-- PIŁĘ IS CONSIDERING WHETHER SZYDŁO'S SON'S CASE WILL HARM PAD'S CAMPAIGN - BARTŁOMIEJ KURAŚ IN KRAKOW'S GAZETA WYBORCZA: “– Beata Szydło was a great fit for the traditional voter, especially in smaller towns, particularly thanks to her strong Catholic image, which was shaped, among other things, by her son's ordination as a priest. Now there's a crack in that image – worries one PiS activist. – We need to consider whether PiS voters will have forgotten about the Prime Minister's son's situation by May – he adds.” https://krakow.wyborcza.pl/krakow/7,44425,25571595,rysa-na-wizerunku.html -- THE DISPUTE OVER THE JUDICIARY REMINDS ME OF THE Sarmatian Confederation - JAN ROKITA IN THE JAGIELLONIAN CLUB: “Such a radical model of resistance to the state clearly refers to the Sarmatian heritage of confederations (or rokosz – rebellion), where a group of citizens decides to act collectively "instead of the state," while simultaneously granting legal force to their acts of authority. This, in turn, must inevitably provoke retaliatory measures from the state, inevitably exposed to the justifiable accusation of disregarding liberal rights and freedoms. Thus, the state is pushed onto a dead end, at the end of which, in old Poland, a forceful resolution of matters followed. Today's Polish state, ever since it was faced with the de facto act of a judicial confederation, has also found itself on a dead end. Turning back from there while avoiding great damage is possible, but it requires political genius.” -- THERE IS NO ONE WHO BELIEVES THAT PLATFORMA WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE POWER FROM PIS - JAN ROKITA FURTHER IN NOWA KONFEDERACJA: “The elections also confirmed the hypothesis about the structural weakness of Platforma as a liberal formation constituting an alternative to PiS. To put it plainly: there is no one serious in Poland today (including Donald Tusk or the 'Wyborcza' team) who would believe in the possibility of Platforma taking power from PiS in the future. Meanwhile, for years this party has defined its mission in precisely this way, so faced with the inability to fulfill it, it now becomes something like a "redundant party." Regardless, therefore, of how sharp the political struggle looks in the near future, the PiS-PO conflict is a declining conflict in the long term anyway. This is because the 2019 elections began the process of transformation of the main axis of political dispute. It is not clear today who and when will replace Platforma in the function of PiS's main antagonist, but the transformation of SLD into a genuinely changed Nowa Lewica, which was not obvious until recently, allows us to hypothesize that it may be this camp of repeatedly refreshed post-communists in the future.” -- ZAPATERO IN POLAND IS CEASING TO BE A FAIRY TALE AND BECOMING A SCENARIO - ROKITA FURTHER: “In any case, if we were to use Professor Flis's engaging typology of Polish parties, then today's Nowa Lewica no longer belongs to the category of "vassal parties," aspiring at most to the role of junior coalition partners in power (like, for example, PSL), but is fighting to move into the category of "knight parties," i.e., those that can realistically compete for the office of prime minister in the future. This is an advancement that is hard to downplay if viewed in terms of the "culture war" raging in the West, because after the 2019 elections, the hypothesis of a future "Polish Zapatero" has shifted from the level of political fairy tales to the level of future real possibilities.” https://teologiapolityczna.pl/jan-rokita-rok-nowych-niebezpieczenstw -- JAN ROKITA WRITES FOR WPOLITYCE WHY RUSSIA IS SO OBSERVING POLAND: “On such occasions as the present, it turns out that the Russian president himself talks about the historical inquiries he commissions about Poland. From the Russian perspective, neighboring Poland, which skillfully influences both the strengthening of NATO's power in the East and pushes anti-Russian resolutions in the European Parliament, is a frontline state whose interests must be actively opposed. In Putin's Moscow, Poland is an object of great attention and powerful negative emotions. Awareness of this fact is necessary for a realistic view of Russian policy.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/swiat/480673-rokita-dla-wpolitycepl-putin-pisze-na-nowo-historie-polski -- 5 THOUSAND ZŁ WAS OFFERED TO A PERSON TO SLANDER ME FRAGMENT OF MAGDALENA RIGAMONTI'S CONVERSATION WITH TOMASZ GRODZKI FOR DZIENNIK: "- I have a recording that is evidence that money was offered to a person, exactly 5,000 zł, to publicly slander me, to say that I took bribes. - Who offered? - I don't know if it was a journalist, an agent of our services, or an agent of foreign services. The matter is certainly suitable for the ABW (Internal Security Agency). I have a recording with a name and surname. Not anonymous. It's not some Mr. Romuald or Krzysztof, but a specific person. In addition, a Warsaw Uprising participant, a man of honor. - Did he approach you himself? - No, he called the hospital in Szczecin. He spoke with one of my colleagues. And who is coordinating all this... These are speculations. It is known that the trails lead to Nowogrodzka, to the headquarters of PiS. PiS television is the executor of this operation. And Polskie Radio Szczecin is the producer of fabricated information about me. According to rumors, colleagues from PiS have been tasked with regaining the Senate as soon as possible. As you can see, the methods are unimportant. I will sue all those who slander me.” -- PIŁĘ OFFERED ME THE MINISTER OF HEALTH TWICE - GRODZKI FURTHER: “It is paradoxical that until recently, PiS politicians wanted me to become the Minister of Health in their government. Even twice. Once when Konstanty Radziwiłł was dismissed, and a second time around the last elections. They must have vetted me if they offered such a position. Please pay attention to another aspect of this matter, to how PiS's personnel are in terms of healthcare, since they wanted to bribe me, an opposition politician, with a position. They know that the situation in healthcare is deteriorating day by day. Every doctor, every ER doctor, every nurse, and patients will tell you that. The Ministry of Health has fallen into a kind of lethargy and doesn't even pretend to want to fix anything. This prompts me to decide to establish a body in the Senate, within the Health Committee, that will seriously work on a real healthcare reform.” -- GRODZKI CLAIMS THE MEETING WITH THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TOOK PLACE LONG BEFORE PUTIN'S ATTACKS: “He did not have sufficient knowledge of this meeting, agreed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This meeting took place long before Christmas, long before Putin accused Poland of collaborating with Hitler. We discussed, among other things, the return of the Smolensk wreckage. I also hosted other ambassadors. You must know that I try to coordinate almost all my moves concerning foreign affairs on the international stage with Minister Czaputowicz or generally with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” -- I HAVE TAKEN TUSK'S PLACE AS PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 - GRODZKI TELLS RIGAMONTI: “I am aware that I have taken the honorable place of public enemy number 1, instead of Prime Minister Tusk.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/617328,tomasz-grodzki-marszalek-senatu-lapowka-korupcja-nagranie-oskarzenia-pis-polityka.html -- GRODZKI SENDS A SIGNAL THAT THERE ARE TWO CENTERS OF POWER IN POLAND - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “This is about a more serious matter: the conscious demolition, anarchization, and undermining of Poland's foreign policy. About sending a signal that there are two centers of power. About pointing fingers at the president, prime minister, and speaker of the Sejm as the bad ones. In essence, it's the same game we observed before Smolensk. Marshal Grodzki downplays the fact of his meeting with the Russian ambassador and ambassadors of other countries. Doesn't he see that astute analytical minds have already spotted an opportunity to play their own game at Poland's expense in his attitude? Besides, one should not meet with the Russian ambassador without a valid reason and without solid preparation, which a person so new to politics certainly lacks. Especially a person who has such serious image and legal problems should not meet, because this very fact makes him a weak partner, potentially susceptible to manipulation.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/480851-marsz-grodzki-wysyla-sygnal-ze-w-pl-sa-dwa-osrodki-wladzy -- SOBOLEWSKI ON GRODZKI AT THE BORDER OF THE CONSTITUTION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/01/07/ -- A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SHOULD HAVE A RECOGNIZABLE POLITICAL BACKING - RAFAŁ ZAKRZEWSKI IN GW ON HOŁOWNIA: “Hołownia's experiment is like running onto the political field from the stands. And he's not a civic candidate because he runs alone, without a crowd of supporters. A first-league match is being played on the turf, with experienced teams playing, and he starts running across the field. Maybe he'll turn out to be a genius, maybe he'll disrupt the current order and win the applause of the viewers, but frankly – I doubt it myself. Voter habits are quite persistent and somewhat rational. A presidential candidate should have a recognizable political backing; this allows us to somehow predict which direction he will steer the country. It's also a form of specifying where the campaign funds will come from. The danger that some business-political interest group wants to strengthen its position by creating its own candidate disappears, because voters know who stood and stands behind a party candidate.” -- POLITICS IS UNPREDICTABLE, THE WORLD IS CHANGING, MAYBE HOŁOWNIA WILL SURPRISE AFTER ALL? - ZAKRZEWSKI FURTHER: “But still, the world is changing, and strange and unpredictable things are also happening in politics. It is not known whether this emotional-preacher-like message will not seduce voters tired of traditional politics. And Hołownia will surprise us.” -- ZAKRZEWSKI ON HOŁOWNIA AND TUSK: “Tusk knows that Hołownia has no great chances in the presidential race, and as a prudent politician, he will not get involved. Perhaps in the longer term, if Hołownia achieves a good result (around 15%) and gathers a strong team around him – we can think about the scenario of forming a center-right formation. But that will be after the elections, and then we will be in a completely new – unknown today – place.