-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY EWĄ MILEWICZ! -- EWĄ MILEWICZ'S MEMORIES FROM THE BEGINNINGS OF SOLIDARITY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9IZ7rE_khU -- ANKA KOWALSKA ON EWĄ MILEWICZ AND HER LITTLE FIAT: “Ewa, a resident of Żoliborz, one of the opposition's strongholds, was targeted for exploitation by her closer and further neighbors – starting with Kuroń, and not ending with Chojecki and Bieliński. She was not only willing to provide the services demanded from all sides, but she had a small Fiat, which made her simply invaluable at a time when there were only about two and a half cars in the entire opposition milieu. She quickly became a driver tossed around mercilessly by the editors of the underground press and Jacek Kuroń ('daughter, drive here, drive there'). She delivered leaflets to 'little shops,' various people, and secret errands from one address to another, and for years gave up ownership rights to her little Fiat for the benefit of the greedy opposition and its dubious interests.” http://komitetobronyrobotnikow.pl/czlonkowie/ewa-milewicz/ -- ADRIAN ZANDBERG TURNS 40 TODAY. -- 300LIVE: SELLIN ON THE GOVERNMENT BEING PREPARED FOR MEDIA DECONCENTRATION: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/12/04 -- PIOTR ZAREMBA DECODES THE PIS GAME - NOT BANAS'S DEPARTURE BUT MAINTAINING CONTROL OVER NIK - writes in DGP: “Since PiS (or perhaps only Speaker Elżbieta Witek herself, acting on prior agreements) risked sending Marian Banaś's resignation back to him to force him to appoint his own politician as acting president of the Supreme Audit Office, it is crystal clear what the game is about. The ruling camp politicians genuinely want Banaś to leave. But they are at least equally determined to gain full control over NIK. Their moves in recent weeks have been aimed at achieving this.” -- IN THE NEW TERM, PIS IS GETTING RID OF ITS ARROGANT HABIT - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “The arrogant habit of dealing with such situations solely through political dominance is backfiring. But much has changed in this regard in the new term. Hence, at the very end, even remarks about 'our mistake' appeared in the mouths of PiS members, and the party's vice-chairman Adam Lipiński specified in an interview with 'Gazeta Wyborcza': the special services did not warn in time when Banaś was promoted.” -- ZAREMBA WRITES THAT SIGNALS ABOUT BANAS WERE COMING FOR MONTHS: “Important politicians told the author of this text that doubts surrounding Banaś's unclear connections had been circulating for months. Certainly, before his election as president of NIK. Possibly also before his brief appointment as Minister of Finance. How did it happen that the signals were ignored? Is the pool of candidates that short? Did someone have a personal debt to repay to Banaś? Regardless of the answer to this question, letting the fox into the henhouse by a party that has made fighting such pathologies its banner is a masterstroke – in moral disgrace, but also in incompetence.” -- ZAREMBA RECALLS THE EXPERIENCES OF PIS PREDECESSORS WITH NIK APPOINTMENTS: “Of course, PiS can defend itself – its predecessors also appointed their people to the office of president. It began in 1995, when the SLD and PSL shortened Lech Kaczyński's term because they wanted their own nominee there. This principle should be loudly questioned, because the concept of self-control always works poorly or not at all. At the same time, the current ruling camp can remind that it tolerated Krzysztof Kwiatkowski as president of NIK – not only elected by PO but also facing prosecution.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/614528,zaremba-opinia-banas-pis-dymisja-nik.html -- LUDWIK DORN ADVISES THE OPPOSITION ON THE BANAS ISSUE: “Dorn advises the opposition: don't wait for PiS to drink the bitter beer they brewed themselves. They will drink it – and it will benefit them in the presidential campaign.” -- IN DORN'S OPINION, THE LEFT WILL FILE A MOTION FOR A STATE TRIBUNAL FOR BANAS: “There is little time, practically until Thursday, December 5. Until that date, the President is at the NATO summit in London, and when he returns, the motion will most likely be filed shortly thereafter. Due to the election campaign, the timing is ideal: Christmas is approaching, family conversations at the table, including about politics, and what could better serve Andrzej Duda's re-election than admiration. (...) Perhaps in two days Marian Banaś will resign, and then this text will be outdated. However, if he does not resign, and the opposition does nothing in a short time and sleeps through the critical moments, then everyone, including its tormented supporters, can hold it responsible for being too complacent.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25473200,trybunal-stanu-dla-banasia.html -- IN THE BANAS MATTER, ONLY DEATHS ARE MISSING - WOJCIECH CZUCHNOWSKI in GW: “Blackmail, breaking procedures, retaliation against family, instrumentalization of the prosecutor's office. What's practically missing are beatings, arson, kidnappings, and deaths.