-- BIRTHDAY OF MARSZALEK ELŻBIETA WITEK. -- TWO WEEKS UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR, ONE WEEK UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE. -- PARUCH FOUND A PLACE AT PZU? “Professor Waldemar Paruch – one of PiS's leading election campaign strategists – has been advising the CEO of the state-owned company PZU since December. This is unofficial information from Wirtualna Polska. We have confirmed it from two sources. Waldemar Paruch until recently headed the Centre for Strategic Analyses at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. He was also involved in analyses and research that influenced PiS's election campaign strategies. Why did he decide to advise the PZU management board? He himself is not commenting on the matter. He replied to an SMS stating he was abroad. He did not reply to a request for comment on his new role.” https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/mial-zostac-ministrem-odnalazl-sie-w-panstwowej-spolce-posada-dla-prof-waldemara-parucha-6457392677152897a? -- BUDKA WANTS TO READ ŚPIEWAK'S VERDICT - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/12/17/ -- HE HAS COMPLETELY LOST SOCIAL HEARING - PIOTR TRUDNOWSKI ON DONALD TUSK: “Donald Tusk's sacrificial-heroic tone is so self-absorbed it's unbearable. It only confirms the fact that he has completely lost the social hearing that could bring hope to the opposition today. Although his white horse has run away somewhere, Tusk still poses as a noble knight who despises lies, manipulation, and aggression in politics. He portrays his political opponents as uncouth barbarians who – to quote him repeating himself several times – are lurking with 'baseball bats' for Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska. He, along with his political friends, will form a ring of chaste warriors around her, defending female honor against Kaczyński's thugs.” -- HE IS INCREASINGLY STARTING TO RESEMBLE WAŁĘSA - TRUDNOWSKI CONTINUES: “In all of this, he is increasingly starting to resemble... Lech Wałęsa. He poses as a deserving hero and a world-class sage, harbors unhealthy phobias towards Kaczyński and President Andrzej Duda, and subtly promises that 'million-strong march' which, led by him, will finally show the world that a moment of transition has come in Poland, after which the enemy regime can be overthrown. Well, one such sage is probably quite enough for us.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2019/12/16/szermierka-bejsbolem-stracona-szansa-donalda-tuska/ -- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON TUSK, MAHLER'S SYMPHONY OF MALVASIA AND KOKOSZKA - HE ONLY HAD A PLAN FOR HIMSELF: “Apparently, there is more of this style. A style that confirms the intuition of so many of us: Tusk has long had a perfect plan for himself. A plan that revolved around the word 'aspirations'. Perhaps he once watched a series whose characters impressed him? Perhaps he saw how EU decision-makers live? It was certainly a clear, discernible plan, fully realized. Unfortunately, this quote, and others, prove that the former prime minister never had a serious plan for Poland. A plan in which the country on the Vistula would be more than a springboard.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/477999-tusk-mial-pomysl-na-siebie-ale-nie-mial-pomyslu-na-polske -- JUDGES HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SPEAK OUT ON CHANGES TO THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM - ADAM BODNAR IN CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “Judges, as a rule, should not engage in politics. However, if a judge speaks out in the context of changes to the judicial system in Poland that may threaten the independence of the judiciary, it is not only their right but also their duty as a qualified person who knows the matter. The President should primarily strive to ensure the coherent functioning of the entire state, rather than deepen the conflict that is escalating and threatening the legal security of citizens.” -- IT CANNOT BE THAT ONE DAY THE RULINGS OF THE CJEU PLEASE US AND THE NEXT DAY THEY DON'T - BODNAR CONTINUES: “Polexit is a very strong word. It is better to call what is happening the hollowing out of EU membership, that we are depriving this membership of the values on which it is based. In the long term, this leads to us becoming increasingly isolated in terms of judicial cooperation, investors, and the protection of our citizens who may have various cross-border disputes. We are still far from Polexit, as it is a political decision. But what kind of EU membership is it if it is not based on loyalty and cooperation, if it is not based on Poland being one of the countries that set the tone for the debate in the EU? The Union is also useful to us, not just financially. When we discuss a CJEU ruling that is criticized, let's look at the ruling concerning the OPAL pipeline. It cannot be that one day the CJEU rulings please us, and the next day they don't. It's not that we pick and choose from the EU's menu. Either we accept all the principles associated with EU membership, or we acknowledge that we do not want to participate in this community.” -- BODNAR SUGGESTS INVOLVING THE VENETIAN COMMISSION BY THE SENATE: “A lot can happen in a month; international institutions can express their opinions. Perhaps the Marshal of the Senate, Professor Tomasz Grodzki, will turn to the Venice Commission. There are various possibilities that can deepen doubts about this act.” https://www.rp.pl/Sadownictwo/312169922-Bodnar-Ustawa-o-sadach-to-prawny-polexit.html -- EUROPE WILL INTEGRATE WITHOUT POLAND - PIOTR BENIUSZYS IN LIBERTE: “Poles, this time with full awareness of PiS's goals regarding systemic changes in the state, have given this party a mandate for another 4 years. This is a signal for Western Europe that Polish society has not internalized the values and norms of liberal democracy, and therefore in the long term, Poland's