-- THE PRIME MINISTER INVITES PRESIDENTS OF SEVERAL DOZENS OF THE LARGEST CITIES TO THE CHANCELLERY TOMORROW – NEWS 300: https://300polityka.pl/news/2020/03/10/news-300-mateusz-morawiecki-zaprasza-na-srode-do-kprm-prezydentow-najwiekszych-miast-na-narade-o-wspolpracy-w-przypadku-rozwoju-epidemii-premier-nie-chce-by-powstalo-wrazenie-ze-ktokolwiek-mogl/ -- THIS YEAR'S CHOPIN COMPETITION IS TO BE TECHNOLOGICALLY GROUNDBREAKING: https://300polityka.pl/biznes/2020/03/10/emitel-obok-totalizatora-pkn-orlen-i-google-wsrod-partnerow-konkursu-chopinowskiego-dzieki-transmisjom-4k-i-vr-bedzie-to-technologicznie-przelomowe-wydarzenie-obajtek-chopin-jest-takim-luksusowym/ -- CULTURAL POLICY AS SOFT POWER – MATEUSZ MATYSZKOWICZ IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JAKUB PYDA FOR TEOLOGIA POLITYCZNA: “While I shy away from conspiracy theories, I would point to, for example, Poland's situation in the 1990s. The weakening of domestic cultural and economic strength by subordinating our development to the interests of investors in Poland, including German corporations – this itself is a form of soft power implementation, as a result of which we lost something. Such a balance of power ultimately leads to a significant erosion of Polish self-determination. As another example of this problem, we can consider the cultural policy of the People's Republic of China, and more specifically, the warming of the image of a totalitarian regime through the establishment of Confucius Institutes worldwide. How strange in this context sounds the definition of cultural diplomacy, which aims to build bridges between nations through intercultural relations. All this makes soft power cease to be an innocent concept. Instead, it takes on the characteristics of a utopian project (characteristic of supranational organizations), within which cultures are meant to meet and dialogue with each other. It is worth being aware of this.” -- POLAND IS A COUNTRY BEING TOLD ABOUT, NOT TELLING ABOUT ITSELF – MATYSZKOWICZ CONTINUES: “Poland is currently a country being told about, not one that tells about itself. We think that the real success in recent decades was Solidarity, but let's look – from a global perspective, the symbol of communism's fall is the fall of the Berlin Wall. Poles, despite being a nation with the largest number of Righteous Among the Nations, function as Nazi collaborators participating in the Holocaust. These are just two examples of how we have allowed others to tell our story. (...) On a macro scale, Poles often resemble people desperately trying to escape a forgotten corner of the world. They don't even show a desire to tell others about themselves, and what's more – they have low cultural awareness. In this area, we have experienced a real collapse in the last 20 years. High culture, which constitutes the greatness of a nation, has been pushed to the margins. On an individual level, the situation was similar – economic advancement was not usually associated with acquiring particular cultural competencies. The conclusion resonates with pessimism: Poland has very low cultural self-awareness.” -- MATYSZKOWICZ ON THE ROLE OF THE CHOPIN COMPETITION: “Fortunately, on the other hand, when moments come when Poles can be proud of their heritage – it is perfectly visible how much we yearn for such sudden flashes. An example? The Chopin Competition, thanks to which Poles began to identify with the best national culture. We have the task of learning to love our own way of existing.” -- A PREMIERE IN THE WARSAW OPERA SHOULD BE COMPARABLE TO A PREMIERE AT THE STAATSOPER: “For a premiere in the Warsaw Opera to be comparable to a premiere at the Staatsoper. Can a country of forty million not afford scholarship and university programs that are also attractive to foreigners? This is how a state's prestige is built. Finally, let's add one thing – in Poland, after 1989, a great many intellectual circles emerged. This is an unprecedented phenomenon in scale in Great Britain or France. Therefore, another very important direction for Poland's cultural development would be the export of native ideas to individual European countries. Organizing events, translating Polish books, taking responsibility for certain areas of culture – all of this is decisive in building Poland's position on the international stage.” https://teologiapolityczna.pl/mateusz-matyszkowicz-jestesmy-krajem-opowiadanym-a-nie-opowiadajacym-o-sobie -- WPOLITYCE WRITES ABOUT MACIEJ ŁOPIŃSKI AS THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF TVP AND THE MOTION TO SUSPEND PACZUSKA: https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/490448-marzena-paczuska-zawieszona-nowym-prezesem-tvp-m-lopinski -- KACZYŃSKI REPEATED: “ANDRZEJ HAS GONE MAD” – PIOTR ZAREMBA IN DGP ON THE BACKGROUND OF THE DISPUTE: “Of course, Jarosław Kaczyński made the final decisions, as always. Three days earlier, he insisted on defending Kurski, even at the cost of a veto and open disagreement within the camp at the peak of the presidential campaign. He repeated to his associates that 'Andrzej has gone mad'. Yet, persuaded by advocates of unity in the camp like Joachim Brudziński, he backed down. Why? Political scientist Antoni Dudek put it concisely. 'Kurski's television can be made without Kurski, but PiS rule would be difficult to maintain without Duda.'” -- WERE THE ZIOBRO PEOPLE PLAYING TO ELIMINATE DUDA? – ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Reportedly, after a meeting with the president, he threatened to withdraw his support and transfer it to Mateusz Morawiecki if Duda were to veto. It is unknown if he said this during a conversation with the president himself, but the whole matter was immediately leaked to the media. This was done by people from Zbigniew Ziobro's circle, interested in weakening Duda, perhaps even his defeat. This would have eliminated one of the minister's main rivals – the current president. But rumors also leaked thanks to PiS politicians terrified by the scale of the conflict. Convinced that the leader's emotions needed to be curbed.” -- KURSKI, HOWEVER, ANGERED KACZYŃSKI – ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “At the last moment, Kurski also angered the PiS leader with his method of defense – especially a television report in which, by pressuring Duda, Lech Kaczyński's legacy was invoked. But it's possible that this anger is a bit of a rationalization of his own retreat.” -- FOR THE FIRST TIME, SOMEONE IN THIS CAMP PAID THE PRICE FOR RADICALISM – ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “And this allows us to formulate a more general conclusion. Perhaps getting rid of Kurski will help Duda in the campaign, or perhaps it will be irrelevant to his chances. However, for the first time, someone in this camp paid the price (though Kurski will get something for comfort) for toughness, overzealousness, and radicalism. And the leader turned out to be defeatable from within, at least in one game of chess. One can save him with the version that he invented it all himself. But the aura of his omnipotence is strained.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykul-prasowy/6454371,duda-kaczynski-pis-kurski-tvp-polityka-pieniadze.html -- THE BIRTH OF A STAR – MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ ON ŁUKASZ SZUMOWSKI: “Michał Szułdrzyński Minister of Health Łukasz Szumowski is a politician who is becoming the face of the fight against the epidemic. His position seems to grow with each passing day. (...) Szumowski has not worn out in two years. And during the current crisis, he was able to show his talents and become the face of the fight against the epidemic. Other politicians quickly noticed the rise in his political stock. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda hold press conferences with him to benefit from his image.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200309328-Szuldrzynski-Rozblysla-gwiazda-ministra-Szumowskiego.html -- IGNORING THE CJEU THREATENS WITH ACCUSATIONS OF POLEXIT – TOMASZ PIETRYGA IN RZ: “During the presidential campaign, ignoring the Tribunal's verdict can easily provoke polexit accusations, which have already harmed PiS during the local elections. This would be unfavorable for Andrzej Duda, who is fighting for centrist votes. Therefore, PiS is rather trying to maneuver by modifying disciplinary regulations so that Brussels' accusations do not hit their target. Such a move was already made in the case of the Supreme Court. The situation may repeat itself now.” https://www.rp.pl/Opinie/303099867-Tomasz-Pietryga-Manewry-PiS-przed-Trybunalem-ws-Izby-Dyscyplinarnej.html -- THE PRESIDENT OF NIK TALKS TO DGP ABOUT NOT EXPECTING HIS RESIGNATION: “I will not resign. I will not be intimidated by searches. I will be an independent controller of the activities of government administration bodies, the National Bank of Poland, state legal persons, and other state organizational units, including TVP, recently funded with PLN 2 billion under circumstances we all know. (...) But returning to your question: if the premises defined in the Constitution arise, I will comply with them. I only expect that the bodies of our state will adhere to the Constitution and binding legal norms, because only such action is a guarantee of Poland's independence.” -- BANAŚ TALKS ABOUT GUESTS IN THE FAMOUS TENEMENT HOUSE: “As I said before, I didn't have time to manage the tenement house or look for another manager, and given my son's decision, we decided to rent it out or, preferably, sell it. While looking for offers, a potential tenant contacted me – Dawid O., with whom I negotiated the rent. I firmly insisted on a rent of PLN 8,200. After further negotiations, a lease agreement with an option to purchase was concluded. I will add that many politicians and ministers stayed at the hotel, and even in this modest tenement house in Krakow, a team creating a new bank worked in deep secrecy for over half a year. (...) It's about Alior Bank.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/6454334,marian-banas-nik-polityk-tvp-pieniadze-pis-hotel-alior-bank.html -- PLN 2 BILLION AND KUPSKI'S HEAD MAY HELP PIS – MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI IN KRYTYKA: “Adjusting the public media's message to be sensitive even not to the 'broad center,' but to PiS's 'normals' from the provinces, could help the PiS campaign. And it's not about Rachoń and Holecka not lying and inciting, but about shifting accents, softening the language. And above all – improving the quality of local news, which interests the normals from smaller towns.” -- DON'T SCARE THE LEMMING, THE CORE ELECTORATE OF “GAZETA POLSKA IN THE TOILET” WILL VOTE ANYWAY – SUTOWSKI CONTINUES: “In this context, the simultaneous resignation of the propaganda icon and the transfer of funds to local radio and television is a perfect move. And it is, let's add, essentially cost-free. The core electorate, the one from 'Gazeta Polska in the toilet' and 'Sieci Prawdy' on the nightstand, will vote anyway. Because, firstly, even if they value President Kurski, the other president knows what he's doing. Secondly, it's war as usual. A conscious PiS activist, aware of their rights and duties, understands that when 'good change' itself is at stake, concessions must be made in the message, without scaring the lemming. Moreover, thirdly, there will be no dramatic cognitive dissonance, TVP will not turn into TVN or the BBC.” -- SUTOWSKI AGAIN ON NORMALS – IF I WERE THE OPPOSITION, I WOULD WATCH THIS DAILY, NON-POLITICAL TVP MESSAGE VERY CLOSELY: “The theater of political war at the top should not obscure the fact that the government is also fighting for voters' souls at the bottom. Especially in elections that require convincing the normals. Their decisions at the ballot box don't have to be decided by a major event, but by the mood, atmosphere, and spirit of the two months remaining until the first round. If I were an opposition strategist, I would also watch this daily, non-political TVP message very closely.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/2-miliardy-jacek-kurski-tvp/ -- WOMEN LIVING IN THE PROVINCES ARE 20% OF THE POPULATION, NOT 1% OF URBAN FEMINISM – KAROLINA OLEJAK IN KLUB JAGIELLOŃSKI: “Women living in rural areas constitute 20% of Poland's population. In public debate, their perspective and problems are absent. Contemporary Polish feminism is an urban '1% feminism,' ignoring the perspective and problems of women from rural areas. Did you know that women living in rural areas constitute 20% of Poland's population? We are talking about several million women here. Invisible in the media, left out of public debate, absent from social consciousness. Also absent from Polish urban feminism. The lifestyle and specific problems of several million women remain socially invisible.” -- MANIFESTO FEMINISM DOES NOT SEE MILLIONS OF WOMEN – OLEJAK'S CONCLUSION: “A few days ago, new manifestos passed through the streets of the largest Polish cities under the slogan 'There is no feminism without solidarity.' Among the slogans raised at the demonstrations were demands for sexual freedom and opposition to symbolic violence. One cannot help but feel that this manifesto feminism appeals for solidarity only to a not-very-large portion of Polish women, and does not see the millions who live daily in a place where, apart from the shop, church, fire station, and 30 houses, there are only open fields. As long as urban feminism does not take into account the specificity of the problems of women from rural areas, the main slogan of this year's manifesto will remain largely empty. And urban feminism itself will be '1% feminism.'” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2019/03/08/niewidzialne-20-polski/ -- THE ELECTION-WINNING MACHINE IS GRINDING – PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GW: “After the first month of the election campaign, everything has become less certain. Not only do we not know who will win, but also whether the elections will even take place due to the coronavirus. (...) For the first time in a long time, the election campaign is being fought based on topics suggested by the opposition and the blunders of the strongest candidate – President Duda.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25773145,dwa-miesiace-do-wyborow-maszyna-do-wygrywania-zgrzyta.html#S.main_topic-K.C-B.2-L.1.glowka -- KONFEDERACJA VOTERS MAY NOT WANT TO HELP DUDA – RAFAŁ ZAKRZEWSKI IN GW: “Will Krzysztof Bosak's electorate support the PiS candidate in the second round of elections? From the statements of Konfederacja politicians, it seems unlikely. (...) And the election could be decided by the Konfederacja electorate. But how is Duda supposed to run a campaign appealing to the center, while simultaneously seducing Korwin and Braun voters? The question remains. And it's unclear whether the sharp course taken by President Duda and his supporters will attract Konfederacja voters. For Konfederacja, the presidential elections primarily serve to mobilize and strengthen their formation. They fight and will always fight PiS for the extreme, Catholic electorate. The less PiS, the more Konfederacja. Therefore, I think we will not hear from Konfederacja leaders a call to support the PiS candidate in the second round.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25757375,konfederacja-kontra-prezydent-duda.html -- BRONISŁAW KOMOROWSKI IN YESTERDAY'S FAKT ABOUT CAMPAIGN TROLLS: “Back then, hardly anyone knew about Andrzej Duda. It's hard to connect events five years apart. But as always, successes and failures have many sources. To this day, I wonder why this internet attack, carried out, as I believe, by a hired company, was so effective. In 2010, I won because politicians attacked me, not trolls. Five years later, I wrongly thought that Poles wouldn't take this internet sludge seriously. But the campaign was very brutal. Its symbol became throwing a chair on stage in Krakow and whistling in Nowy Targ, directed by PiS MP Anna Paluch. The smear campaign and outright lies turned out to be effective. No one minded the dissemination of false accusations, for example, that I jumped on a speaker's chair in the Japanese parliament, even though the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied it, as there was no chair or seat there... It turned out that you can convince people of almost anything.” -- KOMOROWSKI WARNS KIDAWY'S CAMPAIGN: “– Against underestimating the significance of pro-PiS internet trolls and the consequences of the excesses of propaganda from media once called public.” -- KOMOROWSKI ON DUDA WRITING ON TWITTER WITH A “FOREST PROVERB”: “President Duda embarrassed himself, among other things, by corresponding on Twitter, likely in secret from his wife, with some strange ladies. How does that look? An important politician corresponds at night with a 'foxy lady' or some 'forest proverb,' or something like that. The male temptation to correspond with young ladies reveals not only a lack of life maturity but also, I believe, political maturity.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/bronislaw-komorowski-o-kampanii-andrzeja-dudy-i-swojej-prezydenturze/eq93pk6 -- GW WRITES ABOUT THE ANTI-PIS PAST OF PAD'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: “– Starting in the Senate elections on the PiS list, now working for Duda?! We are in shock, Kieryłło is our Milanówek elite, just about a year and a half ago they were anti-PiS. Now Jola is working for the 'good change' and Duda. For us, it's unthinkable – laments a former acquaintance.” -- GW REPRINTS ONE OF THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER'S HUSBAND'S POEMS: “In Poland, they wanted to change tradition so that on the eve of Thanksgiving Day they would no longer look for a turkey but put Kaczyński in the oven Whether with apples or with beetroot After such a dish, there is always…” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25773605,gryzelda-z-milanowka-herbu-gozdawa.html#S.main_topic-K.C-B.1-L.1.duzy -- A NEW GUST OF HISTORY – MAREK CICHOCKI ON THE DEPTHS OF FEAR AND INSTABILITY IN EUROPE: “Undoubtedly, what is happening in Europe today has revealed vast depths of fear and instability, which in consequence will rather weaken faith in the permanence, and perhaps even the meaning, of structures of order such as the European Union. Naturally, in search of security, people will hide behind their traditional, national states. By seeking refuge behind their closed borders, will they also come to the conclusion that deeper European integration is no longer needed? The near future will answer this question.” https://teologiapolityczna.pl/kryzys-epidemia-i-nowy-podmuch-historii -- BIRTHDAYS: Maksymilian Rigamonti, Anna Karaszewska, Joanna Osińska, Artur Dunin, Adam Abramowicz.