-- MULLER ON GOWIN'S AMENDMENTS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/12/18/ -- LAWSUITS ARE FILED BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAP AND CAN DESTROY SOMEONE'S LIFE - JAN ŚPIEWAK IN CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “Perhaps there is something wrong with the judiciary, something wrong with the rich and powerful in this country, if I win eight or nine final court cases and more are filed against me. That's statistics. If I have 22 lawsuits, it's inevitable that I'll lose three or four. In the USA, they call this ‘an organized way of silencing opponents.’ Lawsuits are filed because they are cheap and can destroy someone's life. The same is being done in Poland.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/312179914-Spiewak-Tak-zaczyna-sie-faszyzm.html -- HE ALLOWED THE CHURCH TO REACQUIRE PROPERTY ON A MEDIEVAL SCALE - SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI ON TUSK - writes in Onet: “He allowed the Church to reacquire property on a medieval scale. He ensured technical modernization (increasing class differences, which I will discuss shortly), but less so social development. During the seven years of liberal rule, moral law in Poland remained the most illiberal law in Europe, condemning women and minorities to unequal treatment. Tusk was sometimes a liberal, sometimes a conservative, and sometimes a social democrat. He ridiculed visions. Igor Ostachowicz, Tusk's strategic advisor, would say that this was the only way to defeat Jarosław Kaczyński, so Tusk chose from available options, not what he liked. And broadly speaking, I agree with that today and I have no complaints about his cunning.” -- PIS EMERGED FROM TUSK'S NEGLECT - CONTINUES SIERAKOWSKI: “But PiS did not emerge solely from fatigue with Civic Platform and Kaczyński's skill in deceiving people, which are the only reasons for PiS's success Tusk lists in the book. PiS also emerged from the Tusk government's neglect in assisting the less fortunate. Admittedly, there was a financial crisis, but there were also the best economic results in the entire EU. Kaczyński's success is not just propaganda, but also 500 plus [child benefit program], and that's because Civic Platform offered nothing similar for eight years. The aversion to Donald Tusk's party within its own electorate is not voter ingratitude. Tusk's success was Pedrolino [high-speed train], but the drama was stuffing most passengers into overcrowded and perpetually delayed trains and the elimination of local connections on a record scale in the EU.” -- EVERYTHING ABOUT TUSK IS ACCEPTED UNCRITICALLY BY THE INTELLECTUALS - CONTINUES SIERAKOWSKI: “Tusk is not a principled politician. On the field, as in politics, he is a player, sometimes ruthless. He doesn't enjoy it, but he doesn't hold back. I mention this because the later Tusk is shifting towards the position of an intellectual and moral authority. There will be more and more quotes from books and accounts of dinners with intellectuals. Everything is accepted uncritically by the intelligentsia, hungry for politics based on values and knowledge, but not everything here adds up. Tusk kept his distance from culture and intellectuals. He didn't harm them, of course, but he didn't particularly help them either.” -- DON'T READ TUSK ON YOUR KNEES BECAUSE IT RUINS YOUR SPINE - SIERAKOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “Tusk is a tough guy and a difficult discussant. And if he's asked a few tougher questions than just why he left us and went away, he'll manage. If it's to be truly honest, as the book's title suggests, let's not be afraid of criticism, less uncomfortable questions in interviews, and better memory. Amnesty, yes, amnesia, no. And the book is very good, so I highly recommend it. Read it, but not on your knees, because it ruins your spine.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/szczerze-ksiazka-donalda-tuska-sierakowski-o-ksiazce-opinia/m8h8wsl -- CIVIC PLATFORM WILL BE FOCUSED ON ITSELF UNTIL FEBRUARY - ŁUKASZ PAWŁOWSKI IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Much therefore indicates that after Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska's success, Grzegorz Schetyna will once again fight for political survival in his long career. Although the current leader has not yet announced that he would like to remain at the party's helm, it is difficult to imagine him giving up so easily. This means that at least until January 25 (when the first round of the PO leadership election will take place), and likely until February 8 (when the second round will take place), the party will be more focused on itself and personal strife than on the presidential campaign. In this situation, developing attractive program proposals and communicating them to a wide range of voters will be very difficult.” -- IS CIVIC PLATFORM READY? - PAWŁOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “However, is Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska really 'ready'? Despite many years of experience, despite already being the candidate of the largest opposition party for prime minister, and now set to run for president, she does not necessarily give the impression of being fully 'ready' to easily defeat Andrzej Duda. The same applies to the party itself. And this is another paradox of the Civic Platform's primaries.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2019/12/17/pawlowski-kidawa-blonska-wybory-prezydent-schetyna-po/ -- POLAND SIGNALED THAT THE EFFORT WAS NOT WORTH IT - PAWEŁ BRAVO IN TP: “In his poker plays, the prime minister missed an important thing: climate action is another exercise in unification. Perhaps as profound as the accession process of individual countries to the Union, which also often seemed impossible due to the scale of institutional, legal, and mental changes. Last week, during the European Council summit, Poland signaled that just as it could afford that great effort at the turn of the millennium, it now – at least for the time being – believes the effort is not worth it.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/zielony-lad-i-szara-strefa-161447 -- ZIEMOWIT SZCZEREK ON THE "FUCKING BUBBLE" - writes in Krytyka: “The left's narrative about Poland is an intellectual narrative. That is, detached. The left consists of intellectual, artistic, big-city circles, while the right represents grassroots and provincial Poland. However, I still hold out hope that we will not be forever confined to this fucking bubble.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kultura/szczerek-wytrawny-koktajl-z-polskosci/ -- PIS IS LOSING CONTROL - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: “Shortly after the start of its second term, PiS is losing control. In fair weather, it can glide for a long time, but in case of turbulence – economic or social – it will not withstand it. And only one thing is missing in this calculation: certainty that the political alternative is already thought through and ready. Because PiS won in October not only because it paid people money. Also because there was not much to lose against. But the political center is boiling (if PO fails, PSL may take its place), and the left is simmering. Perhaps something will come of it. For now, we must trust the judges.” https://www.rp.pl/Sedziowie-i-sady/312179887-Zuzanna-Dabrowska-Wolne-sady-presja-ma-sens.html -- RZ APPEALS FOR COMPROMISE ON COURTS - TOMASZ PIETRYGA AND BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA: “The attempt by PiS to rebuild it was not safe for the state. It was not supported by a reasonable narrative. It was not protected against accusations of unconstitutionality. Today, after four years of changes, the project of 'disciplining' judges may only deepen this crisis. In a democratic state, there can be no citizen consent for this. Therefore, we appeal for compromise and reconciliation.” https://www.rp.pl/Sedziowie-i-sady/312179888-Boguslaw-Chrabota-Tomasz-Pietryga-Kryzys-w-sadownictwie-trzeba-rozwiazac-wspolnie.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Jerzy Baczyński, Jacek Kozłowski, Magdalena Szefernaker.