participation, like that of Hungary, and probably also Romania and Bulgaria, and possibly the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the European integration project is not desired. The election results in Poland are (along with the finalizing Brexit) another signal encouraging supporters of building a more closely integrated Union around a core of a dozen or so Western European countries to take concrete steps.” https://liberte.pl/adieu-pologne/ -- THE NEW HEAD OF THE COMMISSION CALLS MORAWIECKI A TRUSTWORTHY CONVERSATIONALIST - TOMASZ BIELECKI IN OKO: “Importantly, signals of thaw towards Poland, at least until very recently, have also been coming to Brussels from Berlin. And Ursula von der Leyen, the new President of the European Commission, still refers to Mateusz Morawiecki as a 'credible' or 'trustworthy' interlocutor in closed-door discussions.” -- VON DER LEYEN IS MORE CAUTIOUS THAN JUNCKER - BIELECKI CONTINUES: “Now, both EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders and Vice-President Vera Jourova (responsible for rule of law issues, among others) are considered close to Timmermans's former line, but von der Leyen – at least for now – is perceived not so much as significantly more cautious than Juncker, but rather completely unwilling to engage in any confrontation with Warsaw. Of course, von der Leyen regularly repeats that the rule of law must be defended, but on the other hand, her catchphrase 'nobody is perfect' is often interpreted as a signal to dilute Brussels's actions.” -- IF THE EC DOES NOTHING ABOUT THE ACT, PIS WILL CONSIDER ITSELF UNFETTERED - BIELECKI'S CONCLUSION: “What will happen now? Appeals to apply 'interim measures' (freezing the operation of the National Council of the Judiciary and the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court) – according to our information – have already been preliminarily discussed within the European Commission's legal services, but convincing von der Leyen is still a long way off. If the Commission does nothing after Poland potentially adopts the latest regulations targeting judges, the PiS authorities will be able to quite reasonably assume that they are truly unfettered.” https://oko.press/pesymistycznie-z-brukseli-europa-moze-nam-nie-pomoc/ -- PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE FOUND NO COUP - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN DGP: “Although the investigation has been ongoing for 3 years, it can be said with absolute certainty: the prosecutor's office has not found and will not find a coup. Yes, there are suspects – 6 participants in the protests outside the Sejm. However, the prosecutor's office has not brought charges against them related to an attempt to overthrow the government (Article 127 of the Penal Code). They are only suspected of trespassing onto Sejm grounds, i.e., violating domestic peace. This is a completely different, much less serious offense, described in Article 193 ('Whoever trespasses into another person's house, apartment, premises, room, or enclosed area, or refuses to leave such a place at the request of an authorized person, shall be subject to a fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to one year').” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/prokuratura-nie-znalazla-puczu-przeciw-pis/118b4eb -- THE PRIMARIES WERE A POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN THOSE SEEKING TO CHANGE THE LEADER AND SCHETYNA - JACEK JAŚKOWIAK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH GW POZNAŃSKA: “It was obvious to me that Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska was the favorite and that it would be difficult for me to gain support in such a short time. But I treated it as a challenge. I did my part. Unfortunately, this pre-campaign had a hidden agenda. It wasn't just a decision about Kidawa-Błońska or me, but also a power struggle between those who wanted to change the party leader and those who wanted Grzegorz Schetyna to remain the leader of Platforma. The former spread insinuations that my candidacy was arranged, that I had made a deal with Schetyna. These were completely untrue. They had only one goal – it was an element of internal power struggles.” -- SCHETYNA WILL LIKELY NOT RETAIN HIS POSITION - JAŚKOWIAK CONTINUES: “The division of votes cast for Kidawa-Błońska and for me indicates that he will likely not retain that position. I have a positive attitude towards Schetyna. I believe he is not our problem. Our problem is rather local activists like MP Waldy Dzikowski. People who live in memories of the past and think that if Schetyna leaves, they will once again get 100,000 votes in elections, not a few tens of thousands, as they do now. There are such activists in every region. People told me at meetings all over Poland that something needs to be done about it.” https://poznan.wyborcza.pl/poznan/7,36001,25518214,jacek-jaskowiak-po-przegranych-prawyborach-grzegorz-schetyna.html?disableRedirects=true -- JOANNA MUCHA CONFIRMS HER DESIRE TO RUN FOR THE HEAD OF PO - AS SHE TELLS ONET: “If someone today believes that the goal is to gain leadership in Civic Platform, they are terribly mistaken. The only goal is to win the elections, the presidential ones and the subsequent parliamentary elections, and to restore Poland's status as a Western civilization state. Gaining control of Platform is solely a tool for this purpose. Today's leadership of my party – in my opinion – has hit a wall. Platform, under Grzegorz Schetyna's leadership, has entered various electoral races in different configurations and has not won them. We cannot afford to lose any future elections, because that would mean irrevocably lost opportunities for Poland!” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/joanna-mucha-chce-zostac-przewodniczaca-po-ma-pomysl-na-partie-wywiad/4bctqz8 -- BIRTHDAYS: Elżbieta Witek, Anna Sztark (65), Adam Jarubas (45), Dariusz Piontkowski (55), Jacek Cichocki, Tadeusz Dziuba, Magdalena Marek.