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25476410,w-sprawie-banasia-brakuje-tylko-trupow.html -- IS THERE A PLAN TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH GAZPROM BEHIND SASIN'S PREPARED CHANGES IN PGNiG? - ANDRZEJ KUBLIK in GW: “Is there a plan to improve relations with Gazprom by the PiS government behind the changes in the PGNiG management board prepared by Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin? (...) Immediately after this statement was announced, in the very last hours of their tenure in the Ministries of Finance and Development, Jerzy Kwieciński spoke out. He stated that it's not about 'wanting to completely give up Russian gas.' As he added: 'Everything will depend on the financial conditions. But we cannot afford to have this gas that we buy be one of the most expensive gases in the world.'” https://wyborcza.pl/7,155287,25473200,pis-chce-sie-dogadac-z-gazpromem-zagadki-planow-sasina-w-pgnig.html -- GABRIELA MORAWSKA-STANECKA? SORRY, LEWICA, BUT HERE RECOGNIZABILITY NEEDS TO BE BUILT FROM SCRATCH - AGNIESZKA WIŚNIEWSKA in Krytyka: “Some of the Left's electorate has a problem with the fact that men are at the head of their political representation. But a candidate who is chosen by force will not change anything. -- HOŁOWNIA WANTS IT - WIŚNIEWSKA CONTINUES: “If anyone thought that Hołownia's candidacy was some unserious matter, they were mistaken. Hołownia wants it. He will jump out of the fridge to attract attention. And he will be nice. Maybe he'll say something about not buying live carp, or better yet, not eating them at all. And then he'll add that abortion should be banned. A good Catholic. Even better than the average Pole in terms of Catholicism. Hołownia can take votes from the conservative electorate. Thus, he poses a threat to Duda and Kosiniak-Kamysz. There are even initial polls that say that in the second round, Duda might count on 48.3%, Hołownia – 28%, and 23.7% don't know whom they will vote for. That's a good debut.” -- AND THE LEADERS OF THE LEFT DON'T WANT IT: “Adrian Zandberg is here, he is active, but focused mainly on party and parliamentary work. To win the presidential elections, you have to want it. Emmanuel Macron once said that. To achieve a good result, you also have to want it. Does Biedroń want it now? It doesn't seem so. Does Zandberg want to travel across Poland far and wide, is he a candidate who will chat at the market, dance at a municipal festival? Not really. So perhaps that's why the candidate was chosen?” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/agnieszka-wisniewska/gabriela-morawska-stanecka-lewica-kandydat-prezydent/ -- SO FAR, I WIN THE ELECTIONS I RUN IN - MAŁGORZATA KIDAWA-BŁOŃSKA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK in OKO: “I will win. I believe in myself. So far, I win the elections I run in. Everyone says that President Duda travels around Poland... I have also traveled around Poland far and wide for the last four years. I also traveled before as the government spokesperson and Marshal of the Sejm. I attended meetings with residents of cities, but also smaller towns, many times in areas difficult for my political formation, namely Lublin Voivodeship and Subcarpathian Voivodeship. I see that Poles everywhere want change. They want a different policy, they want to be respected by the rulers and proud of the president, of what he represents and how he represents Poland in the world. They want a president for whom every citizen, male and female, will be equally important. We see images from President Duda's meetings with Poles, but I try to look for conversations, for answers to questions, and, unfortunately, I don't find any. It's all theater.” -- THE TIME OF WOMEN - KIDAWA CONTINUES: “The coming years, not only in Poland but also in the world, will belong to women. In almost all countries, women are starting to fight for a better world. We have this in us. We take responsibility for children, for family, for the weaker, and now, increasingly, for the changes happening in the country and the world.” -- KIDAWA ON WHETHER SHE WOULD SIGN THE LIBERALIZATION OF THE ABORTION BAN LAW: “Please remember that the president's role is not to impose his own worldview, but to be an organizer of public life. If such a law gains a majority in parliament and has broad social acceptance, then it is possible. But I would like one of the first steps to be well-prepared and organized sex education. Without it, it's difficult to talk about other solutions.” -- KIDAWA ON BRIDGING DIVIDES: “Everyone can vote for the person they feel closer to. PiS spoke to people and about people in a different way. The reasons for choices are varied, but excluding and dividing people is wrong. Poles still hope that someone will finally emerge who will start bridging these divides.” https://oko.press/kidawa-blonska-duda-to-tylko-teatr/ -- WILL HOŁOWNIA SAVE US FROM RELIGIOUS WAR? - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI in RZ: “Paradoxically, it may turn out that if Hołownia becomes one of the opposition leaders, Poland has a chance to avoid a religious war. His