-- NO DECISION HAS YET BEEN MADE REGARDING THE MARSHAL OF THE SEJM - 300POLITYKA: https://300polityka.pl/news/2019/10/26/rzecznik-prezydenta-sie-zagalopowal-nie-ma-jeszcze-zadnej-decyzji-w-sprawie-marszalka-seniora-sejmu/ -- JAN ŚPIEWAK RELEASES AN ONLINE FAIRY TALE ABOUT HIS DOG - FELEK ON MUTT DAY: On the occasion of International Mutt Day, I am publishing a fairy tale about my dog. I encourage everyone to read it on the website or download the PDF. May dogs be with you! -- IN THE PHOTO: THE HERO OF THE BOOK - FELEK, accompanied by Morgan and Zośka, visiting a lake. -- THIS IS HOW ŚPIEWAK'S FASCINATING STORY BEGINS: “In a small house near the town lived Professor Zenobia Gruszczyńska. She was a retired paleontologist, meaning a lady who studied prehistoric fossils. She lived very modestly. She had worked her whole life and, along with her husband, also a professor of archaeology, raised two children. For several years, she had lived in the house entirely alone. Always dressed in mourning black, she confined herself within four walls. Neighbors rarely saw her. The garden around the house had become completely wild. Unkempt roses had grown to enormous sizes. The unmowed lawn resembled an African bush. Green shoots grew from the ground, climbing up the walls of the house, as if nature wanted to reclaim what belonged to it. Only the light on the first floor, lit late into the night, betrayed that someone lived in the house. It wasn't always like this.” https://przygodyfelka.pl/ -- LESZEK MILLER WITH HIS GRANDDAUGHTER ON POLSAT'S DANCING WITH THE STARS https://www.instagram.com/p/B4DVsBFlEZ_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link -- THE OPPOSITION SURRENDERED THE LANGUAGE OF CARE, FAMILY VALUES, AND SOCIAL SOLIDARITY BY FORFEIT - MAGDALENA BIEJAT IN CONVERSATION WITH PIOTR WITWICKI IN PLUS/MINUS RZ: “Years of explaining that there is no alternative have taken their toll. It's either the social welfare proposed by PiS, or the liberalism presented by Civic Platform. Showing an alternative requires more time and hard work. Besides social welfare and democracy, someone on our side must start talking about values such as solidarity, respect, and dignity. The opposition has forfeited the language of care, family values, and social solidarity by forfeit. Words have meaning, and in my opinion, the fact that I received a rather unexpected 20,000 votes in these elections is due to the fact that I take what I say seriously. I believe in what I say, and it's audible even in my choice of words. I reached a large segment of voters who didn't necessarily have to vote for the Razem party.” -- CONSERVATIVES SHOULD BE PRO-STATE - BIEJAT FURTHER IN RZ: “Yes, except PiS is a party that destroys public media, pits Poles against each other, and is very xenophobic. This is fascinating because conservatives should be pro-state. They are only concerned with replacing elites.” -- THE NEXT FOUR YEARS ARE GIVEN TO SHOW THAT AN ALTERNATIVE IS POSSIBLE - BIEJAT FURTHER WITH WITWICKI: “The next four years are given to us to show that an alternative is possible. We need to take care of our social needs and those in the public services sector. Social transfers must be supplemented by systemic changes. Otherwise, we will not be able to reduce social inequalities.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/310259980-Magdalena-Biejat-Lewica-Razem-Ci-z-SLD-tez-sie-ucza.html -- TRZASKOWSKI'S PRESIDENCY IS IRRITATINGLY REACTIVE - MICHAŁ WOJTCZUK IN GW: “Assessing the year that has passed since the elections, it's hard not to get the impression that Rafał Trzaskowski's presidency is irritatingly reactive. (...) A year after the elections, the interest on that loan is starting to grow. Paying it back may become increasingly difficult, as we are entering a period when Trzaskowski will have to say which investments he is suspending or postponing due to savings forced by the government's tax decisions. The time for belt-tightening requires decisiveness and the ability to ruthlessly enforce decisions from subordinates. For a year since the elections, Rafał Trzaskowski has not shown that he possesses these qualities.” https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,150427,25344742,rafal-trzaskowski-od-kryzysu-do-kryzysu-irytujaco-reaktywna.html -- IWONA SZPALA AND AGATA KONDZIŃSKA ON THE OPPOSITION'S PRESIDENTIAL GAMES: “There is a certain problem with the Mayor of Warsaw. The winning scenario is a commissioner in the capital's city hall, to be appointed by the Prime Minister. This would mean that