-- RULE OF LAW IS POLITICIZED, EU DOESN'T HESITATE TO USE IT TO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS - GEORGETTE MOSBACHER IN SE: “Personally, I believe that the issue of the rule of law in Poland is highly politicized, and the European Union does not shy away from using this issue to achieve its goals. I also have the impression that the West has not yet come to terms with the fact that Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries are no longer the peripheries of Europe that communism made them. Poland is today the fastest-growing country in the European Union, you are a highly educated society and you are doing excellently in competition with the rest of Europe.” -- THE WEST ISN'T COMFORTABLE WITH POLAND BECOMING A PLAYER - MOSBACHER CONTINUES: “The West is not necessarily comfortable with this. Poland is today a major player on the international stage. I've known this from the moment I arrived in Warsaw. The United States knows this, but it seems to me that the capitals of Western Europe still do not understand this.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/ambasador-usa-bylibysmy-w-polsce-niezaleznie-od-tego-czy-kupilibyscie-nasz-sprzet-czy-nie-aa-wZwV-GcQz-QLF9.html -- WHICH POST-SOCIALIST COUNTRY IS A MODEL FOR THOSE QUESTIONING THE 90S REFORMS? - LESZEK BALCEROWICZ - in Silesian GW: “What else can populists do? Poland, compared to other post-socialist countries, has achieved the best results in terms of economic development. Populist slogans criticizing reforms from 30 years ago are therefore an expression of stupidity or extreme dishonesty. Let them specifically say which post-socialist country is their model and why.” -- BALCEROWICZ ON HOW WE WOULD HAVE THE SAME SITUATION WITH STEELWORKERS TODAY AS WITH MINERS IF NOT FOR BUZEK'S REFORMS: “Returning to the period of Jerzy Buzek's government – thanks to the privatization mentioned earlier, we do not have state-owned metallurgy today, among other things. Imagine what would happen if similar things were happening in steel companies now as in the mining industry. The unrest would be much greater.” -- RISING PENSIONERS, DECLINING WORKING POPULATION - IS THIS PIZ'S RECIPE FOR PROSPERITY? - BALCEROWICZ CONTINUES: “But the PO governments did not reverse Poland's course; important reforms were undertaken then, such as raising the retirement age. PiS lowered this age, as a result of which the number of pensioners in Poland is increasing, and the number of professionally working people is decreasing. This is one of Kaczyński's recipes for our country's prosperity (laughter).” -- UKRAINIANS SAVED PIS, THE BONANZA IS ENDING: “PiS had enormous luck in this matter. When they came to power in 2015, the European Union economy accelerated significantly, and the influx of Ukrainians to work in Poland doubled. Mainly thanks to these two factors, our economy also accelerated. People might have thought that PiS was governing well. Especially since, thanks to a good economic climate, it was easier to finance mass handouts, such as 500+. However, the bonanza is ending, and problems are accumulating.” https://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,35063,25726430,30-lat-po-wprowadzeniu-planu-balcerowiczaleszek-balcerowicz.html -- PIŚ STAFF IN KOMOROWSKI'S SHOES - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “PiS strategists seem to be stepping into Bronisław Komorowski's shoes. Turczynowicz-Kieryłło's stories that good will triumph over evil, that politics should be full of kindness and warmth, are eerily reminiscent of Komorowski's famous appeals during the "Orzeł może" (Eagle can) campaign and his calls for coolness and joy.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200229734-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Cos-sie-zacielo-w-propagandowej-machinie-PiS.html -- ŁUKASZ PAWŁOWSKI ON HOW TUSK CAN PLAY A ROLE FOR DUDA'S CAMPAIGN SIMILAR TO KACZYŃSKI'S IN 2015 FOR DUDA'S CAMPAIGN - writes in Kultura Liberalna: “Although Andrzej Duda (in the presidential campaign) and Beata Szydło (in the parliamentary campaign) were their faces, Jarosław Kaczyński did not spend his campaign months at home in Żoliborz. He regularly participated in meetings with devoted, local PiS sympathizers, thereby legitimizing Szydło and Duda in their eyes. Donald Tusk can do exactly the same for Kidawa-Błońska. -- THE CONVENTION IS A TEST FOR THE NEW PO, WILL TUSK RESTRAIN HIMSELF SO AS NOT TO OVERSHADOW KIDAWĄ? - PAWŁOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “However, it is important, let us emphasize once again, that the prospective candidate should not overshadow the actual candidate with his presence. Will he restrain himself? Even the PO strategists themselves seem to have doubts. Perhaps that is why – as Kidawa-Błońska said – the former prime minister will not appear at the election convention on February 29. This event will, after all, be the most serious test to date not only for the PO candidate but also for the new party leadership.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/02/25/pawlowski-kidawa-blonska-tusk-kampania-wybory-prezydenckie/ -- THE PREPARED DOVE MASKS WERE NOT EVEN WORN - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON THE OPPOSITION'S CAMPAIGN: “Tusk announces intense participation in the campaign, to the delight of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, who is increasingly reluctantly extending a hand of reconciliation, and not even pretending to have nothing to do with Sok z Buraka or the haters from Puck. The hope for victory, which has clearly appeared on the opposition's side, has meant that the prepared dove masks were not even worn. The campaign will therefore be exceptionally sharp and brutal. Words never heard before will be spoken. The ruling camp will be consistently presented as a "gang and mafia." Once again, we will witness an attempt to reverse meanings and senses, so typical of the Third Polish Republic.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/488443-gang-i-mafia-trzeba-mocno-bronic-prawdy-przed-klamcami -- AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK, THAT TUSK'S ENGAGEMENT WEAKENS THE MESSAGE OF MAIN REFLECTION - writes in Oko: “By resigning from participating in Polish election politics, Tusk chose for himself the role of someone who will define what is important. The tone of the Białystok lecture is similar. If this was Tusk's intention, it was contradicted by the nature of the comments he made that same day. He spoke of the 'stench of crime and mafia emanating from state institutions in Poland.' On February 23, Tusk declared his support for Kidawa-Błońska, which emphasizes his direct political involvement and weakens the message of general reflection.” -- OKO REPRINTS TUSK'S LECTURE FROM BIAŁYSTOK: https://oko.press/donald-tusk-prowincjonalizm-jesli-zatriumfuje-w-polskiej-polityce-bedzie-dla-nas-zabojczy/ -- MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI ANALYZES IPSOS FOR OKO ON DUDA'S GLASS CEILING: “We will conduct a similar analysis to answer, among others: - will the highly demobilized Confederation electorate in the second round, definitely vote for Andrzej Duda in such a percentage (and so surprisingly low!), as the declarations suggest; - can the president certainly count on 12% of the Left's electorate in the runoff; - what follows from the fact that President Duda received a strangely low number of indications as a second-choice candidate.” -- OKO ESTIMATES THAT DUDA CAN GET A MAXIMUM OF 45%: “OKO.press estimates the maximum possible support for the president in the May 10th vote at 45% today. We added to the head of state's base result those voters who declare that the president is their second-choice candidate, meaning they would vote for Duda in the second round if their main candidate were eliminated. This means that even if the president managed – a practically impossible feat – to convince all supporters of other candidates who currently declare the possibility of voting for him in the runoff in the first round, he would achieve a result of around 45%.” -- THE CONVENTION UNITING DUDA WITH PIŚ WAS A MISTAKE - DANIELEWSKI CONTINUES: “Conclusions? The OKO.press study proves that the election convention on February 13, which linked the president with PiS, may have been a bigger mistake than initially thought: the ruling camp's strategists senselessly brought wood to the forest – they convinced the convinced instead of conquering one of the currently inaccessible political territories.” -- THE PEASANT PARTY VOTERS WILL NOT VOTE FOR DUDA - DANIELEWSKI CONTINUES ON IPSOS RESULTS: “The PSL electorate votes overwhelmingly for opposition candidates. What's more, even in a confrontation between Andrzej Duda and Robert Biedroń, a majority of peasant party voters declare their vote for the Left candidate. https://oko.press/szklany-sufit-andrzeja-dudy-sondaz-oko-press-pokazuje-ze-bedzie-mial-klopot-ze-zdobyciem-nowych-wyborcow/ -- DUDA IS THE FAVORITE, BUT HAS SEVERAL PROBLEMS - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN SE: “I believe that Duda is still the favorite in these elections. For various reasons. But I agree that there are several problems. First, the money for handouts has run out, which is why there were no social promises at the president's convention. Second, power wears out, people have growing aspirations. The narrative 'we gave you 500 plus, we lowered the retirement age' is no longer enough, because people have become accustomed to it. In addition, there are very serious internal conflicts within the United Right camp. They are not simple – on the Morawiecki-Ziobro line. There is a conflict between Szydło and Morawiecki, and then there are issues like Banasi. Finally, there is the issue of Smolensk. A month before the elections, it will be the tenth anniversary of the tragedy, and questions about the causes of the crash will certainly be asked. This will not make Andrzej Duda's campaign staff's job easier.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/polityka/wojna-sluzb-w-s-banasia-zaszkodzi-kampanii-prezydenta-stankiewicz-duda-moze-miec-klopot-aa-BS6A-BxTf-Rpvp.html -- SOCIAL MEDIA HAVE TAKEN US BACK TO THE PRE-MODERN ERA - LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI IN LIBERTE: “Social media are taking us back to the pre-modern era, where the world was ruled by mysterious deities whose verdicts were unappealable, who could not be understood by reason, but only appeased with homage, in hope of atonement. History has come full circle, and we find ourselves in the dark ages – virtual ones, which are increasingly taking over the so-called real. All that remains for a liberal is to fight and hope. For the Enlightenment.” -- NO AGREEMENT TO THE DICTATE OF EITHER BOLSHEVIKS DISGUISED AS THE CURSED SOLDIERS OR THE AUNTS OF THE REVOLUTION IN FASHIONABLE CAFES - JAŻDŻEWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “I have no desire to rule others, but I stand on the barricades when I feel that someone is trying to rule me. Someone to whom I have not granted this right, who violates commonly accepted principles of limited power, claims the right to impose his disgusting principles, or rather their lack, on me and others. I am too much of a Pole and a romantic to accept anyone's dictate: be it Bolsheviks disguised as cursed soldiers or aunts of the revolution in fashionable cafes.” https://liberte.pl/wszystko-co-kocham-leszek-jazdzewski-ankieta-liberte/ -- I WILL NOT VETO EVERYTHING THE MORAWIECKI GOVERNMENT BRINGS - WKK IN CONVERSATION WITH TOMASZ ŻÓŁCIAK IN DGP: “But in that case, is it better to choose a president who declares that whatever good the Mateusz Morawiecki government brings for signing, he will veto it anyway because the author of the law doesn't like it? This is a question for Poles, whether they want an end to this devastating dispute. I propose this. I have experience in this area, I have in mind, for example, the unification of trade unions, employers, all political options in building the Social Dialogue Council. I also advocated for a compromise around the Constitutional Tribunal, I attended meetings with the authorities on this matter, and when necessary – I protested on the streets. The president must be an arbiter, and I, as the leader of a party, without additional bosses above me, can do this. Subordinates are unable to rise to independence, which, moreover, has been shown by Andrzej Duda's presidency.” -- WKK ON THE REFERENDUM ON PARTNERSHIP UNIONS: “I will not agree with the thesis that resorting to the voice of the citizens is something bad. Especially since we are talking about an unregulated issue, unlike, for example, abortion law, where I clearly stand for maintaining the compromise. Nothing is coming out of today's political discussions regarding partnership unions, so let's resolve this problem once and for all.” -- WKK ON THE ELECTION OF THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL: “Due to the inappropriateness of the current system. Today, this function is performed by a Member of Parliament, party leader, and Minister of Justice all in one. The previous separation of the functions of Prosecutor General from the Minister of Justice also proved unsatisfactory. Therefore, we propose the election of the Prosecutor General during the next presidential elections in 2025.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykul-prasowy/6445722,wladyslaw-kosiniak-kamysz-psl-wybory-prezydenckie-ii-tura.html -- ONLY ON PAPER READY FOR THE VIRUS - JEDYNKA RZ: “Polish hospitals lack masks, doctors fear an epidemic, yet the government assures that it is controlling the situation.” https://www.rp.pl/Koronawirus-2019-nCoV/302249914-Polska-gotowa-na-koronawirusa-tylko-na-papierze.html -- DWORCZYK ON AN ATTEMPT TO INCITE PANIC - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/02/25/ -- IN POLAND, IT'S HARD EVEN TO GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA ON THE UNDERESTIMATION OF THE VIRUS: “People are working from home. This is the case all over the world. And in Poland? It's hard to get through to any services. Experts in infectious diseases are silent. There is silence at airports and at mass event venues. I know that we are not yet on the list of countries with the virus, that no one has died yet. But this can happen. And that is precisely why we are appealing to the authorities, responsible services, competent officials to take the problem seriously. To have a strategy, public information, and prevention. Let's not be caught by surprise, because then it will be too late.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/302249912-Chrabota-Wladzo-nie-jestesmy-z-innej-gliny.html -- CORONAVIRUS CLOSE - GW's front page. -- BIRTHDAYS: Danuta Wałęsa, Barbara Sobska, Paweł Piskorski, Andrzej Szarawarski, Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz.