-- FOGIEL DOES NOT RULE OUT PRESSURE ON BANAS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/09/25 -- A CAMPAIGN THAT ISN'T OVERLY ATTRACTIVE - MARCIN FIJOŁEK: “It’s hardly a groundbreaking revelation to conclude that the election campaign, which will end in a couple of weeks, isn’t overly attractive. Certain cards have been dealt, and I doubt even the biggest optimists on the opposition side are expecting a profound reset. Nevertheless, these less than three weeks of campaigning hold some political potential.” -- SURPRISING SUPPORT FOR PIS FROM BRUSSELS - FIJOŁEK CONTINUES: “The opinion of the CJEU in this matter is, of course, not a broader acceptance of the policy of Mr. Minister or the entire government. However, it does disarm supporters of the opposition of many arguments. All the more incomprehensible is the reaction of Grzegorz Schetyna, who, on the same day, escalates the temperature, clearly stating that he would actually like financial sanctions for Poland (for example, in the form of a reduced budget for our country) if Brussels assesses that the rule of law is being violated here. Such declarations are a campaign shot not so much at one’s own foot, but at the knee, if not the hand. Something that has so often put PO politicians in a difficult situation is being repeated again today…” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/465220-heynen-ferenc-bruksela-zaskakujace-wsparcie-dla-pis -- IF KIDAWA DOESN'T ABANDON TOTALITY, WORDS OF COOPERATION MEAN NOTHING - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “These will only be empty words also if the Civic Platform (PO) does not promise that it will never return to the politics of ‘totality’. That it will never again embark on this path – which Schetyna personally decreed – and which, if successful, could bring disaster to Poland. Because it was a policy that involved using all resources, including external ones, against the Polish government. It was a course that not only metaphorically echoed the worst Polish traditions. A course that Law and Justice did not even decide to take during its worst periods.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/465322-czy-kidawa-blonska-obieca-ze-po-rezygnuje-z-totalnosci -- WE WON'T GIVE 600+ BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT GREECE - GRZEGORZ SCHETYNA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JACEK HARŁUKOWICZ IN GW: “We are responsible. Of course, we could have responded to their 500 PLN with 600 PLN, but we don’t want Poland to end up like Greece once did, where social democrats competed with conservatives in handouts. We have solutions for Poles that will not lead the country to ruin.” -- MAŁGORZATA IS A BETTER POLITICIAN THAN ME FOR COALITION TALKS - SCHETYNA CONTINUES: “We will likely have to form a coalition with other parties. Małgorzata is the best politician to conduct such talks. Better than me.” -- SCHETYNA IS STIRRING THE SAME GLASS WITHOUT SUGAR - DUDEK CONTINUES: “The Civic Coalition, on the other hand, has drawn no conclusions at all from its defeat in 2015. Replacing Ewa Kopacz with Grzegorz Schetyna was like stirring the same glass of tea without adding sugar, meaning no new quality.” -- I'M PLAYING FOR THE WHOLE POT - SCHETYNA CONTINUES: “It’s rather amusing. Those who know me know that I don’t destroy anyone. But I always play for the whole pot. I am ambitious and I like to win. Have I changed? All these years and functions have certainly hardened me. There have been ups and downs. The latter have additionally taught me humility and drawing conclusions. But above all, that it’s worth being patient.” http://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,25231920,zawsze-gram-o-wszystko.html -- THE LEFT IS DRIVING A WEDGE BETWEEN PIS AND PO - ANTONI DUDEK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JAKUB MAJMUREK IN KRYTYKA: “I even suspect that the Left might achieve results in line with the most favorable polls for them today, but mainly at the expense of the Civic Platform (PO), not PiS. I do not, of course, foresee a situation where the Left overtakes the Civic Coalition (KO) in October; it's too early for that. But I wouldn't be surprised if only a few percentage points ultimately separate the two lists. The great strength of the Left today is that it has not been burdened by governing for a very long time – it last governed in the first half of the last decade. Few people remember what happened then; it’s no longer electorally significant. The new leaders of the Left – Biedroń, Zandberg – further legitimize these lists.” -- THE PLATFORM WILL NEED A DEEP OVERHAUL - DUDEK CONTINUES IN CONVERSATION WITH MAJMUREK: “In any case, it is clearly visible that the Platform – if it wants to return to power – will need a deep overhaul of its leadership elite, not only the leader but all individuals in key party positions.” -- KIDAWA WILL ACHIEVE A VERY GOOD RESULT IN WARSAW BUT WON'T PULL THE OPPOSITION OUT OF CRISIS - DUDEK CONTINUES: “Kidawa-Błońska will achieve a very good result in Warsaw, significantly better than Schetyna would, and will likely gain more votes than Jarosław Kaczyński. But Warsaw is a certain enclave and doesn’t have that much significance on a national scale, even if thanks to her, the KO gains one or even three more MPs in Warsaw. In my opinion, Kidawa-Błońska is not a politician of sufficient caliber to pull the main opposition bloc out of a very deep crisis. This requires more than just a well-perceived leader. People vote pragmatically in parliamentary elections, not for a popular leader. Jarosław Kaczyński is also not the favorite politician of Poles, yet PiS is probably heading for victory. A leader, however, matters in presidential elections. And this is the main goal of the move with Kidawa-Błońska, as I see it. A good result in the capital might justify this politician’s candidacy in next year’s presidential elections – so that Schetyna doesn’t have to persuade Tusk.” -- TVN CREATES REALITY MORE SUBTLY - DUDEK CONTINUES IN KRYTYKA: “Contrary to stereotypes widespread in opposition circles, it turns out that PiS voters turn to media of various orientations. They declare that they watch TVN alongside TVP. Opposition voters, on the other hand, almost entirely do not watch TVP and other government media, and consider TVN to be an objective station. This is surprising to the extent that the KO electorate, which is better educated, should have some element of self-criticism and realize that TVN also creates a certain reality. Of course, it does so much more subtly than TVP, which practices propaganda at a very primitive level.