the capital – the electoral stronghold of Civic Platform – would fall into the hands of a PiS appointee. The commissioner would govern the city until new elections, which must be called within three months.” -- COMPETITION SHOULD BE FAIR PLAY - ONE OF THE YOUNG PO POLITICIANS: “Not everyone liked it. We want change, but not in this style. We want to ensure that only ashes remain after the revolution. Competition should be fair play – says another participant of the feast.” -- SZPALA AND KONDZIŃSKA ON BIEDROŃ: “An Alliance activist: – We are not playing in the same league as Donald Tusk, but Biedroń will take his share, and we must stand behind him with the left-wing logo. This name is worth about fifteen percent. I'll say it crudely, but vividly: after four years, we've emerged from a black hole, and nobody wants to go back there. We will stand behind Biedroń like a wall.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25347694,wielka-gra-o-prezydenta.html -- THE RIGHT HAS ONE PRESIDENT, WE HAVE SIX LEADERS, HOW WOULD THEY FORM A GOVERNMENT? - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW - WHO WILL BE OUR PRESIDENT: “Meanwhile, on the opposition's side, we have, at most (excluding Confederation), six leaders. They barely agreed on such a simple matter as the Senate pact, thanks to which opposition parties did not field candidates against each other. Immediately after the elections, they quarreled over the Marshal of the Senate. Now, let's imagine these leaders forming a government.” -- THE OPPOSITION WILL KEEP LOSING WITHOUT A LEADER - WIELOWIEYSKA'S CONCLUSION: “And so we return to the starting point: leadership and the guarantee of stable government are crucial, because people fear chaos. As long as the opposition doesn't understand this and doesn't select such a leader, it will keep losing.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25347913,mamy-szesciu-liderow-zaraz-po-wyborach-poklocili-sie-o.html -- SADURA AND SIERAKOWSKI ON KACZYŃSKI'S GLASS CEILING: “Poles want to be governed by PiS, but they don't want Budapest in Warsaw. PiS wants both, which is why it hit a wall. The next step Poles might take during the presidential elections. Much depends on how PiS supporters interpret the party's result. If as a step towards hegemony, they might prefer a president from the opposition. If as a step away from hegemony, they will help PiS. Hence the dispute within the ruling camp. For some, the obvious strategy is to calmly wait for the presidential elections, so as not to alienate anyone. But there are also those who are urging to complete the reforms ('seal the system' and build a hegemony that will secure dominance for years) even before the presidential elections, because there may not be an opportunity later.” -- SADURA AND SIERAKOWSKI ON OVERCOMING THE OPPOSITION'S IMPOTENCE: “If Civic Platform remains stuck in a slump, the Left can increase its holdings over four years, measured both in poll percentages and lists of parliamentary club members. However, its growth will not strengthen the entire democratic opposition bloc in any way. Whether Poles will lean towards a conservative state or a left-wing welfare state will depend on what happens first: whether the Left breaks the glass ceiling or Civic Platform overcomes its leadership and identity crisis.” http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25348159,szklany-sufit-kaczynskiego-dlaczego-pis-juz-nigdy-nie.html -- JAKUB BODZIONY ON THE NEED TO CHANGE THINKING ABOUT DRIVERS' RESPONSIBILITY FOR PEDESTRIANS: “Drivers on Polish roads are convinced that cities, towns, and villages belong to them, and it is pedestrians who should be careful. The law, our mentality, and even the appearance of our cities maintain us in this belief. It's time to change that. (...) The key is to shift responsibility to those who, as all statistics show, are responsible for the vast majority of accidents and deaths on the streets – to drivers. People who get behind the wheel should understand that pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, and therefore should be particularly privileged. There is no point in waiting for another tragedy to implement changes.