-- AN AMBITIOUS EUROPE NEEDS AN AMBITIOUS BUDGET - ORBÁN REPEATS MORAWIECKI'S WORDS ON HIS FB. -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON HOW HE REALIZED THE POWER OF THE LICHOCKA MEME - in Polsat News magazine: “It was Friday when Joanna Lichocka made her famous gesture in the Sejm. That same evening, I was at the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw for a performance consisting of three one-act plays by Vaclav Havel, collectively titled "Protest" – about dilemmas from the communist era: nonconformism versus adaptation, etc. It's not a comedy, but the audience laughs in places. Because the dialogues can be funny. But it was only when one of the actors in the third one-act play performed a characteristic eye-rubbing gesture that waves of laughter erupted. Everyone understood. I realized the power of memes on social media.” -- YET I DON'T PITY HER, OTHERS HAVE FOLLOWED HER LEAD AND HAD FUN AT HER EXPENSE - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “And yet, I don't pity her. I immediately recall the rows she caused in the studios of public radio and television, so I am fully aware that as a member of the National Media Council, she is a controller of sorts, dictating terms in her domain. I recall her tweets, full of contempt not even for political opponents, but for people who think slightly differently. I recall – and this is the quintessence of her attitude – the tweet: "I hear howling. Excellent," after the opposition reacted sharply to the idea of appointing Krystyna Pawłowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz to the Constitutional Tribunal. (...) Now, people like her are trying to use this experience, once described by the right as an example of unparalleled cynicism. And at the same time, it is also a confession of what she herself seeks in politics. It's a description of the pleasure she derived. So now, in turn, others have decided to follow her lead and have fun at her expense.” -- ZAREMBA, A BIT GOSSIPY ABOUT LICHOCKA AND HER PRIVATE LIFE - POORLY FITTING THE STEREOTYPE OF A RIGHT-WING HUNWEJBINKA: “What's more interesting is that in many respects, Lichocka poorly fits the stereotype of a right-wing hunwejbinka. She lives in the town of Wilanów, she is wealthy, she maintained friendly relations with liberal media stars for a long time, for example, by serving on the board of a foundation organizing the annual journalists' ball. She had rather liberal views on social issues. However, she became a sworn revolutionary – like Doctor Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde. And then, from a revolutionary, it's only a step to becoming a guardian of orthodoxy in the new system.” -- IF LICHOCKA HAD BEEN SACRIFICED, PERHAPS POLITICIANS WOULD SOMETIMES HESITATE: “Although I'll cynically say that if Lichocka had been sacrificed, even as the proverbial scapegoat, perhaps one thing would have happened. Politicians wouldn't have stopped stoking sentiments and building their careers on controlled hysteria. But they would have hesitated sometimes when the wildest ideas came to mind. However, there's probably not much hope for that either.” https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2020-02-22/zaremba-o-lichockiej-specjalistka-od-wycia/ -- A RISKY GAME REGARDING THE PRESIDENT OF NIK - THEY SHOULD BE AWARE THAT SOMEONE MIGHT ONE DAY DISREGARD THE GUARANTEES OF LEGAL PROTECTION FOR THE CURRENT PRIME MINISTER OR PRESIDENT, WHICH ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY WEAKER - JAN ROKITA: “The order from the Białystok prosecutor has the character of a political precedent in Poland. It is worth realizing that the level of constitutional legal protection for the head of NIK (Supreme Audit Office) is the same as for the president of the state and the marshal of the Sejm, while the prime minister has constitutional protection at a clearly lower level. Therefore, if the current precedent of searching the office of the NIK president by order of the prosecutor is accepted as commonplace, there will be no obstacles in Poland from now on for the Czech scenario of 2013 to be realized in Warsaw in the future. Marshal Witek, to whom Banaś appealed for protection, as well as Prime Minister Morawiecki and President Duda, the ultimate guardian of the constitution, should all be aware of this fact. If they now passively watch the events at NIK, they risk that one day agents with the order of Prosecutor Pieniążek (or any other prosecutor) will enter their offices in Aleje Ujazdowskie or on Krakowskie Przedmieście to conduct a search and seize computers and documents related to the most important state matters. Then it will be too late