll see if you like it. These are not promises, but concrete proposals: a draft Constitution, tax reform, education reform, or justice reform.

-- THERE IS NO WAY LIBERAL IDEAS CAN BE COMPATIBLE WITH NATIONALISM - GWIAZDOWSKI CONTINUES: “Korwin-Mikke also dispelled any potential sentiments and scruples when Wolność (Freedom) entered into a coalition with Ruch Narodowy (National Movement). There is no way liberal ideas can be compatible with nationalistic ideas.”

-- I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF - GWIAZDOWSKI CONTINUES IN NK: “So be it. I took a risk. I'll try to enter politics, but on different terms. If it doesn't work, it won't work. I'm not going to make a fool of myself, I have too much to lose. I want to continue being a lawyer and I want people to come to me because of my professionalism.” https://nowakonfederacja.pl/polityczny-iphone/

-- MARTA ŻAKOWSKA IN GAZETA STOŁECZNA CRITICIZES VICE-MAYOR SOSZYŃSKI AND DOUBTS WHETHER WARSAW AUTHORITIES ACTUALLY WANT TO FIGHT SMOG: http://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,24426861,zakowska-prezydent-soszynski-nie-chce-walczyc-ze-smogiem.html

-- SHE KEEPS THE CHAIRMAN IN CHECK - FAKT ON JANINA GOSS. https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/to-goss-zablokowala-budowe-wiezowca-srebrnej/8e7bxew -- FAKT ON MAGDALENA ADAMOWICZ TAKING HER DAUGHTERS TO THE USA: https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/magdalena-adamowicz-zabrala-corki-do-usa/9z3z37k

-- BIRTHDAYS: Agnieszka Grzybek, Paweł Bochniarz, Paweł Orłowski, Marek Michalik.