-- DWORCZYK ON ADDITIONAL SEJM SESSIONS, TK RULING ON KRS NEXT WEEK - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/03/05/

-- DULKIEWICZ'S TRIUMPH, A GOOD SIGN FOR THE OPPOSITION - Fakt: “But does that explain such a high turnout? Usually, in this type of election, it hovers around a dozen percent. But 49 percent? And this when PiS did not participate in the campaign. This proves a great mobilization of the 'anti-PiS' electorate, which already happened in the local government elections.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/wybor-aleksandy-dulkiewicz-to-zle-informacje-dla-pis/s4mdxjy

-- 18% RIGHT-WING FANATICS IN GDAŃSK IS A LOT - Piotr Pacewicz and colleagues in OKO: “But 18% for Braun and Skiba, anti-Europeans, conspiracy theorists, antisemites, homophobes must be worrying. Because it's hard to find worse conditions for such candidates than in Gdańsk. (...) Despite this, some supporters of PiS and Kukiz’15 chose right-wing extremists, even though it meant voting against the will of the murdered president. This shows the high potential of right-wing radicalism.” https://oko.press/82-proc-dulkiewicz-to-triumf-ale-18-proc-na-prawicowych-oszolomow-to-duzo/

-- PIS' ABSENCE IN THE GDAŃSK ELECTION CREATED A VACUUM THAT NATIONALISTS FILLED - ADAM SZOSTKIEWICZ in Polityka: “PiS did not want to add the defeat of its candidate in Gdańsk to the already long list of problems it has with governing. The only thing is, on the right, PiS's absence in the Gdańsk elections created a vacuum. Nationalists filled it. And this is bad news not only for the 'united right' but also for democracy. Perhaps PiS recognizes this danger. And that's why it reacts so mildly to nationalist excesses and tolerates various hate-mongering marches. But such a tactic has short legs. It de facto legitimizes far-right attitudes in the public space, and that's always how the far-right's march to totalitarian power began in European history.” https://szostkiewicz.blog.polityka.pl/2019/03/04/brawo-dulkiewicz-uwaga-na-skrajna-prawice/?nocheck=1

-- PIS GAVE GROUND TO THE FAR-RIGHT, THIS IS A HISTORICAL RESULT FOR NATIONALISTS - writes Janek Rojewski in Polityka: “PiS ceded ground to the far-right, and it's unknown how many voters in Gdańsk it lost temporarily, and how many permanently. And worse for the party itself – it had no other choice. Far-right circles will not bother to describe how strange these elections were and that this was a situation that should not happen again. For Braun, as well as for the nationalists and Korwin followers who are part of the Confederation with him, this is a historic, double-digit result and a great electoral success. For the Confederation, which will compete for future voters with PiS and Kukiz’15, this is very good news. The coalition has shown that it is electable and a vote for it will not be a wasted vote. According to a Kantar poll commissioned by the European Parliament and published on March 1, the Confederation can count on crossing the electoral threshold. A properly manipulated narrative about Braun's success in the Gdańsk elections can strengthen, and even improve, this result.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1784444,1,co-oznacza-sukces-grzegorza-brauna-w-gdansku.read?src=mt

-- A COSTLY ELECTORAL MANEUVER - Marek Chądzyński, Grzegorz Osiecki in DGP: “While the economy may gain slightly from additional payments to pensioners, it will be a noticeable deficit in public finances. Although probably not immediately visible. Experts believe that it can be financed this year without causing major tensions. Firstly, the costs of indexation have already been included in the budget, so there is no surprise. Secondly, even the thirteenth pension should not be a problem, if only because the National Bank of Poland should pay its profit for 2018 in June. It can amount to PLN 5-7 billion.” https://gospodarka.dziennik.pl/emerytury-i-ofe/artykuly/592750,trzynastka-dla-emerytow-emeryci-emerytury-premier.html

-- CHANGES IN PIT ARE LIKE POWDERING A PIMPLY FACE - PIOTR WÓJCIK in Krytyka Polityczna: “The changes in PIT proposed by PiS resemble powdering a pimply face. At first glance, they look good, but apart from the first of the described postulates, they do not solve the general problem, which is the unfair Polish personal income tax, which deviates from Western standards. One of the proposals will even have negative consequences. The authorities have again lacked the courage for a truly progressive PIT reform.”