for arguments about a political "attack" on the state. Now is the right time to set reasonable and clear boundaries for prosecutorial governance.” https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2020-02-22/rokita-ryzykowna-gra-prokurator-pieniazek/ -- WHO AND WHY SPOILED THE START OF ANDRZEJ DUDA'S CAMPAIGN - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN PTT: “The arrest of Tomasz Kaczmarek, a former CBA agent, on the same day, and the entry of the CBA into the homes and offices of Marian Banaś and his family, is described by the opposition as political theater. It literally looks a bit like that. At the same time, it's quite a show that spoils the start of Andrzej Duda's presidential campaign. (...) In an ideal state, it would be obvious that these spheres are separate. But in Poland, nothing is separate from anything. The prosecution and the CBA, perhaps not in every case, but often, are guided by the political needs of those in power. That is why the obstruction of the presidential campaign launch is perceived by the opposition not only with feigned indignation but also with contempt – as a sign of incompetence. Although people associated with the opposition have already found the reason for this reprehensible haste: it was necessary to cover up the Lichocka finger affair.” -- PiS HUGGED DUDA SO TIGHTLY HE CAN BARELY BREATHE - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Either people will buy the story about PiS trying to burn out injustices within its own ranks with a hot iron. It will be difficult, because this burning is accompanied by tripping over its own feet. Or Poles will adopt the opposition's narrative of a war of gangs, of mafia settling of scores. Which also simplifies each of these cases, but it comes to mind. Ultimately, they might not associate it with the president at all. But PiS made sure at the convention last Saturday that Duda would be perceived as an important element of this camp. They hugged him so tightly that now their candidate can barely breathe.” -- THE PiS STATE PROVES SHAKY, INEFFECTIVE, MADE OF CARDBOARD - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Undoubtedly, however, the state according to PiS recipes proves to be shaky, ineffective, made of cardboard. The question arises about the effectiveness of personnel policy based on personal, political trust. Banaś is a model example of its failure. And at the same time, this state, as if completely unashamed of its blunders, still has the power to arbitrarily wield its authority. https://polskatimes.pl/piotr-zaremba-kto-i-dlaczego-zepsul-start-kampanii-andrzeja-dudy/ar/c1-14804758 -- THE MOMENT IS COMING WHEN OLD TRICKS STOP WORKING AND EVERY LEADER HAS TROUBLE SENSING THAT MOMENT - GRZEGORZ SROCZYŃSKI IN CONVERSATION WITH ANITA CZUPRYNA IN PTT: “So it seems to me that this gesture rather indicates that things are shaky within PiS. However, I don't know to what extent people are tired of this style of governance. It will certainly come to a point where people will get fed up with this style. The style of knee-jerking, the style of not accounting for the opposition, the style of absolutely not accounting for any group of citizens who dislike something. So far, it has worked, and PiS has managed to win, for example, against teachers. That was a masterpiece. The teachers were held out, they were completely trampled; PiS managed to win that teachers' strike in terms of image, in the eyes of society, unfortunately. But the moment is coming in politics when old tricks stop working; every party and almost every leader has trouble sensing that moment.” -- PiS, WHICH SPENDS SIX TIMES MORE ON RESEARCH THAN KO, DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO REACT - SROCZYŃSKI CONTINUES IN CONVERSATION WITH CZUPRYNA: “From various rumors circulating on the market, I know that they spend six times more on these kinds of polling and focus group activities than the Civic Coalition. So PiS is an efficient PR machine. But I think they are completely lost on the Lichocka finger issue. They also don't know, just as I don't know, what impact it will have. Therefore, they don't know how to react. For now, they are trying to divert attention by sending the CBA to Banaś. Probably right now, at PiS's behest, a focus group is sitting at a reputable research company – a miner, a cleaner, a pharmacy owner in Miastko, a teacher, a mechanic – and they are being asked about the "Lichocka finger" in dozens of ways. Once they process it, they will compile the results, the PiS PR team will write five recommendations for action, Brudziński will present it to Kaczyński, he will cross out three, and leave two recommendations. And