-- AT 12:30 PM, THE VERDICT IN THE CASE OF ADVOCATE ĆWIĄKALSKA VS. JAN ŚPIEWAK IS DUE. -- TRIAL OF JAN ŚPIEWAK ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTRODUCTION OF MARTIAL LAW - one of the memes on FB. -- ADRIAN ZANDBERG ON PIOTR ZAREMBA'S QUESTION ABOUT ŚPIEWAK'S TRIALS: “For me, the value of an judiciary independent of the rulers doesn't lie in judges being saints. It's simply a safeguard preventing the abuse of power. For precisely the same reason, I am in favor of a prosecution independent of the government. I don't consider our judiciary exemplary; there are many injustices. But what PiS is doing has no bearing on real problems, such as the inequality of parties before the courts.” https://www.google.pl/amp/www.dziennik.pl/amp/615380,zandberg-zaremba-sadowictwo-wywiad.html -- POLAND AS THE ONLY COUNTRY EXEMPTED FROM THE EU'S CLIMATE NEUTRALITY COMMITMENT - NEWS OF THE NIGHT: https://300polityka.pl/news/2019/12/13/na-szczycie-rady-ue-polska-jako-jedyna-zwolniona-z-unijnego-zobowiazania-do-osiagniecia-neutralnosci-klimatycznej-w-konkluzjach-polska-i-czechy-wywalczyly-dopuszczalnosc-energetyki-jadrowej/ -- ADAM LIPIŃSKI ON THE PIS PLAN REGARDING BANAS: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/12/13/ -- A DECADE AGO, UNITING OPPOSITES WAS A GOOD TACTIC, TODAY IT IS NOT - ANDRZEJ MACHOWSKI IN GW: “A decade ago, uniting opposites within one political camp was a good tactic, but today it is not. The Left is taking voters from the Civic Coalition on one hand, and the PSL on the other. -- MACHOWSKI ON THE RURAL PARTY IN CITIES: “Undoubtedly, the walls of cities have ‘fallen’ before the rural PSL, and the footholds gained in them – likely being urban anti-PiS conservative voters – are a good omen for Kosiniak-Kamysz in his presidential campaign”. -- MACHOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: THE CIVIC COALITION HAS NOT YET LEARNED ITS LESSON: “Almost certainly, it will be a Civic Coalition candidate who will face Andrzej Duda in the second round, because despite its crisis, it remains – in terms of its assets – the strongest opposition party. The message will then be crucial. It is a mistake to think that it needs to be built 'to shave off' two or three percentage points from Duda. The message must be such as to maximally mobilize the entire anti-PiS electorate. One needs to know where it is, what it is like, and what views prevail within it. The primary election debate between Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska and Jacek Jaśkowiak suggests that the Civic Coalition has not yet learned this lesson”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25507274,wlosci-i-zdobycze-partii-potencjal-opozycji-przed-wyborami.html -- LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI ON TUSK'S BOOK - IN LIBERTE: “Tusk reveals many interesting details – he gets along well with the Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz, who is a generation younger and formed a government with the far-right, but he also finds common ground with Alexis Tsipras of the radically left-wing Syriza. Equally important are the things missing from the book. There is very little about meetings with Angela Merkel, a few words about Macron. Tusk will still have to work with these leaders”. -- JAŻDŻEWSKI FURTHER: A REGULAR DIARY MAY BE ONE OF THE REASONS FOR TUSK'S POLITICAL SUCCESSES: “Each micro-entry constitutes a certain whole, with a kind of punchline. It is very non-obvious that with such a full schedule, one would allow oneself a regular diary, a summary of the day, self-reflection. I suspect that this habit may be one of the reasons for Tusk's political successes in general. Being a politician, it is very easy to lose track of the interpretations of events in their sheer volume. By dedicating oneself to theoretical considerations, one may never even touch upon real political matter”. -- JAŻDŻEWSKI FURTHER ON THE NATIONALIZATION OF DISCOURSE: THE FEELING OF LIMITED HORIZONS UNDER THE PIS GOVERNMENT IS OPPRESSIVE: “The most irritating feature of Poland under Kaczyński's rule for me is the feeling of oppressive limitation of horizons. And I don't mean here solely the 'policy of getting up from our knees,' scaring people with rainbows, or being proud of not reading Tokarczuk. I feel the narrowing of discussion topics particularly acutely on the anti-PiS side, which in its entire diversity can no longer think or speak of anything other than PiS itself and its hegemon, Jarosław Kaczyński. I myself am a victim of this peculiar nationalization of discourse that has occurred in Poland since 2015”. -- JAŻDŻEWSKI FURTHER: NONE OF THE IMPORTANT TOPICS CAN EVEN APPROACH THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH WHICH WE DISCUSS BANAS: “We perceive global changes as if through clouds of water vapor, like the one that picturesquely spread over Warsaw's Mokotów. We do hear echoes of climate threats, of China's expansionism and America's retreat from the world, but none of these topics stand a chance of approaching the level of engagement with which