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25570025,holownia-z-trybun-wskoczyl-na-boisko.html -- SCHETYNA'S OPPONENTS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOCK HIS RE-ELECTION BUT TOO WEAK TO FORCE A JOINT CANDIDATE - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “The resignation from the leadership contest by the current leader of Platforma shows the true face of the party, where Grzegorz Schetyna's enemies were strong enough to block his re-election but too weak to push through a common candidate who would have a vision for the party's future, a vision that is the only one with a chance to challenge Law and Justice today. Schetyna's decision also revealed internal tensions, conflicts, intrigues, and ambitions within the opposition. As a result, it is difficult to assess today who will lead PO in a few weeks, leading it to a crucial battle with Andrzej Duda and the entire PiS camp.” -- NEXT TO KIDAWA, HOŁOWNIA APPEARS AS AN ENERGY VOLCANO - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI FURTHER: “The presidential candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska is, after all, a true daughter of Platforma – we know she dislikes PiS, she wants change, but she has no original thought, no vision for Poland in two, five, ten years. Next to her, even the rather rigid independent candidate Szymon Hołownia appears as an energy volcano, throwing around at least some not entirely worn-out concepts to the right and left.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200109706-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Platforma-Obywatelska-na-zakrecie.html -- TOMASZ SIEMONIAK ON RADICAL CHANGE IN REACHING CITIZENS - says in an interview with Jacek Nizinkiewicz in RZ: “We need a radical change in reaching citizens. Through the internet, but also by attracting voters to our offices, offering them a field for activity. Hence my plan for "an office in every county" funded by PO resources. We certainly need to strengthen cooperation within Civic Coalition; this requires a policy of full openness to new people and environments. The coming years must also bring to the forefront of PO the generation of 20- and 30-year-olds.” -- WOT SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO THE ARMY - SIEMONIAK FURTHER: “Nothing that has been given to people will be taken away. WOT (Territorial Defence Force) should be integrated into the regular army, and the euro should be introduced when the conditions are met, there is consent to amend the constitution, and the operation itself is beneficial for Polish women and men.” https://www.rp.pl/Platforma-Obywatelska/301069957-Tomasz-Siemoniak-Nikt-nie-bedzie-mna-sterowac.html -- THE FIGHT FOR DISTINCTIVENESS AND SETTING THE AGENDA - MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI ON THE STAKES FOR LEWICA - writes in Krytyka: “The stakes for Lewica (the Left) in these elections are, firstly, distinctiveness (showing that it exists), and secondly, influence (proving that it can push something through, even with the help of others). Therefore, it needs something that no one else will take away from Lewica and something that every opposition candidate would have to champion in the second round. Distinctiveness will be relatively easy to achieve – a secular state, liberalization of abortion law, and equal rights for LGBT minorities are issues that no one else will touch out of fear. -- A GLIMMER OF HOPE THAT SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE DUOPOLY WILL SET IMPORTANT TOPICS - SUTOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “For Biedroń himself, these elections are a chance to gain political substance. For Lewica – a test of cooperation in conditions where failure is easy and the reward is significantly deferred. For Poland, finally, it is a glimmer of hope that someone outside the duopoly will set important topics. Is that not enough? That's how they pierced us with our homeland in this 2020.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/kandydat-lewicy-na-prezydenta-robert-biedron/ -- KACZYŃSKI LIKE TRUMP WITHOUT TWITTER - LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI IN LIBERTE: “He has an incredible ability to dominate the discourse. Kaczyński has to print Tusk's posts, but the type of negative emotion that circulates perfectly in the era of mass social media democracy, the PiS leader has mastered to perfection. Kaczyński is completely anachronistic as a person, cut off for years from anything resembling normal life; as a politician, he has proven surprisingly modern and effective. He was Trump before Trump discovered Twitter. His strength is the reactions he elicits. Without the hysteria of his opponents and the negative force generated from the energy of their protests, he would probably not be able to maintain the cohesion of his political camp. He is and has been the leader of the right because no one elicits such hatred in the anti-PiS camp.” -- THE OPPOSITION IS GAZING AT KACZYŃSKI LIKE A MOUSE AT A COBRA - JAŻDŻEWSKI FURTHER: “The PiS government is incapable of carrying out any significant civilizational project. The opposition, gazing at Kaczyński like a stunned mouse at a venomous cobra, is incapable of producing any deeper thought whose horizon would extend beyond the nearest press conference. Poland, divided by Kaczyński, serves primarily him and his party. We all pay the price for his personal success. Jarosław Kaczyński's departure from politics is an indispensable condition for the prospect of its repair, for building new, more constructive divisions. It will be like a thaw after a long and dark winter.” https://liberte.pl/chora-polska/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Magdalena Środa, Janusz Cichoń, Tomasz Garbowski.