-- ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI TURNS 65. -- MULLER ON A DIFFERENT MAJORITY FOR THE 30K CAP - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/11/15/ -- TOMASZ GRODZKI ON HOW TO QUESTION BANAS IN THE SENATE - IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: "There is such an idea and such a possibility. Legislators are examining the best way to invite Mr. Marian Banaś, as many questions have arisen since the election of the new head of NIK. Please note that American Senate committees, not congressional ones, are the ones before which the greatest giants of America tremble, I recall, for example, the interrogation of Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Facebook. Service to truth is the most important role of the Senate." -- GRODZKI WITH SUPPORT FOR KIDAWĘ: "I am not considering running for President of Poland. We have an excellent candidate for president, Ms. Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. I have a lot of work to do in the Senate." -- GRODZKI ON THE LAW AND JUSTICE PARTY AS A SURGEON MAKING SEVEN CORRECTIONS: "The Senate is ceasing to be a rubber-stamp voting machine for PiS. We will not disappoint our voters who wanted change, not the bending of the constitution and the Senate's rules of procedure. We will not disappoint Poles, we will not create and approve bad laws that later need to be corrected seven times. If a surgeon had to correct his operation seven times, he would immediately stop being a surgeon or would be condemned. https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/311149899-Marszalek-Grodzki--Nie-zastanawiam-sie-nad-kandydowaniem-na-prezydenta-Polski.html -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON RUMORS OF KURSKI'S DEPARTURE - writes in PTT: "The initial nomination by PiS of Krystyna Pawłowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz for new Constitutional Tribunal judges signals an intention to provoke the opposition and liberal circles. But talk of the departure of TVP president Jacek Kurski for 'an important state position' has resurfaced. The reasons, however, are not so much aesthetic as effectiveness-related. He is to blame for the victory not being complete." -- THAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS PRESIDENT - ZAREMBA ON PAD'S SPEECH: "This only increases the importance of the new presidential campaign. For now, the advantage of a very active Andrzej Duda over disorganised opposition parties is being emphasized. The current head of state was also clearly visible during the inauguration of parliamentary work. Polite (also towards Aleksander Kwaśniewski), conciliatory, at times attempting to use the opponent's language, emphasizing the multinational and multi-religious character of the Republic. This is the nature of this president, but it is also hard to resist the impression that it is also the nature of the campaign, where supporters are sought from different sides." -- DOMINIKA KULCZYK'S MONEY IS SAID TO BE BEHIND HOŁOWNIA - ZAREMBA FURTHER IN PTT: "In the conditions of so-called media democracy, such invasions should be natural and increasingly frequent. Although beyond a face, structures and money are needed. Dominika Kulczyk's money is reportedly behind Hołownia. There are no structures, however. Although one can ask whether, for example, TVN will not want to have a candidate who, incidentally, would provide free advertising for that station. This television has greater significance on the opposition side than a depressing newspaper calling for support for a 'boring lawyer'. -- EVEN AS A GHOST, HOŁOWNIA IS PUNISHMENT FOR THE PLATFORM'S PROCRASTINATION - ZAREMBA FURTHER: "Hołownia - even as a ghost - is already a punishment for the procrastination and burnout of the main opposition force, Civic Platform. Is there more? We will find out soon. Finally, a personal opinion. For me, if this were a more lasting phenomenon, it would also be proof of the lack of seriousness in politics in the future." -- HANDING OVER PRESIDENTIAL POWER TO A COMPLETE AMATEUR WITH NO BACKING? - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION ON HOŁOWNIA: "The current one is crude in its methods and toxic in its content. But the obvious randomness of a potential political career of a journalist seems like driving out plague with cholera. Poland is a country with too uncertain a position, especially internationally, to hand over presidential power to a complete amateur without backing. A person known primarily for pre-written jokes on an entertainment show. I remind you that