liberal populism and moderate conservatism may shift the center of gravity of the opposition's actions to the right and protect us from such devastating conflicts. It also seems that Hołownia's liberal Catholicism, in its moderation, corresponds to the views of a larger part of society, which views the threat of a devastating national dispute over the role of religion in the lives of Poles with reluctance.” -- CAN RIGHT-WING POPULISM BE DEFEATED ONLY BY OTHER POPULISM? - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “If Hołownia is to have any chance on the Polish political scene, if he proves to be a good person to dismantle the power of the United Right government, it may mean that right-wing populism can only be defeated by other populism. PiS offers revolutionary or even counter-revolutionary populism – it aims to halt some of the changes that have occurred over the last three decades, to carry out a revolution of dignity and a counter-revolution against the post-communist neoliberal transformation. Zandberg's extreme left-wing populism also aims to stop its negative consequences. Both share a dislike for globalization, a dislike for its economic consequences, and strong state protectionism. Liberal populism is liberalism in a pop version, offering citizens light assistance from the state, but above all freedom and peace of mind – this is how liberal populism was defined by Prof. Marcin Król. If Hołownia's intuitions are correct, it is no longer possible to return to 'old' politics. Right-wing populism cannot be defeated by classical liberalism, but by liberal populism. Thus, a collage of various ideas with a liberal admixture in the style of Macron or Rutte.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/312039940-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Czy-liberalny-populizm-pokona-PiS.html -- START IN DEFENSE OF THE 3RD REPUBLIC - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON HOŁOWNIA: “The announced role of Michał Kobosko tells us a lot about the nature of the new presidential candidacy. Michał Kobosko is a former journalist, known and appreciated in several circles, but at the same time ultraliberal (he enthusiastically led Ryszard Petru's promotional meeting at the Economic Forum in Krynica), and completely unwilling to undertake any corrective actions in Poland. If we add to this Hołownia's own establishment background, one primary diagnosis emerges: this start will be in defense of the 3rd Republic. It's a guise of rebellion to preserve the system.” -- THIS IS A DANGEROUS PLAN FOR ANDRZEJ DUDA - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “So, can Hołownia win? Unless some cataclysm occurs, probably not. Poland is not Ukraine, after all; party structures are much more stable and effective. But the point of this candidacy is not direct victory, but the creation of a force that will gather some elements of disappointment, that will respond to the search for change (any kind) by a part of the voters. To repeat the phenomenon of Paweł Kukiz in 2015 (back then, for saying he might join PSL, Kukiz would probably be slapped in the face immediately). And then, to channel these votes in the second round to a candidate from the core of the 3rd Republic. Most likely Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. Let's not hide it – this is a dangerous plan for President Andrzej Duda. Especially since, due to the government's failure to implement structural changes in the media market, the old media mechanisms are again as well-oiled, wealthy, and capable of coordinated attacks as before 2015.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/475889-co-nam-naprawde-mowi-start-szymona-holowni -- NO LONGER THE PATRON OF THE ENTIRE OPPOSITION BUT A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT AND SHARP CRITIC OF THE LEFT - MARTA K. NOWAK AND MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI in OKO on TUSK: “Our polls also show that the PO/KO electorate is very close to the Left electorate on so-called controversial lifestyle issues. However, Tusk's words indicate that after PO's unconvincing 'turn to the left,' it is now time for a turn to the right and a clear separation from the left. -- KIDAWA IS CLOSER TO TUSK'S GOALS - OKO AUTHORS CONTINUE: “When asked whom he would support in the Civic Coalition's presidential primaries, Tusk chose Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, although he announced that he would accept Jaśkowiak's choice with 'equal satisfaction.' He didn't have any particular arguments for supporting Kidawa – he had promised her his support even before the President of Poznań entered the ring. Perhaps the more moderate Kidawa, who speaks more readily about unity above divisions, fits his political plan better than the more radical and confrontational Jaśkowiak?” https://oko.press/nowa-wersja-tuska-juz-nie-patron-calej-opozycji/ -- ROBERT KRASOWSKI ON THE NATURE OF POLISH DEBATE - says in the monthly W drodze: “It's not about aggression. This is simply the formula of Polish patriotism, which is dominated by the conviction that the greatest evil threatens