-- 6TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF ZBIGNIEW ROMASZEWSKI. A service dedicated to the memory of the legendary anti-communist opposition activist: www.romaszewski.polskieradio24.pl -- DWORCZYK: THE PRIME MINISTER WILL BE IN SMOLENSK AND KATYN ON APRIL 10TH: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/02/13/dworczyk-pmm-10-kwietnia-chce-byc-w-smolensku-i-katyniu-kancelaria-analizuje-mozliwosci-przygotowania-takiego-wyjazdu/ -- I DON'T KNOW OF ANY RESEARCH INDICATING THAT 3 MILLION VOTES CAN BE GAINED BY TOUGHENING THE STANCE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/02/13/#post-548987 -- HOW THE LAW AND JUSTICE PARTY (PIS) WILL TAKE OVER THE SUPREME COURT - PATRYK SŁOWIK IN DGP: “– The vision of two mutually exclusive general assemblies of Supreme Court judges is quite realistic. According to the Supreme Court's jurisprudence, the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court is not a court. Therefore, I see no grounds for the First President of the Supreme Court, who convenes the assembly, to allow individuals holding judicial positions in that chamber to participate. At the same time, the added Article 13a of the Act on the Supreme Court gives the impression of being tailor-made for this case – explains Prof. Joanna Juchniewicz, a constitutionalist from UWM. In her opinion, a scenario where the President of the Republic considers the assembly convened by President Gersdorf to have elected candidates for the First President of the Supreme Court in violation of the rules, which in turn would justify – in the head of state's opinion – convening a second general assembly, is therefore not out of the question. This would create another stalemate in the form of resolutions from two assemblies with presumably different content”. https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykul-prasowy/6440351,sadownictwo-sn-duda-pis-sad.html -- WHEN DOES MADAM MARSHAL TELL THE TRUTH? - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN ONET: “We will wait and see. One thing must be remembered: PiS can still order the Constitutional Tribunal to rule that the disclosure of signatures is unconstitutional. A motion by PiS MPs on this matter has been pending in the Constitutional Tribunal since December. A few days ago, Witek sent an opinion to the Constitutional Tribunal on this matter. She argues in it that the disclosure of signatures would be unconstitutional. Therefore, when does Madam Marshal tell the truth?” -- KOSINIAK WANTS TO FORCE KIDAWĄ TO A DEBATE - MARCIN FIJOŁEK: “Not necessarily by involving Tusk – perhaps the campaign strategists with clover on their lapels will carefully check Kidawa-Błońska's calendar and – accidentally, of course! – stumble upon her with hungry TV camera operators. If the appeal for a debate is made directly, live – Kidawa-Błońska will not be able to refuse. And there's no point in hiding that Kidawa will lose a 1-on-1 debate to Kosiniak. Sooner or later such a confrontation will happen and all that PR powder of the Civic Coalition candidate will be scraped off – the PSL member comments”. -- FIJOŁEK ON THE DISPUTE WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT BACKBONE: “An open question is how the recent changes in the judiciary will be received. Within the United Right camp, there is a quite heated dispute, based on mutually exclusive polls, research, and analyses, which can be reduced to one issue: will stepping on the gas pedal with the judicial reform pay off or be detrimental? No one here has ready, unambiguous answers, and the arguments exchanged in the corridors among politicians (from the Ziobro camp, through PiS, to the Gowin camp) are often truly fascinating. Certain signals regarding the adopted strategy and potential signs of readiness for dialogue will be readable at the earliest on Saturday at the convention, although the implemented tactics will likely also be influenced by Brussels' stance (EC, CJEU, etc.).” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/486663-garsc-swiezych-kampanijnych-plotek-z-sejmu -- PIOTR PACEWICZ ON MANIPULATING POLLS AND PSEUDO-POLLS - writes in Oko: “'Should judges be disciplined before an organ independent of the judicial community?' asks a Kantar pollster. What kind of 'organ' is it? Unknown. But why not, if it's 'independent'? Everyone should be accountable to someone – thinks the surveyed person. And checks 'yes', and PiS triumphs: Poles support our reform. There are more and more such pseudo-polls. RMF FM and DGP, with the help of the multi-pollster IBRiS, are turning people's brains into mush by asking what's more important: Polish law and the constitution, or EU law. And yet, Article 91 of the Polish Constitution clearly states the superiority of international agreements, and if there's a conflict, then international law 'is applied directly, taking precedence in case of conflict with statutes'. But surveyed individuals, put in a situation of choice: Poland or Brussels, respond just as patriotically as Kanthak, who chants 'Con-sti-tu-tion' in the Sejm. The media have a news story, the polling company gets paid, and the government is delighted”. https://oko.press/dworczyk-z-duma-cytuje-sondaz/ -- "PISMO" AND THE BI-WEEKLY MAGAZINE WITHOUT GRANTS FROM THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE - as Adam Leszczyński writes in Oko: “The losers, it seems, did not particularly count on the minister's favor. 