the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces in Poland and has a role in conducting foreign policy. Defense and international affairs should not be drowned in even the most likeable cabaret." https://polskatimes.pl/szymon-holownia-kandydatem-na-prezydenta-piotr-zaremba-powaznych-spraw-nie-topmy-w-kabarecie/ar/c1-14581879 -- GW EDITOR, PIOTR GŁUCHOWSKI FOR HOŁOWNIA: "And you know what? It's a great idea! To choose a candidate for the non-PiS part of society who won't be from PO, SLD, or PSL. It could be Hołownia - why not? The author of 20 books versus the author of a joke about cannibalistic negroes. I would vote for that." http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25409647,to-my-jestesmy-anty-pisem-a-nie-platforma-holownia-na-prezydenta.html -- MAGDA BIEJAT - NEW CHAIRWOMAN OF THE LABOUR AND FAMILY COMMITTEE FROM THE LEFT - WE WON'T HARM TRADITIONAL FAMILIES - says in an interview with Agata Szczęśniak in Oko: "I understand that the right is very attached to its vision of family. But the left also defends Polish families, although it may define them differently. We will not harm even traditional families." -- BIEJAT ON EMPLOYMENT POLICY AND UBER: "Work is not only a matter of pensions and minimum wage, but also of precarization. New technologies create new problems, such as platforms like Uber. These issues need to be approached comprehensively. Both globally and in Poland, we need to responsibly seek broad consensus on these matters. Perhaps abortion will not be such a topic, but I expect that the issue of work will find understanding among most parliamentarians." -- BIEJAT ON SUPPORT FOR ABOLISHING THE 30K CAP: "I believe that we should abolish this limit because today in Poland we have a regressive tax system. In other words, people who earn less pay a higher percentage of taxes, and those who earn more pay very little. Abolishing the cap will simply be fair. The question is whether this particular PiS project is written responsibly and whether we should support this particular project. We are currently analyzing it in the Left Club." https://oko.press/nie-skrzywdze-tradycyjnych-rodzin-poslanka-biejat-odpowiada-na-prawicowa-panike/ -- GRODZKI FELL FROM THE SKY FOR THE OPPOSITION - SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI: "Tomasz Grodzki, who fell from the sky for the opposition, specifically for the Civic Coalition, began his term as Senate Marshal with an excellent speech in the Senate. And he immediately got to work." -- HE COMBINES DISTINCTION WITH ENERGY - SIERAKOWSKI FURTHER: "Grodzki combines distinction with energy well. This contrasts with President Andrzej Duda, who does not lack energy, but class is another matter. And this can be a problem for this president, because appearing next to such a Senate Marshal as Grodzki, he will look much worse than against the backdrop of PiS politicians. And there's nothing left to accuse them of. Grodzki is becoming an exceptionally inconvenient figure for this government. Especially since he has already announced further actions. He may summon Marian Banaś before the Senate, where a commission will question him." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/oredzie-marszalka-senatu-tomasza-grodzkiego-slawomir-sierakowski-komentuje/0nvwxym -- GRODZKI IS LIKE KOMOROWSKI - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: "Bronisław Komorowski's poetic attempts pale in comparison to Tomasz Grodzki's writings, appearing as innocent couplets. The first serious speech of the new Senate Marshal brought a mixture of traditional, total anti-PiS sentiment (with tasteless comparisons to illness and communism) along with a whole series of attempts to find poetic metaphors. We are to be 'happy in a beautiful country', and 'in our Odyssey through life in search of happiness, some find it easier, others harder, and still others must carry their cross'. Fortunately, there is the Senate, which will do everything to 'give those with artistic talents the opportunity to create'. And so on, and so forth." -- SELF-SATISFACTION HARDLY MASQUERADING AS HUMILITY - KARNOWSKI FURTHER: "Everything in a tone of great self-satisfaction, hardly masquerading as humility. I felt the well-known stench of arrogance from the years 2005-2011 and the conviction that 'there is no alternative'. Plus the theatrical entrance at the beginning. And also a hint of political infantilism. Someone probably didn't think all of this through." -- THE ADDRESS SATISFIED THE MARSHAL'S NEED FOR VANITY - KARNOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: "There's no need to jump to conclusions yet, but it's worth noting that for an address announced with such pomp, it was rather disappointing. I got the impression, however, that it achieved its intended goal - it satisfied the new Senate Marshal's need for vanity. At the same time, it revealed that there is an interesting potential for truly unpredictable statements and actions in this story." https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/472990-marszalek-grodzki-moze-stac-sie-jeszcze-klopotem-opozycji -- PiS PUT ZIOBRO IN HIS PLACE, NOW TEMPERS GOWIN - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: "In addition, Gowin's party was not informed by PiS that such a bill would be submitted. Two conclusions can be drawn from this. The economic situation is much worse than we heard during the election campaign, so the ruling party has to look for additional sources of revenue and ideas to fulfill election promises everywhere – for example, by submitting another bill to pay the 13th and 14th pensions from the Solidarity Fund, which was intended for the disabled. The second conclusion is of a political nature – a serious political conflict is brewing at the very beginning of the term. It looks like PiS, after putting Zbigniew Ziobro in his place, decided to temper Jarosław Gowin." -- KOSINIAK FIGHTS FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND THE CENTER - SZULDRZYŃSKI FURTHER: "Will the right be able to make an attractive offer to the political center. And it's getting crowded there. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who is trying to transform PSL from a rural party into a party of entrepreneurs and the middle class, wants it. Paweł Kowal, a Civic Platform MP, also spoke about the need to win back the center. PiS politicians liked to use the word 'credibility' during the election campaign. And now they are facing a test of credibility precisely towards the political center." https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/311149902-Szuldrzynski-Konflikt-wrzadzie-na-dziendobry.html -- THE GOVERNMENT IS TO STAND AT ATTENTION UNTIL THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: "Moreover, even without these political circumstances, challenges are multiplying like crazy – not to mention the ill-considered promise to pass a balanced budget, which may satisfy supporters of 'model purity,' but must affect the level of spending, including social spending. The situation in the Senate also complicates matters, effectively blocking the nocturnal insertion of various laws and solutions so that the common folk don't realize. What was possible to pass just a few weeks ago thanks to decisions from Nowogrodzka will now require persuasion and hard work from deputy ministers in parliamentary committees. Because it is only easy to govern – when it is easy. So, do not expect a new 'good change,' at least until the presidential elections. The government will endure – because it is meant to endure." https://www.rp.pl/Rzad-PiS/191119740-Dabrowska-Rzad-ma-stac-z-bronia-u-nogi.html -- GAZETA KRAKOWSKA ON THE FRONT PAGE ABOUT PAULINA KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ: "We reached two different versions of how the spark ignited between the couple. - It was all because of a toothache - Paulina laughs. - Late in the evening he called, saying his tooth hurt and if I could help. I replied, of course, and the next day he was already in my chair. That's how it started - she adds. - Then I invited Paulina to Bieniaszowice, my hometown, where every year my family and friends gather at the statue of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, founded by my great-grandfather Franciszek exactly 121 years ago. I remember exactly what she said when she arrived: I brought you cake and good weather. It's true, because the weather immediately cleared up - Kosiniak-Kamysz recounts. - The cake was your favorite, rhubarb - adds Paulina. https://gazetakrakowska.pl/paulina-i-wladyslaw-kosiniakowiekamyszowie-jak-miedzy-nimi-zaiskrzylo/ar/c1-14571513 -- LOCAL MEDIA'S CONTROL FUNCTION IN PRACTICE - SĄDECZANIN ON THE NEW HAIRSTYLE OF THE CHAIRWOMAN OF THE CITY COUNCIL! https://sadeczanin.info/rozmaitosci/zmiany-w-ratuszu-przewodniczaca-rady-miasta-ma-nowa-fryzure?fbclid=IwAR1p1PtHa-Wi8c3UVGEVTCw9aQVxs8zsUby5AHcyPbO8nbClypOCP2FFrIc -- 2nd anniversary of the death of Halina Wasilewska-Trenkner. -- BIRTHDAYS: Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Jerzy Borowczak, Wadim Tyszkiewicz, Eugeniusz Kłopotek, Karolina Wydra, Marzena Suchan, Stanisław Janas, Marcin Goettig.