Poles from within. That it comes from themselves. A Polish patriot is someone who wants to defend Poland with great effort from other Poles, whom they consider irresponsible, stupid, or simply traitors. After all, in the partitions era, the greatest threat was seen not in the Tsar, but in the bad reaction of fellow countrymen to Tsarism. Either too soft or too hard. In national nihilism or irresponsible recklessness.” -- EVERY OPPONENT IS DEMONIZED - KRASOWSKI CONTINUES: “Then it only intensified. Olszewski was declared a great threat, then Kwaśniewski. AWS was supposed to be a dark force, Miller the end of democracy. The objectively better the situation in Poland was, the safer the borders, the more stable the economy, the greater the panic attacks. After 2005, in the best period, when Poland was in the European Union and the economy entered a period of rapid growth, the internal enemy grew even larger. Of course, not because the threat was real. But because this was the only way to express concern for public affairs on the Vistula. Every detail was exaggerated. Every opponent was demonized. Kaczyński one, the other, Tusk, then Kaczyński again.” http://www.miesiecznik.wdrodze.pl/?mod=archiwumtekst&id=17055#.XedjACXTmEd -- HATING PIS IS NOT JUST A SLOGAN BUT THEIR ONLY MESSAGE - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “Frasyniuk and his supporters really have a thousand reasons to chant: 'f*** Pisiors!'. Of course, not in their own interest, but in the name of the great civilization they represent. In the name of Europeanism, which they have fallen in love with. In the name of high standards and good manners, which they embody. Because it's impossible that these are people who, through socialization in the 3rd Republic, have simply become mental thugs, right?” -- KARNOWSKI LISTS REASONS FOR SUCH SLOGANS: “For destroying all those arrangements and queues that precisely allocated places in the highest courts and tribunals according to circles, universities, and cliques, so that everyone knew where and how quickly they would get ahead, or that they wouldn't get anywhere at all. For breaking the atmosphere in which a judge (not all, but some indeed) could do anything, and no one dared even ask. They could convict a poor person for nothing, and acquit a rich person despite the evidence. They could lose a crucial piece of evidence, issue a verdict glaringly contrary to any sense of justice, and in the end, acquire dozens of plots of land and considerable savings in a way they have no desire to talk about.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/475702-rzucajac-miesem-frasyniuk-udowodnil-ze-opozycja-ma-program -- DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA WRITES THAT SHE DOES NOT TRUST PIS BUT IS IN THE PPK - MY RETIREMENT AGITATION - writes in GW: “I will explain to you why I am in the PPK despite not trusting PiS. And why I am also encouraging you to participate in this program. (...) Because ultimately, I believe that the rule of law can be restored, that social resistance and reasonable reactions from the European Commission and the ECJ will protect us from even more spectacular violations of the constitution. I believe that the judiciary will not submit to the authorities. Because today, the PiS government has fewer possibilities than in the previous term. And even in the previous Sejm, some things were managed to be blocked – for example, interrupting the term of the First President of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Gersdorf. And I still hope that the PiS community will notice a simple correlation: by destroying the rule of law, they are cutting the branch on which we all sit, because it affects all other spheres of state functioning.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25475141,agitka-emerytalna-wielowieyskiej.html -- CONSTITUTION FOR BUSINESS ONLY ON PAPER - RZ ISSUE NO. 1: “Constitution for Business is the common term for several legal principles guaranteeing entrepreneurs respect for their rights in dealings with offices. Unfortunately, in the year and a half since the regulations came into effect, there have been few cases of their practical application. This is evidenced by the data collected by the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises concerning tax matters. In cases where the provisions are unclear, doubts should be resolved in favor of the entrepreneur – this is what the Tax Ordinance and the Entrepreneurs' Law stipulate. In practice, out of thousands of tax proceedings across the country over the last year and a half, courts and tax offices have applied this principle only 84 times: 56 times in VAT, 26 in PIT, and 2 times in CIT.” https://www.rp.pl/Firma/312039915-Konstytucja-dla-biznesu---urzednicy-nie-stosuja-nowych-przepisow.html -- 16 years ago, a Mi-8 helicopter carrying Prime Minister Leszek Miller crashed near Piaseczno, resulting in injuries to 14 out of 15 people on board. -- BIRTHDAYS: Ewa Milewicz, Jarosław Gowin, Adrian Zandberg, Maciej Tomaszewski, Filip Frąckowiak, Zbigniew Eysmont, Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz.