-- 21 YEARS AGO, POLAND JOINED NATO. -- 91ST BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF PROF. JÓZEF TISCHNER. -- HOW TISCHNER WAS FRIENDS WITH THE POPE: https://www.polskieradio.pl/8/529/Artykul/578137,Jak-sie-Tischner-z-papiezem-przyjaznil -- IT LOOKS LIKE AN ATTEMPT TO SILENCE AN ACTIVIST AND A CONSPIRACY OF POWERFUL ENVIRONMENTS - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI ON ANOTHER FINE FOR JAN ŚPIEWAK: “Let no one feel personally offended, but from the perspective of an ordinary person who knows about the tenement house cleaners, Jolanta Brzeska, blind judges, and lawyers of the reprivatization mafia, it looks like an attempt to destroy and silence an activist by a conspiracy of powerful environments whose pathologies he reveals. I completely do not understand why lawyers who are essentially pro-democracy are giving such ammunition to Ziobro and Duda, who will use it to justify taking control over 'demoralized judges and lawyers'. -- IF THAT IS THE CASE, ŚPIEWAK IS RIGHT - SUCH COURTS ARE DANGEROUS FOR DEMOCRACY: “A civil lawsuit is less harmful to democracy and freedom of speech, because losing it does not deprive one of the right to hold office. Provided that the financial consequences are reasonable. That is the responsibility of the court. Activists are by nature people with hotter heads and faster tongues. Indifferent people sit at home. Would a court that has issued a judgment ruining a young activist socially defending the public good want to live in a country where no one fights against the windmills of dishonest lawyers, mobsters, and politicians, because all Śpiewaks have been ruined by judgments? If so, Śpiewak is right. Such courts are dangerous for freedom and democracy.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25780004,sluszna-kara-czy-knebel-dla-spiewaka.html -- KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ'S REAL GOAL - KRYSTYNA NASZKOWSKA IN GW: “He will probably lose the fight for the presidency in the first round. But he will win anyway, because he will be remembered as a politician whom a much wider electorate than the populist one is willing to accept.” -- IT'S NOT JUST THE PEASANTS WHO WILL SAY THAT IF THE OPPOSITION HAD BACKED KOSINIAK, HE WOULD HAVE WON AGAINST DUDA - NASZKOWSKA'S CONCLUSION: “Kosiniak-Kamysz is young, he has time for the presidency, he is building his position for the future. And if he performs well now, he could become head of state in five years. Now he just needs to convince as many people as possible to see and listen to him. But if Andrzej Duda defeats the Civic Platform candidate in the second round, it won't be just the peasants who will say that if the opposition had backed Kosiniak-Kamysz, he would have won against Duda.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25779996,prawdziwy-cel-kosiniaka-kamysza-buduje-pozycje-na-przyszlosc.html -- WOULD THE OPPOSITION REPLACE KIDAWĘ WITH KOSINIAK IF THE ELECTIONS ARE POSTPONED? - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “Overall, it's worth noting that the opposition is quite willingly and warmly discussing postponing the elections. After all, in line with the logic of recent years, it should have unleashed hysteria about a supposed PiS conspiracy, through which the authorities want to rule for a few more months. If there is no such hysteria, if there is supportive goodwill for postponing the elections, then something might be behind it. Perhaps the idea of replacing Kidawa-Błońska with Kosiniak-Kamysz. An idea that has been circulating for quite some time. Because after all, the PSL leader is behaving so confidently, as if he knows that this current arrangement is just a trial run.” -- HE LACKS BASIC COMPETENCES - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “From this perspective, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska's 'address' yesterday is an important moment. It clearly showed that the Civic Platform candidate lacks the basic competence to hold the office of president. This refers primarily to communication skills, the ability to speak, the ability to construct reasonably coherent sentences. All of that is missing. Amateur acting skills remain. And although those who know Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska and claim that she is pleasant and relaxed in private are likely right, it doesn't change anything. In politics, the stage is important, though of course, not only the stage.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/490782-czy-w-razie-przelozenia-wyborow-opozycja-wycofa-kidawe -- ONET - NEWSLETTER TITLE: STATE OF EMERGENCY IS GETTING CLOSER: “Although no one in power is admitting it officially yet, the scenario of introducing a state of emergency in Poland in the near future, and consequently postponing the presidential elections scheduled for May to a later date, is certainly being considered. After all, campaigning under current conditions is completely impossible, and politicians, instead of fighting each other, should be doing everything to help all Poles with their actions.” -- KIDAWA APPEALS FOR GREATER TEST AVAILABILITY: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/03/12/ -- STANISŁAW KARCZEWSKI MYSTERIOUSLY ON A CONVERSATION WITH GRODZKI - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA FROM RADIO MARYJA ON TWITTER: The Senate session has been moved to 3 PM. It may be cancelled. Speaker @profGrodzki gave me crucial information today that I cannot share further at this time. https://twitter.com/zuzanna_dab/status/1238033017676890112 -- STRICT VERIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT ACTIONS IS NECESSARY - MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI in Krytyka Polityczna: “Strict verification of the government's actions, pointing out mistakes, and forcing it to act not only effectively but also decently is a condition for our seniors not to start dying by the hundreds. It won't be easy. And doing so without getting entangled in the government's immediate campaign game with the opposition is a real squaring of the circle. However, it is necessary for more of us to survive in good health.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/koronawirus-panstwo-instytucje-zaufanie-wspolpraca-michal-sutowski/ -- ABSTRACTING FROM THE SITUATION - DUDA'S CAMPAIGN IS IN RUINS - JACEK GĄDEK in GAZETA.PL: “The problem is that the PiS campaign team doesn't have a ready, good alternative. From our conversations with politicians from the president's and PiS's camp, it appears that the campaign is in a fluid state. Because the head, Jolanta Turczynowicz-Kieryłło, has come under media fire, and more troublesome stories about her are emerging. Because the campaign is being run by Anna Plakwicz and Piotr Matczuk, whom the president did not want and does not value. Because the campaign team is getting bogged down in discussions, and the quarrel over Jacek Kurski has conflicted the entire camp. And to top it off, the program convention, where Duda was supposed to present his promises, is suspended - it was supposed to take place in the second half of March but has been postponed. It is unknown for when. The dynamics of the pandemic do not allow for comfortable planning.” -- PARADOXICALLY, TVP'S ROLE WILL INCREASE - GĄDEK CONTINUES: “TVP's role will increase. It's a paradox: Andrzej Duda led to the resignation of TVP president Jacek Kurski, but now TVP is practically still under the control of 'Kura' (formally only an advisor to the new board). And a second paradox: today Duda is even more dependent on his biggest opponent in the PiS camp - Jacek Kurski.” -- PRESSURE FOR DEBATES WILL INCREASE - GĄDEK CONTINUES: “Furthermore, pressure for televised debates will increase, and there may be more of them than usual. And these are a natural opportunity for the peloton of candidates - not for the poll leader. In such debates, the first topic must remain the coronavirus. Because today, Poles are talking about this.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,25779372,pis-i-andrzej-duda-po-raz-pierwszy-zdaja-test-z-polityki-wydarzen.html -- DRASTICALLY AND QUICKLY INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TESTS - TOMASZ GRODZKI IN CONVERSATION WITH RZ: “This epidemic will sweep across the world, and we should focus our efforts on detecting infected individuals as quickly as possible. Therefore, we must drastically and quickly increase the number of tests. In Poland, we have performed just over 1600, in Germany 200,000, and this is a more effective method of detecting infected individuals than quarantine, which on a mass scale can have negative economic consequences today.” -- GERMANY HAS ADOPTED THE TACTIC OF PERFORMING THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TESTS RATHER THAN QUARANTINE - GRODZKI CONTINUES in RZ: “Our neighbours across the Oder have adopted the tactic of performing the maximum number of tests to detect infected individuals, and only isolate them. We have adopted the tactic of quarantine for 99.9% of people who are probably healthy and hopefully will remain healthy. In my opinion – and this was discussed at the National Security Council – we should move towards active detection, i.e., drastically increasing the number of tests, which are already available in Poland. Do you know how many tests we have? According to the Minister of Health, at the moment – because at the beginning there was indeed some problem with these tests – we have over 50,000 tests available, and Polish laboratories are capable of performing about 2,000 tests per day. We have something to test with, we have a way to test, and we should use it. These tests should not be sitting in warehouses.” -- FIRST WEEKS WASTED BY THE GOVERNMENT - GRODZKI CONTINUES: “I am glad that the Senate is playing a positive role in the fight against this epidemic, but the first weeks were evidently wasted by the government due to the false theory that we would cope, that the coronavirus would reach everywhere except our happy land.” -- THE DECISION TO CLOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE EARLIER - STANISŁAW MAKSYMOWICZ in Nowa Konfederacja: “The decision to close all educational institutions, universities, and cultural institutions was necessary for epidemiological, systemic, and social reasons. However, it should have been made earlier and without exceptions.” https://nowakonfederacja.pl/wielkie-zamkniecie/ -- MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON HOW EDUCATION CAN USE QUARANTINE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL LEAP - writes in RZ: “Quarantine can thus force universities to implement solutions that may become the beginning of a technological revolution in the entire system. Besides, Poles are masters of improvisation. And just as they like to find ways to circumvent regulations, they are also incredibly enterprising and think outside the box. I am not downplaying the risk of coronavirus, but it is worth using the quarantine time sensibly. It is enough that we start by realizing that this is not a vacation.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200319767-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Wykorzystajmy-te-kwarantanne.html -- THE FIRST WEEKS OF THE CAMPAIGN WERE UNSUCCESSFUL FOR DUDA, SO THE IMPRESSION IS THAT HE IS CAMPAIGNING ON THE VIRUS - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ in RZ: “Daily briefings, an address to the nation, visiting borders, and even the National Security Council, which the opposition previously couldn't get, make the president, even without anything to convey about the coronavirus, look like he is on the front line of the fight against the epidemic. The impression is that Andrzej Duda wants to campaign on the coronavirus. All the more so because the first weeks of the fight for the presidency were unsuccessful for him, pointing to a weak convention and a politically suicidal fight with PiS for influence in TVP. Usually, in difficult state situations, society unites around the authorities, and in Poland, the PiS candidate for president is an integral part of it.” -- THE PRESIDENT SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE DEBATE - NIZINKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “When candidates do not have equal chances in the campaign, the postponement of elections should be considered. The authorities want to avoid such a scenario, hoping that their candidate will benefit from an unusual campaign. They are also postponing presidential debates. And it's high time we heard what the candidates have ideas for responding in a crisis situation. Andrzej Duda should participate in the debate in the first round, just as he expected from Bronisław Komorowski in the previous elections, and explain what he has done to protect health.” https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/200319749-Kampania-w-cieniu-wirusa-Nierowna-walka-wyborcza.html -- WHAT WAS MISSING IN GĄDECKI'S COMMUNICATION - TOMASZ KRZYŻAK in RZ: “However, the bishops must clearly tell the faithful – and this was missing in Archbishop Gądecki's communication – that there are situations when missing Sunday Mass is not a sin. It would also be worth recalling that for Christians in a situation of compulsion, not their fault, the Church recommends alternative ways of celebrating Sunday: individual prayer or prayer with the family. And now, it seems, we are in such a situation.” https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/200319765-Tomasz-Krzyzak-Polski-Kosciol-odpusci-wiernym-msze.html -- I AM NOT ASHAMED OF RAISING THE RETIREMENT AGE - WKK IN CONVERSATION WITH ONET: “I am not ashamed of it. (...) Shame is one thing, and drawing conclusions and listening to the voice of society is another. Society did not want an extension of working hours. (...) You cannot govern against society. This does not mean, of course, that I do not see the complexity of this issue. Other options can be considered – for example, exempting from tax people who reach retirement age and want to continue working.” -- KOSINIAK ON A COMMISSION TO HOLD PIS ACCOUNTABLE - WITHOUT COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY: “I would be in favor of establishing a Justice and Rule of Law Commission in the new Sejm, which would have to clarify many matters and scandals. However, I will never be in favor of collective responsibility. Only those individuals who have committed crimes or betrayed their oaths should be held accountable.” -- THE PRESIDENT SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE - KOSINIAK CONTINUES in ONET: “Well, a person who is an authority for me answered that question – Prof. Adam Strzembosz. He stated that Andrzej Duda broke the Constitution seven times. Yes, definitely – the president should be held accountable.” -- KOSINIAK ON ELITE INDIFFERENCE DURING REPRIVATIZATION: “The reprivatization scandal did not only concern Warsaw and unfortunately it is a fact. With the complete indifference of the elites, many people were wronged. (...) The question is whether the Commission's actions were lawful. Of course, accepting a comprehensive reprivatization act would have been a better solution, but I think the authorities of Warsaw should be guided not only by the law but also by elementary justice.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wybory-prezydenckie-2020-wladyslaw-kosiniak-kamysz-nie-wstydze-sie-podwyzszenia-wieku/ -- INTERESTING LONG READ ON HOW SOME COUNTRIES ARE DEALING WITH THE VIRUS: https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1945750,1,niektore-kraje-odnosza-sukcesy-w-walce-z-covid-19.read -- BIRTHDAYS: Janina Ochojska, Leszek Czarnobaj, Thomas Orchowski, Grzegorz Witkowski.