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/dudek-raport-cynizm-polakow-wybory/ -- MACIEREWICZ IS A SHADOW OF HIS FORMER SELF - JACEK GĄDEK ON GAZETA.PL: “Although he is in great physical shape, as a politician, Antoni Macierewicz is a shadow of his former self from a few years ago. He drives a company car and has modest security, but he must forget about a larger escort.” -- GĄDEK ON WHAT MACIEREWICZ SAYS ABOUT SMOLENSK TODAY: “At a meeting in Canada, he also assured about this, avoiding the topic: – The final report will be ready – this year or at the beginning of next year. Then we will [describe] in detail how the issue of the crew's death occurred, and you will have everything signed there. Then we will return to it. Meaning: he will return to Smoleńsk after the elections, and for now, he has pushed the topic to the background.” -- TORUŃ NO LONGER HAS THE SAME POSITION AS BEFORE - A PIS POLITICIAN QUOTED BY GĄDEK: “A PiS politician confirms: – He was always at Radio Maryja and is still respected there, especially since he belongs to the old guard of politicians who surrounded Father Rydzyk already in the 1990s. Toruń no longer has the same position as before.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25229108,macierewicz-wciaz-marzy-o-wladzy-ale-stracil-juz-swoj-czar.html -- THEY SHOULD LOSE THEIR PROFESSIONAL DRIVING LICENSES AFTER A KIND OF DRUNK DRIVING - CZESŁAW BIELECKI IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “What Judge Łukasz Piebiak did most glaringly shows that state officials should lose their professional driving licenses after a kind of drunk driving. The media in Poland have a very important role to play in exposing and highlighting all injustices. This case confirms that the judiciary cannot be left free to decide who can judge. The crossing of boundaries of decency by some judges who acted opportunistically shows that the system is inefficient, and has been for years. The corporation cannot judge itself. There must be an external reference point. Regardless of whether it concerns responsibility for the unlawful detention of Mr. Komenda in prison for years or the indecent behavior of judges looking for dirt on their colleagues.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/309249900-Czeslaw-Bielecki-Zyjemy-w-kraju-nieprawosci.html -- UJAZDOWSKI LEADS IN THE POLL, BUT IBRIS'S - Zuzanna Dąbrowska describes a poll for RZ: “According to a poll conducted by IBRiS for ‘Rzeczpospolita,’ Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski can count on a secure senatorial mandate from his Warsaw district. Despite the fact that his competitor, Paweł Kasprzak, representing Obywatele RP, receives over 11 percent support, the official KO candidate wins. Marek Rudnicki from PiS receives 29 percent of the votes.” https://www.rp.pl/Sondaze-wyborcze/309249896-44-okreg-wyborczy-Ujazdowski-wygra-z-Kasprzakiem.html -- THE SANATION RECONSTRUCTION GROUP - ŁUKASZ WARZECHA IN RZ: “The program praises the alleged original 'Polish path to prosperity,' which is supposed to distinguish us and be neither liberal nor socialist. This reflects Prime Minister Morawiecki's fascination with China's achievements, which, however, operate in completely different market and social realities. These boasts are greatly exaggerated, given that we have only had one term under truly favorable economic conditions. They also bring to mind Tony Blair's delusions about New Labour's 'third way' from the beginning of the last decade. PiS governments are sometimes maliciously called the 'Sanation reconstruction group.' Such historical analogies can be misleading, but this one – while maintaining proportions – seems surprisingly apt.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus-na-wybory/309249933-Program-PiS-przechwalki-skrojone-na-wyrost.html -- THE ADVOCATE GENERAL'S OPINION CAN BE A TURNING POINT - TOMASZ PIETRYGA IN RZ: “If the Advocate General's opinion is upheld by the CJEU, it could be a turning point in the dispute between the Polish government and Brussels. Recent years have shown that both EU institutions and the courts in Luxembourg have, almost by definition, questioned PiS's changes, siding with the accusations of the judicial community. This is despite protests from the Polish government, which believes the CJEU does not have treaty powers for this. On Tuesday, it turned out that interference in the legal orders of member states has limits. One of these is the lack of suspension of the case under EU law. And hypothetical threats to the rule of law are not enough. Of course, the Advocate General could have brought the issue under the general principles on which the Union is based, as in the case of the Supreme Court Act. This did not happen, and the accusation that the CJEU is an unthinking weapon of Polish judges and the opposition in conflict with the authorities has lost significance.” https://www.rp.pl/Opinie/309249889-Punkt-zwrotny-w-konflikcie-z-Unia-o-sady---komentarz-Tomasza-Pietrygi.html -- POLISH GOVERNMENT WINS IN CJEU FOR THE FIRST TIME - headline in GW. -- RZ SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE TAKEOVER OF MBANK - ONE BRIDGE TOO FAR - PAWEŁ ROŻYŃSKI: “It would be best if mBank ended up in the hands of Polish private investors, but that doesn’t seem likely. The current number one banker in Poland, Leszek Czarnecki, is himself having trouble with his assets. Therefore, mBank will likely end up in state hands, but that would be one bank too many. Competition in the Polish market, which is already increasingly illusory, would then become a fiction. The state would not fiercely compete with itself. And this is a significant threat to customers. Prime Minister Morawiecki surely understands this well; after all, he himself was a banker for many years. A private one.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze-ekonomiczne/309249886-O-jeden-bank-zadaleko.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Mariusz Kamiński, Maria Przełomiec, Dominika Wiktoria Cosic, Roman Kuźniar, Paweł Zalewski.