we discuss calling out Banaś, the new hobby of a Catholic celebrity, or another reckless car stunt by one of the PiS government ministers. From our Vistula Valley stronghold, we see the world in which Tusk is immersed as if through a dirty window. This does not make it any less real”. -- JAŻDŻEWSKI ON RECKONING WITH HIS MAY 3RD SUPPORT - THIS REALIZATION IS THE HARDEST FOR ME: “Tusk's natural calling today seems to be opening Poland to these debates. He spoke about this, incidentally, in television interviews after taking up his new position as head of the European People's Party. This will not be easy. And it certainly was not made easier by the support preceding his lecture on May 3rd. Tusk wrote in his book that I lost his trust and that of some of my colleagues. Despite all the hate, animosity, and propaganda manipulation of my statement, this realization was certainly the hardest for me”. https://liberte.pl/wydarzenia-chlopcze/ -- PROF. EWA ŁĘTOWSKA ON THE PIS DRAFT: UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND UNDEMOCRATICALLY OFFENSIVE: “The authors of the draft certainly know that the draft is unconstitutional (which doesn't mean it will be recognized as such) and undemocratically offensive. Whether it will prove to be an effective example of fear management – time will tell”. -- ŁĘTOWSKA ON POLEXIT AT THE LEVEL OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE STANDARDS: “In the ECJ ruling, point 124 speaks of the necessity to guarantee the independence of courts from the legislative and executive powers; and in point 125, that judges must be protected from interference or external pressure that could threaten their independence. The draft demonstratively goes in the opposite direction, despite the requirements of Article 4(3) of the TUE, which states that 'Member States shall take any measures appropriate, whether general or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Union.' At the level of the standard of judicial impartiality and court independence, Polexit is happening”. https://oko.press/prof-letowska-to-projekt-niekonstytucyjny-niedemokratycznie-obrazliwy-dokonuje-sie-polexit/ -- EWA IVANOWA IN GW: PIS WANTS TO CULL JUDGES: “The organized group persecuting judges has a problem: it has hit a wall. The more it puffs itself up in its writings, the more it intimidates with further sanctions, the more grotesque it appears. PiS MPs are coming to the rescue with penalties for disobedient judges”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25507219,stan-wojenny-w-polskich-sadach-czyli-pis-chce-wycinki-sedziow.html -- TOMASZ PIETRYGA IN RZ: PIS WILL ONLY ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE: “Will the new disciplinary law intimidate the judges, or rather radicalize their attitudes towards the authorities? I think it will add fuel to the fire. Law and Justice will also not manage to pass new legislation in a few days, as was the case with earlier judicial laws. This year, we still have one more Sejm session divided into two parts: this week and next. If the bill goes to the Senate, it will lie there for at least two weeks, which means it can enter into force at the earliest in January 2020. During this time, further resolutions of the Supreme Court questioning the opinions of the National Council of the Judiciary, the status of new judges, as well as decisions of the Disciplinary Chamber, which will likely accelerate actions against the rebels, may be issued. Thus, a race against time has begun”. https://www.rp.pl/Sedziowie-i-sady/312129903-Tomasz-Pietryga-PiS-idzie-na-ostre-zwarcie-z-sedziami.html?cid -- AGATA KONDZIŃSKA IN GW: BANAS HAS CHECKMATED PIS: “'The will to dismiss Marian Banaś is great, but we also have a huge sense of powerlessness,' says an important politician from the ruling camp. The same one who decided in August this year that Banaś – despite the ambiguities surrounding his assets – would become President of the Supreme Audit Office. -- A PIS POLITICIAN IN KONDZIŃSKA'S ARTICLE: WE MADE MANY MISTAKES FROM THE BEGINNING: “A politician from the ruling camp: – We made many mistakes from the beginning of this story. And the most serious was that someone thought that if they told Banaś what to do, he would do it. Someone who doesn't know him at all might have thought that. According to our interlocutors, PiS is conducting last-chance talks with the NIK president – they want him to resign from his position himself. – The talks are taking place through intermediaries of mutual trust, but nothing is likely to come of them, because it is clear that Banaś has entrenched himself at NIK and does not intend to step down – says a politician from the ruling camp”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25508096,banas-zaszachowal-pis.html -- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE UK ELECTIONS - WHAT THE ESTABLISHMENT WAS UP TO: “But the biggest winner of these elections is democracy, that expressed in the referendum on membership in the European Union. Yes, from Poland's point of view, it would be better if