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2019/10/25/koniec-z-obwinianiem-pieszych-bodziony-wypadki-komentarz/ -- AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK ON THE APPEAL OF LEFT-WING MPS TO INCLUDE THE FEMININE FORM AS EQUIVALENT: "We are requesting the inclusion of our gender," write 20 Left MPs to the head of the Chancellery of the Sejm. They want to be referred to as "posłanki" (female MPs) and not "posłowie" (MPs, male or mixed gender) on official parliamentary documents, as well as on voting slips and nameplates. https://oko.press/jestesmy-poslankami-a-nie-poslami-20-parlamentarzystek-lewicy-pisze-do-kancelarii-sejmu-chca-zmian-tabliczek/ -- JERZY MEYSZTOWICZ IN CONVERSATION WITH ELIZA OLCZYK ABOUT CIVIC PLATFORM RACING IN POPULISM: “We will form a common parliamentary club with Civic Platform, as we made that commitment before the elections. However, in a situation where Civic Platform lacks its own political agenda and has started competing with PiS in populism, and Confederation is unpredictable, an responsible liberal party is needed on the political scene. A formation representing the hard-working middle class, which finances ill-considered social transfers. That formation is still Modern (Nowoczesna).” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/310259978-Jerzy-Meysztowicz-W-pewnym-momencie-PO-nie-miala-nic-do-zaoferowania.html – MUNIEK STASZCZYK ON LIKING TO VISIT EMPTY CHURCHES - in conversation with Jarek Szubrycht in GW: “I like to visit empty churches, to reflect on things a bit. One day, I went into St. James the Apostle church at Narutowicz Square. I knew this place and liked it. I was sitting in a pew and suddenly this thought came to me: ‘You’re not happy, Ziggy. You’re drinking away your fatigue, you’re pissed off. Does it have to come to this, that you'll vent your anger on your fans? Will you stop liking this band, your oldest child? Will you spit on it? We're about to celebrate the band's 35th anniversary, it's the best moment to part ways! In friendship, with understanding, without arguments.'” -- I SPEAK IN MY OWN NAME - MUNIEK FURTHER IN GW: “I don't pretend to be a 56-year-old rebel, but I always speak in my own name. I am Muniek Staszczyk, far from any '-isms', any party, or fashionable idea. Of course, I have opinions and I can support something I consider right, but I'm not obligated to. A word written with pure intention can be immortal, it resonates for years. I wrote 'To wychowanie' as a twenty-year-old guy, but both anarchists and nationalists identified with that song.” -- I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DIVIDE THE WORLD SO MUCH - MUNIEK FURTHER: “This division into two teams is perverse and benefits both parties. I don't understand why people divide the world so much. As if there weren't broader and more serious topics than PiS and PO. But the comments after 'Pola' were bad enough. It was worse when we shot the music video for 'Marsz' from the latest T.Love album. The music video is powerful: I'm watching a march on TV, I don't even know which one, and I'm getting more and more beaten down. This already stirred up real hatred.” -- HOW CAN ONE VIEW THE WORLD FROM A POPiS PERSPECTIVE? - MUNIEK STILL IN GW: “I don't understand how one can view the world from a POPiS perspective. Why should we be bound only by Donald Tusk's version or Jarosław Kaczyński's version? Meanwhile, whatever I do, I get drawn into this war. I've already read that I'm working for Russian intelligence or that the Church finances me. My faith is no secret, but I tried not to flaunt it. I simply answered when asked. I congratulated Olga Tokarczuk on her Nobel Prize. I know her personally, so when I found out she had won the Nobel, I immediately posted it on my fan page. And I read in the comments: 'Muniek belongs to the PiS establishment, and he's kissing up to Tokarczuk!' I've been everything, like Zelig from Woody Allen's film. Meanwhile, from punk, I'm left with distrust of all '-isms'. Assigning me to any camp insults my intelligence and sensitivity.” -- I DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT FOR LIKES, I SYMPATHIZE WITH GIRLS ON INSTAGRAM: “I'm glad I'm not a young artist, that I don't have to fight for those likes. I sympathize with girls on Instagram who constantly track what's happening with their photos. What kind of neuroses they must have! I'm not laughing, it genuinely scares me. Of course, everyone wants to be noticed, but what's the harm if you're noticed a little less? So what? It's important to have friends, to have someone lean over your bed when you're sick.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,113768,25346666,muniek-staszczyk-podzial-na-dwie-druzyny-jest-perwersyjny-i.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Janusz Palikot turns 55, Danuta Waniek, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Dorota Drozd, Tomasz Janowski.