only then will text messages be sent to MPs on what to say, and some actions will be taken. This is how it works in every party, but more so in PiS.” -- I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY KACZYŃSKI IS ALLOWING ZIOBRO TO INCITE AN AFFAIR RIGHT NOW - SROCZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “The only thing that can significantly harm Andrzej Duda in public opinion is his excessive connection with PiS. If this element of his presidency is too visible during the campaign, presented in its entirety, then Duda is in trouble. That's why I completely don't understand why Kaczyński is allowing Ziobro to stir up a fuss with the courts right now. They could have waited. Much can escalate with Brussels by May; with an intensified conflict over the courts, PiS will need Duda's support every time, with every amendment to the "gag law" his swift signature will be necessary, and each time this will emphasize his dependence on PiS. For now, the polls don't show it harming Duda, but let's wait.” -- SROCZYŃSKI SURPRISINGLY STATES THAT KACZYŃSKI MIGHT WANT TO HAND OVER POWER DURING A CRISIS: “I can imagine a scenario where Kaczyński might think: 'And this Duda, he's annoyed me a bit, he's been acting up, he hasn't signed everything, so if he wins, good, and if he doesn't win, a crisis is coming, we'll immediately call new elections, we'll narrowly lose to the opposition, and that's fine.' Let the opposition rule for three years during a crisis with a very hostile PiS right behind them, with the Przyłębska Tribunal and a new PiS acting president of the Supreme Court who will appear in April. PiS will be in their element, blocking everything, and at the same time shouting: 'Look, when we were in power, there was money for 500+ and everything was fine, and now, please, inflation and crisis.' And in another four years, PiS will have 60 percent support. Jarosław Kaczyński distinguishes himself from other leaders by being taught by life to wait long in a political basement.” https://polskatimes.pl/grzegorz-sroczynski-dla-kaczynskiego-wcale-nie-jest-priorytetem-to-zeby-andrzej-duda-wygral-wybory-prezydenckie/ar/c1-14804434 -- REBUILDING THE RIGHT-WING'S SELF-CONFIDENCE - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “First, everything must be done to rebuild the right-wing's self-confidence, clearly undermined by recent events in the Sejm and the conflict around the head of NIK. We need to get into a good political rhythm. Calmly, slowly, but consistently. This won't be achieved overnight. It certainly won't be achieved by actions full of nervousness, betraying unease. The most important thing here is an idea and a stable course.” -- IT HAS TO BE A BIG TENT - JACEK KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “It must be a "big tent" where everyone is needed. Attempts to push the hard PiS out of this campaign, suggesting that it is the main obstacle to re-election, are a big mistake. Everyone is needed. Adopting the assumption that the hard right is an obstacle to winning over the mythical "centrist voters," and therefore must be beaten over the head, will result in winning – at best – individuals, while hundreds of thousands will stay home. Because if the "mythical center" were such an abundant fishing ground, there would be at least one strong and independent party thriving there. Andrzej Duda must again generate a wave of grassroots, authentic support. And he must do so just as he did five years ago, offering a mix of grand ideas and personal attractiveness. There is no other way to re-election.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/488104-trzeba-zrobic-wszystko-by-odbudowac-pewnosc-siebie-prawicy -- ORBÁN EXPANDED HIS SUPPORT DIFFERENTLY THAN PiS - PROF. RAFAŁ CHWEDORUK IN CONVERSATION WITH ŁUKASZ ROGOSZ IN GAZETA.PL: “I'll explain with an example. Comparisons are often made between Viktor Orbán's Fidesz and Jarosław Kaczyński's PiS. However, if we look at the structure of the electorates of both parties, we have two completely different cases. PiS tries to go from the bottom of the social structure upwards, having above-average support from less affluent voters. Fidesz – exactly the opposite, meaning it descended from the top downwards. This shows why the Hungarian right-wing found it easier to assume the role of a ruling party, while PiS, despite electoral successes and great popularity, is not yet a formation that we could consider a classic ruling camp capable of governing for many terms.” -- PiS'S MARCH UP THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE HAS ENCOUNTERED POWERFUL RESISTANCE - CHWEDORUK CONTINUES: “From PiS's perspective, the change in the model of life we are experiencing is extremely important here – the disappearance of traditional villages and the dominance of living patterns of big-city residents. PiS politicians are often surprised because when someone living in a village and voting for PiS moves to a metropolis, they quickly stop voting for PiS. This trend is constant; there is no alternative model in sight. People in the city have similar aspirations, and this translates into their political choices. This particularly applies to people under 45, perhaps 50 years old. Time is playing a highly unfavorable role for PiS here. If we look at the actions and reforms undertaken by PiS, we can see that they are trying to reach more liberal voters in various ways – the appointment of Mateusz Morawiecki as prime minister or, more recently, the promotion of Jarosław Gowin's Agreement within the United Right were intended for this purpose – but it is not yielding great results. PiS has gained the ability to attract almost all voters similar to their electorate, but the march up the social structure has been stopped; it has encountered powerful resistance.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25718460,100-dni-drugiego-rzadu-morawieckiego-zyje-na-koszt-gabinetu.html -- JAKUB MAJMUREK ON THE PARADOXICAL MODEL OF PRESIDENCY WITH DIRECT ELECTION: “Shouldn't this prompt us to rethink the structure of the presidency? Is it worth organizing direct elections and giving such a strong democratic mandate to a president who can actually do so little? And at the same time, is strong enough to block changes that also have a strong mandate in the form of a parliamentary majority? If we look around, we will notice that European democracies tend to adopt a parliamentary-cabinet model. This is the case in Germany, where the president represents the country externally and performs ceremonial functions but has no significant political competencies, or in Italy, where his role remains mainly ceremonial.” -- THE STRUCTURE OF THE PRESIDENCY FOSTERS CRISES AND CLINGES OR INERTIA OF THE OFFICE - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: “If Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska wins the election and effectively blocks all revolutionary actions by PiS, the liberal part of public opinion will consider that the system has worked, and a president with a strong veto is needed to block the actions of a populist government in the future. The question is whether this should be the role of the president – whose veto has a political, not constitutional, dimension. It is equally possible to imagine a situation where a populist conservative president effectively blocks changes that enjoy clear support in the parliamentary and social majority. The structure of the Polish presidency fosters either political crises and impasses or inertia in this office. Sooner or later, we will have to consider what we expect from the presidency and whether the current institutional structure meets those expectations.” https://tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/prawdziwi-liderzy-nie-chca-walczyc-o-palac-to-beda-jalowe-wybory,258,4504 -- THE END OF GAZETA WYBORCZA, IT STOOD ON THE SIDE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - comment by Turczynowicz-Kieryłło regarding GW's publication. -- TURCZYNOWICZ ON GW'S LACK OF FAIRNESS: “Gazeta Wyborcza has stooped to the gutter today. It sided with a woman-beater against a mother defending her child. It hid medical opinions that the perpetrator was strangling me. It concealed that we were attacked by a professional hater, described in national media.” -- GAZETA STOŁECZNA ON THE HEAD OF PAD'S CAMPAIGN WHO BIT A MAN WHO ATTACKED HER AND HER CHILD: “Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło notes that she was walking with her son that night. She wasn't distributing leaflets as she wasn't involved in the campaign on either side. She claims an unknown man attacked her, got out of a car, grabbed her son, and then started strangling her. That's when she bit him. In an interview with "Wyborcza," she admitted that she did it. She added that it was to save herself and her child. According to her account, they were attacked by a burly man, and she didn't know how to defend herself. A moment later, she called the police.” -- SHE STOOD UP IN DEFENSE OF HER CHILD - WPOLITYCE: “'Gazeta Wyborcza' published an article titled 'Andrzej Duda's campaign manager bit a resident of Milanówek.' It recalls a situation in November 2018 when Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło, during a walk with her son in Milanówek, was allegedly attacked by a man. In the 'GW' article, the fact that Turczynowicz-Kieryłło bit the attacker on the hand was highlighted. It is mentioned in passing that the man was strangling Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło and that she stood up in defense of her son.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/488135-gw-atakuje-turczynowicz-kieryllo-mocna-odpowiedz -- THE INVESTIGATION WAS DOWNPLAYED - FORMER SENATOR OF THE DEMOCRATIC LEFT ALLIANCE AND FORMER POLITICIAN OF THE FREEDOM UNION IN CONVERSATION WITH ELIZA OLCZYK: “I think the formal-legal aspect of the investigation was somewhat downplayed. Perhaps a special team of prosecutors should have been appointed to deal exclusively with this matter? As it is, the investigation has become somewhat fragmented. People from the PiS camp certainly expected a more spectacular action. But the Prosecutor General was independent, and there were no ways to influence the form of the investigation, its intensity, or its nature. In my opinion, the Prosecutor General did not rise to the occasion.” -- I HAD GREAT RESPECT FOR LECH KACZYŃSKI - JAN WYROWIŃSKI CONTINUES: “In my opinion, there should have been one delegation to Katyn. The division of these visits was an expression of poor cohabitation between the president and the ruling majority. And I cannot say that Lech Kaczyński alone was to blame for this, as my colleagues from PO claim. Bad emotions were on both sides. I had great respect for Lech Kaczyński as a politician. I thought that, unlike his brother, he was conciliatory, possessed great knowledge, and a talent for public service. He treated everything he did as a mission. He thought about the state similarly to Tadeusz Mazowiecki. But at that time, the emotions related to Tusk's presidential election loss and the collapse of the PO-PiS idea were still fresh on our side, and on their side, Jarosław Kaczyński played a key role, pushing his brother towards confrontation. When the disaster occurred, emotions spiraled out of control.” -- ANDRZEJ DUDA IMPRESSED ME BY SPEAKING ABOUT KASHUBIA - WYROWIŃSKI STILL: “Andrzej Duda spoke sensibly about Kashubia, about history. He's not my cup of tea, but he impressed me by delivering his speech to the end despite the rude shouting; he said what he wanted to say.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/302219998-Jan-Wyrowinski-Bylem-liberalem-ale-zrobilem-rachunek-sumienia.html -- RZECZPOSPOLITA ON THE WOMEN OF THE CENTURY - ON HANNA SUCHOCKA - as Katarzyna Płachta writes: “Of course, this government had its successes and failures. In my opinion, the greatest achievement was the introduction of VAT, which to this day is the main source of state budget revenue. And the biggest failure was the Universal Privatization Program. We know that of all privatization paths, this one turned out to be the most disastrous – assesses Prof. Dudek. It took a long time to wait for another woman to head the Polish government. It was only Ewa Kopacz, who took office more than two decades later. After the fall of the Suchocka government, she remained in politics. As a lawyer specializing in constitutional law, she became involved in the work on creating a new constitution. After the 1997 elections, she was appointed Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General in Jerzy Buzek's government. As she confessed years later, it was one of the most stressful periods of her career, and people often forget about it.” -- RZ ABOUT WHAT PRIME MINISTER SUCHOCKA IS CURRENTLY DOING: “This is a record-breaking and unprecedentedly long diplomatic mission in the Vatican. However, all these years have brought great results. Suchocka knew practically everyone; many took her opinion into account. And then the fact of her appointment by Benedict XVI to the commission for the protection of children, which deals with cases of pedophilia in the Church, testifies to the great trust she gained behind the Holy See – explains Lehnert. And it is this activity that she dedicates most of her attention to recently. She is working on changes to canon law that are intended to help combat pedophilia in the Church. After completing her mission, she also resumed her academic work. Until 2016, she was also a member, and currently an honorary chairwoman, of the Venice Commission, i.e., the European Commission for Democracy through Law, for which she was both praised and criticized in Poland.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/200229947-Hanna-Suchocka-Pierwsza-pani-premier.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Ryszard Bugaj, Edward Czesak, Andrzej Raczko, Jacek Kurski, SUNDAY: Anna Bogucka-Skowrońska, Paweł Graś, Radosław Sikorski, Magdalena Ogórek.