the British remained in the community. Yes, their departure makes us even weaker in relation to Germany. But at the same time, when one saw what the liberal-left establishment was doing to stop Brexit, there could be no doubt that the stake was in fact higher than just membership in the EU. They stopped at nothing: neither before the campaign of frightening with the consequences of leaving, nor before the manipulation of the law, nor – where do we know this from? – before reaching for the help of courts, which suddenly reinterpreted age-old customs. There was also mobilization of the streets and strong foreign pressure. Brussels, of course, did not help either, although small concessions would have been enough to break the deadlock in parliament. It wanted to show other countries what happens when you try to leave the 'club.' -- KARNOWSKI FURTHER: WHEN THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE GOES IN A DIRECTION DIFFERENT FROM THE ELITES, THEY UNLEASH HELL, THE SAME MORAL PANIC EVERYWHERE: “By voting en masse for a conservative party, the British showed that they take their democracy seriously. This is an important lesson for the entire Western world in times when various elites – legal, business, media – have increasing contempt for the will of the people, which supposedly forms the basis of the system. When the will goes in a direction they do not accept, they unleash hell: in the United States, in Poland, in Hungary, in Italy. The same scare tactics everywhere, the same moral panic everywhere, always also powerful pressure and elaborate blackmail”. https://wpolityce.pl/m/swiat/477480-piekna-odpowiedz-brytyjczykow-na-manipulacje-i-sztuczki -- JACEK JAŚKOWIAK IN CONVERSATION WITH KULTURA LIBERALNA SHARPENS THE COURSE: HOW DID KIDAWA MANAGE IN THESE MATTERS?: “One can assess this by looking at what I have been doing in Poznań for the last 5 years and how typical these things are for the Civic Platform. I'm referring here to the relationship between the city and the Church or participation in the Equality March. I was the first local government official to protest against the attack on the separation of powers and the violation of the Constitution. I spoke out in defense of teachers, refugees, and LGBT+ communities. I have always been on the side of the citizens. And how did Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska fare in these matters? I leave that to the assessment of those who will vote on Saturday”. -- JAŚKOWIAK TELLS ŁUKASZ PAWŁOWSKI ABOUT WHETHER THE PLATFORM WILL CHOOSE CONSERVATISM: “I have a clear conscience and I know that at a very important moment for the future of Poland, I did not back down. I was ready to enter the ring and take part in this brutal fight. Because I have no doubt that PiS will use special services, provocations, and public media without any scruples to not give up power. I had a taste of this during the local elections, along with Paweł Adamowicz and Wadim Tyszkiewicz. If on Saturday my colleagues choose conservatism and cast their vote for a person who is a symbol of 8 years of PO rule, and thus of the failures of that period, it could be risky”. -- JAŚKOWIAK FURTHER: A CONSERVATIVE DOESN'T HAVE TO WIN IN POLAND: “I do not share the view that only a conservative can win the presidential elections in Poland. Look at what happened in conservative Slovakia. It is very important to encourage young people to vote. And we won't do that by offering lukewarm water from the tap. We also need to convince those who have turned away from PO, meaning voters with primary and vocational education”. -- JAŚKOWIAK IN KL FURTHER: IT'S WRONG TO SAY SOMEONE IS A BETTER CANDIDATE BECAUSE THEY ARE A WOMAN: “I would not want to use the argument that I am a better candidate because I am a man. Therefore, I consider the claims that someone is a better candidate because she is a woman to be inaccurate and unfortunate. Relying on such arguments does not seem appropriate to me”. https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2019/12/13/jacek-jaskowiak-wywiad-prawybory-kidawa-blonska/ -- JACEK SASIN TELLS JACK NIZEWICZ IN RZ THAT HE IS NOT THE MINISTER OF POSITIONS: “No, no, what minister of positions, for God's sake? Really... We are implementing major projects. The ministry is just being created. I took over as Minister of Energy at the beginning, but I took over the Ministry of Energy, where practically 80% of the substantive departments will soon go to the Ministry of Climate. I am building a supervisory apparatus that is dispersed across many ministries. The main topics I have dealt with are large investments, which are investments of State Treasury companies, such as the power plant in Ostrołęka or polymer production plants in Police near Szczecin”. -- SASIN FURTHER: I VOTED FOR BANAS AND I AM NOT ASHAMED: “Marian Banaś has served Poland very well, and I want to say this very clearly, regardless of the difficulties he is facing today. I voted for him and I am not ashamed. I defend him and will continue to defend him, because the fact that he