-- JANUARY 5: GWICE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO REPLACE FRANKIEWICZ - Front page of Dziennik Zachodni. -- THEY WAVE THE COMMON BLUE BANNER IN OUR FACES AND PROMOTE SOLUTIONS THAT ARE A REGRESS FOR INTEGRATION - KONRAD SZYMAŃSKI IN A 300POLITYKA PODCAST: “Individual member states are feeling the increasing limitations of trust in the Union, which paradoxically often applies to the older member states, not Central Europe, which is judged on its European-ness by the same states. This is one of the great paradoxes of the political situation in the Union. These states do not want to pay into the EU budget, even though they want the Union to play an active role, which never goes hand in hand. These states have recently halted the enlargement process, while simultaneously demanding that the Union play a global role. This also does not go hand in hand. These states, which most readily wave the common, blue banner in our faces, promote solutions that are a regression for integration, for example, in the area of the common market and the protectionism they sometimes openly promote.” -- CENTRAL EUROPE IS THE MOST PRO-EUROPEAN PART OF THE UNION - SZYMAŃSKI CONTINUES:“We have quite a paradoxical situation: the most pro-European part of the Union today, advocating for a large budget, for the continuation of enlargement and the completion of the single market, is Central Europe, which is judged on its European-ness by those who do exactly the opposite, which is associated with weakening the European project. Not in words, because words cost nothing, but in deeds – says Szymański.” https://300polityka.pl/news/2019/10/29/300-on-air-szymanski-niech-w-ue-nikt-nie-udziela-sobie-dobrych-rad-kiedy-nie-jest-pytany-podkast-300polityki/ -- THE PRIME MINISTER WILL FINISH HIS MEETING IN CIECHANÓW TODAY, WHICH HE INTERRUPTED DUE TO HIS FATHER'S CRITICAL CONDITION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/10/30/ -- THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT SCANDAL IN WARSAW - ONET NEWSLETTER: “The echoes of the sensational arrest of the mayor of the Włochy district in Warsaw, who was caught red-handed accepting a 200,000 PLN bribe for assistance with development investments in his gleaming Maserati, have not subsided. The whole city is buzzing with rumors that the spectacular arrest of the city official, a close associate of well-known Civic Platform MPs, is just the beginning of a major development scandal in Warsaw. Other former mayors and officials from the capital's City Hall are allegedly involved. Will this indeed be the case? The coming days will likely show, but it's been known for a long time that city officials and mayors have for years made suspiciously favorable decisions for developers who could count on extraordinary treatment in Warsaw. Now we know why.” -- WARSAW IS STILL A CITY BEING ROBBED - WE CONTINUE TO READ IN ONET: “It is also difficult to avoid the impression that Warsaw is still a city being robbed. Wild privatization, the developer-political nexus, political connections and courts favoring patrons and shady landlords. Years pass, and despite sensational arrests, no one except the city activist Jan Śpiewak, who has made significant contributions to exposing the privatization scandal, has been legally convicted so far. And state institutions and services just helplessly shrug their shoulders.” -- TRZASKOWSKI'S YEAR WITHOUT MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “The year of Rafał Trzaskowski's presidency has passed without major accomplishments. (...) In less than six years, Trzaskowski's time may come, as President of Poland, but not yet. He cannot leave the City Hall because PO will not agree to a commissioner in Warsaw. The truth is that after a year in office, Trzaskowski is still only promising to be a good mayor... of the capital.” -- TRZASKOWSKI BECAME ENTANGLED IN BUREAUCRATIC POWERLESSNESS - NIZINKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “Trzaskowski promised to fight smog, eliminate 'smokers' (old, polluting stoves) and connect properties to the gas network, but in the last year, only a few dozen stoves were eliminated, and in some districts, their number increased. The city was to be better adapted for pedestrians and cyclists. It is not, as the problem on Sokratesa Street, unsolved for years despite pleas and complaints, painfully demonstrates. The area around the Palace of Culture and Science was supposed to be beautified, but it still stinks and is repulsive. Similarly, nothing has changed at the legendary, crumbling Skra stadium. Trzaskowski promised to give schools 100 PLN for each student in 2019 for additional activities, but it ended with a pilot program. In the realm of culture, many initiatives were also expected. Meanwhile, Trzaskowski, full of the will and dynamism of the campaign, as if entangled in bureaucratic powerlessness at City Hall. Perhaps courage and decisiveness will return after next year's presidential elections, in which Trzaskowski is unlikely to run.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/310299905-Rok-Trzaskowskiego-w-Warszawie-Stepowanie-na-polu-minowym.html -- THE PROBLEM IS THE LACK OF A CONCRETE CANDIDATE FROM THE CIVIC COALITION - PSL POLITICIAN IN PAWEŁ WROŃSKI'S ARTICLE ON THE SENATE OPPOSITION PACT - in GW: “– The problem is the lack of a concrete candidate for Marshal from the Civic Coalition – a PSL representative tells 'Wyborcza'. Four names are being mentioned in the corridors.” -- REBELS IN PO WANT ZDROJEWSKI, THE YOUTH WANT BREJZA - WROŃSKI CONTINUES: “Within KO, the rebels faction would see Bogdan Zdrojewski in the Marshal's seat. The youth would like Krzysztof Brejza to be the Marshal or at least Deputy Marshal, while the party mainstream believes that the best candidate would be Borusewicz, who was already Marshal of the Senate in the previous term. The candidacy of Marek Borowski, popular among journalists, currently 'does not have sufficient support in the party' – a senator tells 'Wyborcza'. Borowski, a senator from Warsaw, joined KO before the October 13 elections and previously ran as an independent candidate.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25358109,pakt-opozycji-w-senacie-ujawniamy-szczegoly-spotkania-liderow.html -- WILL TUSK FIND HIS STRENGTH? - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: “Andrzej Duda was loved for a moment because he wasn't Bronisław Komorowski, who lost his charm because he became too familiar and didn't want it enough. Aleksander Kwaśniewski did not lose it before his second term and that's why he won the second election in the first round. And will European politics restore Donald Tusk's luster in Poland? The former prime minister must find within himself the strength, sense of humor, and charisma that will help him win the hearts of enough citizens anew to carry those who vote out of reason or for the lesser evil. This is precisely the greatest effort in running for the highest office. Desire gives strength, and strength – everything else – a smile, wit, quickness in debates, and self-belief.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/310299887-Dabrowska-Tusk-musi-sie-zmierzyc-sam-ze-soba.html -- CONFEDERATION AGAINST 500+ - DOBROMIR SOŚNIERZ IN DZIENNIK ZACHODNI: “Konfederacja is against paying out 500+. - We propose lowering taxes, introducing tax relief, which would give not 500 but 1000 plus - believes Dobromir Sośnierz. He stated that Konfederacja does not want us to be slaves to whom someone gives and takes away, dependent on the government. Because now it is such that whoever gives (the government) demands.” https://dziennikzachodni.pl/dobromir-sosnierz-konfederacja-przeciwna-500-plus-chcemy-1000-plus-rozmowa-dnia-dziennika-zachodniego-i-radia-piekary-gosc-dnia/ar/c1-14543417 -- MARCIN MAKOWSKI ON PIS'S PLAN TO BECOME POLISH CDU: “After winning the parliamentary elections, which tasted bitter at best due to the loss of the Senate, a time for reflection has come in PiS. According to Wirtualna Polska's sources, the leader has already indicated the direction. The right wing needs to rejuvenate and move towards the center, utilizing the wings of Porozumienie and Solidarna Polska. This is the plan to become the Polish version of the German CDU.” -- MAKOWSKI ON GENERATIONAL CHANGE IN PIS: “- Today we are looking for a 'transmission belt' between generations in the United Right. We must bet on energetic middle-aged politicians, such as Emilewicz, Dworczyk, Horała, or Fogiel. Without this succession, we will never turn PiS into a party of power in the mold of the German center-right CDU – argues a right-wing politician. This strategy is about shaping personnel policy, and through it, the party's topics and agenda, so as not to lose sight of global trends; ecology, transport, worldview disputes. - We cannot give up ground to the left. We must have people at the helm who understand these things – adds another of our sources.” -- MAZUR TO JOIN THE GOVERNMENT: “The first test of intentions will be soon, and the composition of the new government is to confirm them. As Wirtualna Polska learns, the government will include young faces, including in the Ministry of Sport and Digitization, Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz will expand her influence with additional departments, and Krzysztof Mazur will join her under her wing as Secretary of State. Although he lost his Senate mandate in Krakow, his dynamic campaign convinced the party authorities to entrust him with part of the responsibilities in the innovation sector.” https://opinie.wp.pl/makowski-kaczynski-stawia-na-zmiane-pokoleniowa-w-pis-ie-inaczej-przed-partia-nie-ma-przyszlosci-opinia-6440520927459457a -- AN INTERESTING FRAGMENT FROM THE PORTRAIT OF JANINA GOSS BY JACK GĄDEK IN GAZETA.PL: “According to our information, Janina Goss is very engaged in her work on supervisory boards. - She asks a lot of questions and is not shy about anything. Whenever someone goes to a board meeting with her, they tremble with fear, because she is so inquisitive. Especially when it comes to expenses – we hear from one of the employees of these companies.” http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25357425,janina-goss-jest-ponad-prawem-a-kancelaria-premiera-nabiera.html -- THE COURT RIDICULED PIS, POLAND FAR FROM DICTATORSHIP - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GW: “The Supreme Court rejected the first of six election protests filed by Law and Justice. This is even better news than it seems. The court's decision indicates that Poland is far from Jarosław Kaczyński's dictatorship. For what kind of dictatorship is it that cannot falsify elections and, by filing a poorly written protest, allows itself to be ridiculed by three Supreme Court judges.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25360865,sad-osmieszyl-pis-i-to-sad-ustanowiony-przez-pis.html -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON HAMLET - THE LATEST PREMIERE OF TVP TELEVISION THEATRE: “Now not only every generation wants its own 'Hamlet', but every six months, and even in Poland. We have been flooded with a wave of Shakespearean performances. I am still impressed by the performance from the Warsaw Dramatic Theatre. There, the entire story was clearly told to me, and Krzysztof Szczepaniak proved to be a Prince of Denmark fitting our sensibilities.” https://wpolityce.pl/kultura/470058-dojrzaly-ksiaze-danii-telewizyjny-hamlet -- HAMLET CAN BE WATCHED ON VOD TVP FOR FREE: https://vod.tvp.pl/website/hamlet,45037299 -- WYBORCZA ON 12 THEATRICAL PREMIERES IN NOVEMBER: “Hamlet of the post-truth era, 'The Wedding' about Poland after the recent elections, and 'The Summer Guests' about today's intelligentsia. Here are 12 theatrical premieres that we will see in November in Warsaw and Krakow, but also in Wałbrzych, Katowice, Legnica, and Gniezno.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,112395,25352504,12-premier-teatralnych-listopada-na-ktore-czekamy.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Anna Krupka, Andrzej Drzycimski, Krzysztof Daukszewicz, Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Małgorzata Golińska, Andrzej Rzońca, Łukasz Jachowicz.