-- WÓJCIK ON REDUCING VAT INSTEAD OF PIT - IT WOULD BE FAIRER, THE POOREST WOULD BENEFIT: “On the other hand, the government could reduce VAT, which was increased 'during the crisis' by PO, and although the crisis ended long ago, subsequent governments are not eager to restore the previous rate. Meanwhile, VAT is the most unfair of taxes, as it is regressive – it burdens as much as 16% of the income of the 10 percent lowest earners, but only 7% of the income of the 10 percent highest earners – simply put, the wealthier one is, the proportionally smaller part of their income they consume. Restoring the basic rate of 22 percent would cost the budget significantly more than a PIT reduction. However, the government could reduce the 5 percent rate, which applies to basic food products, by one percentage point. As a result, their prices would fall, and the lowest earners would benefit more from this than from a PIT reduction. The question is, however, whether either of these two changes proposed above could be sold as well in terms of PR as a PIT reduction. And that is what it is all about.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/pudrowanie-zlego/

-- WE SAY GOODBYE TO AMBITIOUS PLANS - JANUSZ JANKOWIAK in Rzeczpospolita: “Reflection on the government's economic policy over the past three years is accompanied by a profound sense of missed opportunity. The high phase of the economic cycle favored the introduction of structural reforms strengthening the economy's potential. Using the moment of 'free ride' on the cycle, the government started with the slogan: more investment. And it ends its term with a promise to pay the 13th pension a few months before the elections. There is little more to add to this.” https://www.rp.pl/Opinie/303049905-Zegnamy-ambitne-plany-witamy-klopoty.html&template=restricted

-- MORAWIECKI'S PIS IS MUCH MORE LIBERAL THAN SZYDŁO'S PIS - RAFAŁ WOŚ in SE: “However, I see business lobbyists deploying increasingly heavy artillery against the restriction of Sunday trading. And I increasingly fear that PiS will retreat before their sight. I base my fear on a simple calculation. Morawiecki's PiS is much more liberal than Szydło's PiS. There is plenty of evidence for this. In the current government and its surroundings, there are simply many people who, with their approach to the economy, would easily fit into Civic Platform. Or even co-created the previous system. Prime Minister Morawiecki was, after all, an economic advisor to Donald Tusk, and the entrepreneurship ministry is dominated by people from former PO minister Jarosław Gowin, who has never hidden that he would prefer to leave everything to the predatory logic of the market.

-- WOŚ: I WOULD CALL A LIBERAL SMART ALECK AT 7 AM ON SUNDAY FOR A COMMENT - LET HIM SEE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK FROM DAWN ON A DAY OFF: “You certainly have your opinion on this matter. I have one too. In short, it goes like this. Of course, it can be irritating when I run out of tomato puree on Sunday and kiss the door of the nearest grocery store. But when I read another liberal smart aleck pontificating that 'such a ban limits his freedom and harms the entire economy,' I feel like promising him that next Sunday I'll call him at 7 AM and demand a comment. Let him see what it means to work from dawn on a day off.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/rafal-wos-biznes-straszy-pis-truchleje-aa-CtXz-1h9Y-3i2q.html -- PIS SHOULD LEARN TO DIVIDE MORE FAIRLY - JUSTYNA SUCHECKA in GW: "And now a simple calculation that should be understandable even at the ministerial level: if the government gave every teacher – and that's about 700,000 full-time positions – a gross pay rise of PLN 1,000, it would cost the budget about PLN 14 billion annually, including basic salary derivatives. The 500 plus program for the first child, which PiS has just announced, costs PLN 17 to 19 billion annually. So it's not the case that teachers – as Szczerski would want – should multiply to get raises. PiS should learn to divide more fairly.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24516838,pis-nie-chce-sie-nauczyc-dzielenia-przypominamy-fakty-w-sprawie.html