is having problems today related to his asset declarations does not negate his achievements as head of the National Revenue Administration, who created this service and who restored tens or hundreds of billions of zlotys to the Polish budget”. -- SASIN ON WHO IMPROVED POLAND'S IMAGE MORE: PFN OR OLGA TOKARCZUK: “Everyone has their merits here. The Polish National Foundation has its projects that it implements. I know, because I spoke a few days ago with Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński, who supervises this foundation, that there is a major project, the production of a film about Rittmeister Pilecki, in which this foundation also participates. There are indeed many such activities. At the same time, I also give credit where credit is due to Ms. Olga Tokarczuk, congratulating her on the award. I think we are all happy about it”. -- SASIN ON READING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LITERATURE - FRAGMENT: “To be honest, I haven't read any of Ms. Olga Tokarczuk's books. I have, I regret to say, very little time for reading at the moment. - Do you intend to read any of them? Probably not. It's not the kind of literature that particularly attracts me. I prefer non-fiction. I read a lot of books on history, especially recent history, that fascinates me”. https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/312129885-Nie-zamierzam-czytac-Tokarczuk.html -- RZ ON THE FACT THAT ACCORDING TO WITEK'S ORDINANCE, TERLECKI IS HER FIRST DEPUTY: “Terlecki is to be responsible for MPs' foreign travel, receiving delegations, the Sejm's international cooperation, diplomatic passports for MPs, and the conditions for exercising the mandate of an MP. In addition, he was formally appointed Witek's first deputy, meaning he was tasked with managing the Sejm in her absence. Against this backdrop, the competencies of other deputy marshals appear modest. Zgorzelski is to deal with interpellations and parliamentary questions, Czarzasty with petitions, and Kidawa-Błońska with the Polish Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and social assistance. Even the second PiS deputy marshal, Małgorzata Gosiewska, cannot complain about an overload of work. She has been entrusted with matters related to the implementation of the Sejm Presidium's decisions and MPs' absences”. https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/312129886-Cala-wladza-w-Sejmie-w-rece-Ryszarda-Terleckiego.html -- KAMIL DZIUBKA IN ONE: FORMER TVP JOURNALIST TO HEAD KOSINIAK'S CAMPAIGN: “Magdalena Sobkowiak, former TVP correspondent in Brussels, will head the campaign staff of the PSL leader in the presidential elections – Onet has learned. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz will officially announce this information on Saturday in Zakopane. This will be the de facto start of the presidential campaign for the leader of the peasant party, who intends to travel around Poland next weekend”. https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wybory-prezydenckie-2020-byla-dziennikarka-tvp-magdalena-sobkowiak-szefowa-kampanii/b9dl11f -- ALEKSANDRA DULKIEWICZ ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS - in an interview with Paulina Siegień in Krytyka Polityczna: “Increases in energy prices, increases in the minimum wage, reductions in PIT rates, increases in education spending, increases in teacher salaries – these are all consequences of decisions made at the top, not consulted with local governments. As for teacher raises, I fully agree that they are deserved – but why at the expense of local government budgets?” -- DULKIEWICZ ON THE PIS PLAN FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: “I think the Law and Justice party's plan is roughly to ensure that the village head, mayor, or president comes to the office, turns on the light, signs three documents, and leaves, because they won't be able to do anything else”. -- DULKIEWICZ ON ENDINGS NOT BEING IMPORTANT: “I'm used to it. I don't pay particular attention to it. I have the impression that the debate around grammatical endings does harm to important equality issues, because we focus on trifles instead of important matters – for example, equal pay. I prefer power and equal pay over language. Unfortunately, certain symbols and gestures can divert public attention from the core of the issue, and I feel that this is the case with female grammatical endings. -- DULKIEWICZ FURTHER: I DON'T KNOW IF I FULLY UNDERSTAND FEMINISM: “Conservative, certainly. Feminist… Honestly, I don't know if I fully understand feminism, if I have processed it within myself. I have often said that for me, throughout my public and professional life, gender has never been an obstacle or an advantage. But perhaps it is simply as my feminist friends say: 'Dulkiewicz, you were lucky.'”. https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/gdansk-dulkiewicz-parking-wagina-turysci-samorzad-wywiad/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Stanisław Żmijan, Jarosław Marciniak turns 40, Marcin Szczudło, Zuza Piechowicz.