-- 26 YEARS AGO, HANNA SUCHOCKA'S GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED VAT. -- SCHETYNA ON PSL AS THE FIRST CHOICE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/07/05/ -- JACEK KARNOWSKI HOPES FOR A PO AND PSL ALLIANCE: “We are in a campaign. A coalition is being formed and I hope it will be established within the next two weeks. I also hope that the PSL will be this coalition partner. It is the only sensible choice for local government officials and the Civic Platform. PSL and PO are two parties that respect local government.” -- LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CAN BE A CATALYST FOR AN AGREEMENT WITH PSL - JACEK KARNOWSKI CONTINUES IN A CONVERSATION WITH RYSZARDA WOJCIECHOWSKA: “Yesterday I spoke with Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and I am convinced that the decision on the coalition will be made in the coming days. And perhaps a trilateral meeting will take place. Local government officials can be a catalyst in this triangle.” -- KARNOWSKI DOESN'T WANT THE LEFT: “I believe there is a place for the left in Poland, but it would be good if it united with Robert Biedroń. Polish politics needs, as the classic Lech Wałęsa says, two legs.” -- LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS HAVE 30 SENATE CANDIDATES - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES IN DZIENNIK BAŁTYCKI: “We have preliminarily agreed on Senate candidates. Currently, we, the Local Government Officials, have over 30 candidacies. These are really good names. But I cannot reveal them yet because we are waiting for the PSL's decision regarding the coalition. And we will have to arrange things with them.” https://dziennikbaltycki.pl/jacek-karnowski-polskiej-polityce-sa-potrzebne-jak-mowi-klasyk-dwie-nogi-rozmowa/ar/c15-14253971 -- MAKING THE DUTCHMAN A SYMBOL OF THE OLD UNION'S ARROGANCE MAY HAVE PEDAGOGICAL VALUE - PIOTR ZAREMBA: “What is the truth about these few days of negotiations? Undoubtedly, if several European leaders seriously tried to arrange the cards in advance in Osaka, then their re-shuffling, initiated partly by Poland and other Eastern European governments, is a precedent. It is also known that the Polish delegation worked really hard during these nocturnal squabbles. The cooperation of the Visegrad Group beyond ideological divides (the socialist prime minister of Slovakia against socialist Timmermans along with his Polish, Czech, and Hungarian colleagues of different colors) is a value in itself, promising for the future. Turning the Dutchman into a symbol of the old Union's arrogance towards our region could have some pedagogical value. Although it is worth adding that the final outcome of the negotiations is not a triumph of transparency and the purity of EU principles.” -- POLAND IS A CO-AUTHOR OF THE FINAL CARD ARRANGEMENT - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Polish right-wing politicians respond that the region gained no benefit from Donald Tusk as President of the European Council because he played in the German orchestra, not the regional one. Possible, but the symbolic dotting of the i's can hardly be considered a success. One can, of course, be satisfied with mere activity, active participation in the game. The question is whether it was participation in a real game or a kind of provocation. This does not, of course, negate the image benefits. One can always recall that Poland is a co-author of the final card arrangement. Only the next question is: what good will it do us now? Because we should count on a portfolio in the European Commission one way or another.” -- ZAREMBA ON THE PARADOX OF PIS BEING PLEASED WITH THE GERMAN WOMAN'S SUCCESS: “PiS politicians telling us to rejoice that a German woman has taken the highest authority in the Union is, of course, a paradoxical phenomenon. Such tones are also heard on public television, which on a daily basis engages in rather crude anti-German propaganda. At the same time, it is worth remembering that the Netherlands, represented by Timmermans, was a particularly staunch supporter of a small EU budget, i.e., limiting the redistribution of funds. Berlin is more flexible here, interested in economic cooperation with our region, among other things. In Germany itself, her nomination caused mixed reactions. The world is not black and white. However, it is sometimes presented that way in daily party bickering, so it is hard to explain the next turn of events.” https://polskatimes.pl/politycy-pis-kazacy-nam-sie-cieszyc-z-wziecia-przez-niemke-najwyzszej-wladzy-w-unii-to-zjawisko-paradoksalne/ar/c1-14254479 -- MAY THE GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN PLAYING SOME GAME WITH RUSSIA THAT TURNED OUT TO BE UNSUCCESSFUL? - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ ON ONET: “Perhaps the government was playing some game with Russia that turned out to be unsuccessful? If so, Onet reporter Marcin Wyrwał, specializing in Eastern affairs, leaves no room for doubt: Russia is still an unpredictable country that does not care about the safety of its own citizens and neighboring countries. This has not changed since the time of Chernobyl.” -- THE PEASANTS ARE EITHER GOING ALL OUT IN NEGOTIATION FRENZY OR THE NEGOTIATIONS ARE BROKEN OFF - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “Tomorrow, the PSL is to announce whether it will run in the elections independently or in a coalition with the Civic Platform. Given that the Peasants have just poached two MPs from the Civic Platform (including a former minister), there are two possibilities. Either the Peasants are going all out in negotiation frenzy, or all negotiations have simply been broken off.