-- TODAY PIS WALKS THE PATH OF SLD AND PO - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: “There were more similar statements directed at doctors, nurses, caregivers for disabled children, artists, lawyers, lecturers, and other groups that PiS might not consider its electorate. PiS approaches 500+ instrumentally and cynically. This time, teachers received a slap in the face. Minister Szczerski scored a particularly damaging own goal for PiS. Every politician should hang the slogan 'Pride goes before a fall' above their desk and read it several times a day with understanding. Especially those in power. Because today PiS is walking the path of SLD and PO.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/190309764-Minister-powiedzial-to-co-PiS-mysli.html

-- PIS ESCAPED THE NARRATIVE TRAP OF POLEXIT - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “And yet, PiS and its circle seem to have managed to escape this trap with relatively minor losses. The unequivocally pro-European (though not liberal) language adopted, the indication that many in Europe are demanding a reform of the community, and placing modern, worldly politicians at the forefront of the media have reduced the probability that Poles will consider this thesis plausible. But if anyone thinks this is the end of the matter, they are mistaken. The opposition has become so fond of easy 'Polexit' points that it now advances a modified thesis: yes - its politicians prove - PiS may not want a 'Polexit', but its actions objectively lead to it. Just as Prime Minister David Cameron did not want Brexit, but organized a referendum that resulted in such an outcome. The problem is that in Great Britain, it was the opposite. Prime Minister Cameron sought political reinforcement by differentiating himself from critics of the Union and therefore agreed to the vote. In this sense, he is more like our native Grzegorz Schetyna, who, in search of strength a few months ago, as the only Polish politician, seriously put forward the slogan of organizing a referendum on Poland's membership in the Union.” https://wpolityka.pl/m/polityka/436540-zarzut-rzekomego-polexitu-to-intelektualne-szalbierstwo -- EIGHT CASES OF PEDOPHILIA IN THE CHURCH ARE SHOWN IN THE FILM - TOMASZ SEKIELSKI IN A CONVERSATION WITH ŁUKASZ PAWŁOWSKI IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “With several dozen victims, but eight stories will be shown in the film. In each case, the Church pretended for years that nothing was happening, and if it reacted, it was only after another slip-up, when the perpetrator could no longer be covered up. Or only when other adults reacted.”

-- THESE SHOCKING STORIES OVERWHELMED ME - SEKIELSKI FURTHER IN KL: “I have seen many human dramas, I have been in conflict zones, I have made social reports, I have seen poverty, I have seen human tragedies... Perhaps because of how many conversations I have had, I felt that at times it overwhelmed me. Probably also because long conversations with these people require absolute empathy, listening, reading between the lines, reacting to non-verbal behavior. These are truly shocking stories.”

-- SEKIELSKI ON THE CASE OF A KNOWN PRIEST: “I also have the case of a well-known priest who sexually abused children. I checked his file at the Institute of National Remembrance. It turned out that he was registered as an informant, which would already be a big shock. But it also says there that he already had a case for soliciting a minor for sex in the 1960s!” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2019/03/05/sekielski-pedofilia-kosciol-rozmowa/

-- ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA ON PIS'S TROUBLE WITH SOLIDARITY - UNLESS PIS STARTS A PRO-EMPLOYEE SOCIAL OFFENSIVE: “Neither this nor any other postulate from Solidarity's December list (e.g., adjusting the tax-free allowance to protect against poverty) was included in the 'Kaczyński's Five' announced before the meeting with the union. Many activists felt it was a strong slap in the face. The protest of court and prosecutor's office employees is just the beginning of a hot union spring. Unless PiS starts a second, pro-employee social offensive before the parliamentary elections.” https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/303049880-Panna-S-calkiem-bez-sentymentow.html&template=restricted

-- PLATFORMA OBYWATELSKA WAS REGISTERED 17 YEARS AGO.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Beata Biel, Stanisław Iwanicki, Jerzy Suchański, Janusz Sanocki, Kazimierz Szczerba, Marek Woźniak.