'For the fourth year in a row, we filled out the application incorrectly...' – wrote Sławomir Sierakowski, founder of 'Krytyka Polityczna', publicist, and sociologist, on Facebook. 'We too... I share your sorrow...' – commented Magdalena Kicińska, editor-in-chief of the monthly 'Pismo', on this post. https://oko.press/minister-glinski-i-czasopisma-dotacje-tylko-dla-swoich/ -- WHY SHOULD ALL CITIZENS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GOVERNMENT - ZIEMOWIT SZCZEREK in Krytyka: “If we apply them nationwide, then all citizens who suffer because of them will be more furious with the EU than with PiS. PiS, as is often the case in such situations, will make them hostages, saying – look, you are suffering because of enemies, and you are suffering for Poland, and what if this Poland has been reduced to the role of a political party, and furthermore, a populist, irresponsible, and immature one. Sanctions imposed on everyone, frankly, do not work well – Cuba, Iran, or Russia are hardly examples of the success of such a policy. Gdula is therefore right – why should all citizens, including those who not only do not support the government but even openly oppose it, be held responsible for the government's foolishness and law-breaking?” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/ziemowit-szczerek/gdula-ma-racje/ -- BE CAREFUL WITH COMPARISONS TO CAPUTOVA - KACPER RĘKAWEK in Kultura Liberalna: “In summary, Čaputová is a product of Slovak realities, which are not entirely comparable to the situation in Poland. Slovakia has been in a permanent and deep political crisis since the spring of 2018, which, in addition to significant reshuffles on the domestic political scene and damage to the country's international image, also brought Čaputová to the presidency. However, let's remember that her political 'American dream' was preceded by perhaps the worst period in Slovakia's recent history. Let's not wish Poland the same. Be careful with this Čaputová”. https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/02/13/rekawek-zuzana-caputova-slowacja-wybory-polityka/ -- WITOLD GADOMSKI ON PIŚ'S GIEREK-STYLE AMBITION - writes in GW: “PiS's Gierek-style ambition: the chairman announces that in 3 years, a Polish factory will produce 100,000 electric cars annually. The catch is that neither the car prototype nor the factory yet exist. (...) I'm not making this up, this is how Chairman Zaremba responded, and the program host Bartek Godusławski, a journalist for 'Dziennik Gazeta Prawna', took all these statements at face value and didn't question them for a moment. You can check this on TOK FM podcasts”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25689071,elektrofantazje-rzadu-fabryke-ma-widze-ogromna.html -- "PARASITE" SHOWS THE HIDDEN POWER OF CLASS ANGER - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI in GW: “I also invite you to watch 'Parasite', which is triumphing worldwide because it shows the hidden power of class alienation and anger. This is a universal phenomenon that is also growing in Poland. Look at the queues for social housing, rents and housing prices rising 8% annually, while reprivatization is ongoing, and you will understand young precarious workers who are reluctant towards democracy and support anti-system parties.” -- PIS COMMERCIALIZES PUBLIC SERVICES - ŻAKOWSKI continues: “By handing out cash, PiS fuels inflation and further destroys or commercializes social services – healthcare, public transport, education, housing policy. This most affects PiS voters – the poorer ones, from small towns, the young ones. Whoever convinces them they have a solution can defeat PiS. Whoever cannot – will lose”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25689134,hollywood-uczy-skad-sie-bierze-gniew.html -- ON THIS TOPIC - THE PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC SERVICES, A BOOK BY ŁUKASZ PAWŁOWSKI FROM KULTURA LIBERALNA, WILL BE PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY: “'Poland under the rule of the United Right has not become a welfare state. Nor has it become a liberal state. It is a hybrid leading to the state shrinking, but at the same time – for political purposes and at our expense – maintaining the illusion of care and greatness. In the long run, this is a dead end. This worries me primarily because the consequences of this policy will be significantly felt by my children, but not only mine.'” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/wydawnictwo/zapowiedzi/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Agnieszka Kublik, Bogusława Matuszewska, Piotr Woźniak, Wojciech Piecha.