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/newsletter-onetu-andrzej-stankiewicz-a-mial-byc-drugim-komenda/60nevv0 -- TUSK COULD HAVE POINTED TO SOMEONE FROM OUR REGION - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “These words were directed precisely at Tusk. And it's good that they were spoken. Because even if – let's assume for a moment – Tusk were right in accusing the Polish government of a disastrous strategy ('When I compare it with our position in Europe a few years ago, it is generally much better to have positive projects'), Poland is not the only country in the region. It would have been possible to point to someone from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or another country in Eastern, Southern, or Northern Europe for one of the five key positions. To point them out or at least fight for it. Specifically – Donald Tusk could have done this, after all, the 'King of Europe,' who himself often suggested that he knew how to navigate the salons effectively.” -- LET'S ASK TUSK ABOUT HIS EFFECTIVENESS IN THE EU - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “But Tusk cannot shrug his shoulders. This is also because he will be leaving his post, leaving the community thoroughly demolished by the egoism of the strong and the rich; and Tusk could not stop them from expressing their frustration and anger so brutally towards the uncooperative Central Europeans. Let's ask Tusk about his effectiveness in the Union. The fact that we know it was and is small does not negate the importance of the questions.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/453732-brak-stanowiska-dla-regionu-to-problem-tuska-a-nie-rzadu -- PO IS INCREASINGLY SHIFTING TO THE LEFT - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “This move, however, causes PO to shift even further to the left. This is because there are fewer potential candidates associated with its conservative wing remaining, and the younger generation of active MPs is much more progressive than their older colleagues. It may soon turn out that politicians like Bronisław Komorowski, who recently recalled his conservative identity, will find it difficult to identify with the Platform in its current form.” -- SCHETYNA CAN MASK THAT PO ITSELF WOULD GET 20% - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “The alliance – apart from its banner and figures associated with post-communism – has little to offer the Platform, but Wiosna can provide Schetyna with a pool of candidates appealing to the progressive electorate in large cities. This is a rather convenient situation for Schetyna, as he can use cooperation with the left to mask the fact that the Platform itself would receive less than 20% of the votes. By building a new Centre-Left, the PO leader is thus heading a coalition that can count on significantly more. The problem is that all of this is happening dramatically late, as there are only 100 days left until the election silence begins.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/190709664-Szuldrzynski-PSL-spycha-Platforme-w-lewo.html -- MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON KUKIZ'S RISK THAT PSL WILL STILL GO WITH THE PLATFORM: “However, a potential alliance with the Polish People's Party is burdened by another difficulty: the PSL's decision and the temptation of its politicians by Grzegorz Schetyna and the Civic Platform. We will bet a lot on an alliance with the PSL, and in a moment it will turn out that they will ditch us and go with PO. We will lose our virtue and earn no money – a source from the K'15 club convinces me.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/453603-z-sejmu-wziete-o-co-chodzi-z-przeprosinami-kukiza-wobec-psl -- A LEFT-WING COALITION CAN EXCEED 10%, BIEDROŃ IN CANOSSA - KRZYSZTOF PACEWICZ IN GW: “On the other hand – if the PSL insists and does not let Wiosna in, two scenarios are possible: the black one, where Wiosna runs separately (and gets 4.8%, and the Coalition with SLD in its ranks loses to PiS by 4.2%), as well as the more optimistic one: Schetyna and Kosiniak-Kamysz will form a Christian-Democratic-Peasant coalition, and the rejected SLD and Wiosna will have to form a coalition with Razem and the Greens. Despite the disgusting founding myth ('scorned even by Schetyna'), a left-wing coalition can exceed 10% and bring several dozen MPs to the Sejm (the D'Hondt system is slightly more favorable to lists that exceed 10%). With a decent result from the KO-PSL coalition, this arrangement also offers some chances to take power away from PiS.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24961406,biedron-wierzyl-ze-jest-polskim-macronem-dzis-prosi-schetyne.html -- MAREK BEYLIN ON A SAFER VARIANT OF THE EUROPEAN COALITION WITH BIEDROŃ BUT WITHOUT PSL: “I believe that the variant of the European Coalition with Wiosna and without PSL is safer and more natural. Safer, because the PSL, enriched by a group of conservative politicians from various backgrounds, can fight for a good result in the elections. Also, because it will not have to hide its conservatism under the rug, which has happened in the European Coalition more than once. Therefore, the PSL has an opportunity to establish an offer for conservative voters not convinced by PiS. And there are quite a few of them.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24961015,beylin-koalicja-europejska-powinna-przygarnac-wiosne.html -- MONIKA OLEJNIK ON HOW SARYUSZ-WOLSKI SHOWED HIS BACKSIDE TO THE BREXITERS: “When Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' was played, MEPs Waszczykowski and Zalewska demonstratively sat down, perhaps they didn't recognize the EU anthem? Maybe they are unmusical. But even so, they behaved better than the Brexiters, who showed us their backsides during the 'Ode.' We could also see the backside of MEP Saryusz-Wolski, who was filming his Brexit colleagues.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24961282,wielkie-zwyciestwo-husaria-w-ataku-pokonala-timmermansa-ktory.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Szewach Weiss turns 84, Krystyna Naszkowska and Wojciech Włodarczyk turn 70, Agnieszka Burzyńska, Elżbieta Pierzchała.