-- ITALIANS TALK TO EACH OTHER SITTING IN WINDOWS - REPORT FROM INDEPENDENT FROM CLOSED ROME: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/coronavirus-italy-siena-song-canto-della-verbena-video-lockdown-a9399176.html -- MULLER REASSURES SHOPS AND BANKS, TURCZYNOWICZ RESIGNS, TUSK APPEALS TO POSTPONE ELECTIONS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/03/14/ -- THE RIGHT STILL DOESN'T WANT TO POSTPONE ELECTIONS - Grzegorz Osiecki, Tomasz Żółciak in DGP: “The question of further consequences arises. According to our interlocutors from the United Right camp, the situation – despite everything – has not yet matured enough to seriously consider postponing the presidential election date. And it's hard to be surprised, because the current situation naturally favors the ruling party. This impression is amplified by the phenomenon of ubiquitous fake news. Suddenly, it turns out that we have at least one person among our acquaintances who has contact in the army, services, or government, who has 'first-hand' information about the central administration's next actions.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/6462174,koronawirus-polska-rzad-decyzje.html -- THE FINANCIAL ADVANTAGE OF “BIG” PARTIES WILL LOSE SIGNIFICANCE IN THIS SITUATION - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “The financial advantage of candidates supported by the largest parties may become much less significant. Buying ads on social media platforms and online allows for much more precise targeting while radically reducing costs compared to traditional advertising. Secondly, it can lead to unexpected electoral results, their 'flattening'. In an online campaign, a few good ideas, a good understanding of how social media works, can allow smaller committees to close the gap with large party machines.” -- SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON A SOCIETY SUSCEPTIBLE TO FAKE NEWS: “Another fundamental problem is related to this, namely disinformation. Low book readership, declining newspaper readership, educational problems – these are all factors that make society as a whole easier to manipulate. The lower the individual citizens' competencies, the greater the risk associated with disinformation.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/200319681-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Polityka-i-korona-wirus-Jak-dezinformacja-moze-wywrocic-kampanie.html -- PiS THREW IT IN THE BIN - WOJCIECH CZUCHNOWSKI IN GW: “In 2015, the PiS government abandoned a program that would help fight the epidemic today. Instead, the Ministry of Interior and Administration focused on surveillance methods. (...) Insp. Majer says that if the program had been implemented, there would be no problems obtaining equipment necessary to fight the coronavirus epidemic today: masks, protective suits, and protective equipment. – We would simply reach into the warehouses. Four State Fire Service commands were designated to oversee warehouses with equipment, field hospital supplies, and specialized decontamination units. Quarantine centers for victims and those at risk were to be ready for activation. All it would take is to press the proverbial button, and the system would start working – explains the police officer, adding that the entire program was to be financed by EU funds.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25787246,koronawirus-pis-wyrzucil-do-kosza-program-na-kryzys-epidemiologiczny.html -- KACZYŃSKI TURNED DUDAS INTO FOOLED NAIVÉS - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN PTT: “Offended that he was cornered on the Kursski issue, the PiS leader made his candidate into a fooled naif. Why? Because he cannot tolerate even a moment of partnership with anyone. Because he had to remind everyone who the sole boss in this camp is. To achieve this, he was willing to risk his camp losing the presidency, because humiliating Duda increases such a risk. A significant event.” -- SLIGHTLY TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT OPTIMISM VS OPPOSITION DOOM-SAYING - ZAREMBA FURTHER: “We are dealing with perhaps slightly too much government optimism and opposition doom-saying. And conversations are almost exclusively about the virus, as can be seen by checking what Poles are googling and clicking on. So the election campaign, increasingly pushed into the media, is revolving around it. Increasingly insistent questions are also being asked about the election date itself. Politicians and commentators associated with the opposition do not have a single opinion on this. They complain that the current situation favors the rulers, which would be an argument for a later date. But they also fear manipulation of the term of office.” -- THE SOMETIMES COMPLICATED AND SOMETIMES GROTESQUE NATURE OF THE RULING CAMP - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: “However, a rumor has emerged in government circles that if the elections had to be moved to autumn, Jarosław Kaczyński, still offended at Duda, might try to change the candidate. He allegedly threatened this during the 'Kursski war'. Of course, he would be getting rid of a candidate significantly strengthened by the epidemic. And even after several months, he would have trouble explaining such a move. But he might try to replace him with Mateusz Morawiecki, who will also be visible while dealing with the catastrophe. It's possible these are just so-called fake news. But Kaczyński's previous behavior towards his candidate does not make this news entirely improbable. The epidemic has suspended many political dilemmas, but it has not invalidated the logic of Polish politics. This applies to both government-opposition relations and the complicated, and sometimes grotesque, nature of the ruling camp itself.” https://polskatimes.pl/epidemia-zawiesila-niektore-dylematy-ale-nie-uniewaznila-logiki-polskiej-polityki/ -- SUDDENLY THE OPPOSITION GETS A WEAPON AGAINST THE PiS CANDIDATE FROM THE CHAIRMAN - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: “In reality, Kaczyński outplayed him, but that doesn't invalidate the questions. Suddenly, in the middle of the campaign, the opposition receives a weapon against the PiS candidate from the PiS chairman. Duda's supporters can, of course, console themselves that, given the raging epidemic, most Poles are not observing this, that something completely different matters in the campaign. The only thing is, this is an argument for the thesis that no political action or inaction makes sense today. Friday's spectacle was addressed to the approximately one million Poles who are still passionate about politics. And before their eyes, Duda first defeated Kaczyński, trying to break out of his own party, and then Kaczyński defeated Duda, taking revenge for it. And the camp as a whole loses.” -- IT IS UNKNOWN TO WHAT EXTENT KURSKI CONTRIBUTED TO THE RIGHT'S SUCCESSES - ZAREMBA FURTHER IN RZ: “The question of whether this electorate would not support PiS anyway, even with more nuanced forms of communication, was not asked. The connection between Poles and the social right was to be strengthened by large musical and sports events, as well as disco polo. Since it was assumed that Kurski contributed to victory, he was forgiven everything. During recent election campaigns, he downplayed Prime Minister Morawiecki whenever possible, and supported Zbigniew Ziobro's party, Solidarna Polska, which resulted in the Minister of Justice bringing his own loyal team into parliament and being able to check Kaczyński. Incidentally, it is only worth mentioning the sins more directly related to the medium itself. Kurski used television to incessantly promote himself, organized pseudo-communist rituals in his own honor, and squandered money. It is unknown to what extent he ultimately contributed to the right's victory.” -- IT WAS ENOUGH THAT TVP PLEASED KACZYŃSKI, THAT'S HOW THIS CAMP IS CONSTRUCTED - ZAREMBA FURTHER: “After the parliamentary elections, it was rumored that he would be considered co-responsible for the unsatisfactory result, that the Senate was lost because of him. They were supposedly preparing a position as Minister of Sport for him. But he escaped the knife – probably most because what he did gave Kaczyński satisfaction. I dare to suggest that he was amused, and perhaps thought it was the implementation of the 'divide and rule' principle, even humiliating Morawiecki. Incidentally, few of the leading PiS politicians truly liked Kurski's television – and certainly not the president and the prime minister. And not just because it sometimes turned against them. It was enough that Kaczyński liked it. That's how this camp is constructed.” -- AND WHY NOT KURSKI AGAIN? - ZAREMBA FURTHER: “After the elections, they will look for a chairman who satisfies another chairman 100 percent. And why not Kurski again? Ridiculousness is a very illusory obstacle here. This camp and this system of power are built for various goals and circumstances. But it seems that Kaczyński's personal satisfaction is a powerful factor. And since the chairman has health problems, is getting older, and is increasingly sensitive to his own psychological comfort, the role of this factor is increasing. One could, of course, argue that the interests of other people are lurking behind this satisfaction. For Zbigniew Ziobro, whose people spread rumors about the conflict between Kaczyński and Duda as much as they could, the electoral success of the latter is not a goal at all. On the contrary, if the current president loses, it will clear the field for Ziobro.” -- WILL THE CURRENT MOCKERY OF THE PRESIDENT BY PiS NOT BACKFIRE? - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: “It is said that if Duda wins, as a politician serving his last term, he may be freer, more independent. However, assertiveness, even breaking people, reminding them who the sole boss is, is the favorite occupation not of his, but of Jarosław Kaczyński. But even if the 'good change' camp willingly takes on its leader's emotions, Duda will have the right of veto. So it is unknown whether the current mockery of the president will not backfire. And in the end, who would be supposed to achieve victory over whom? Pure absurdity.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/200319678-Prezes-Jaroslaw-Kaczynski-upokorzyl-Andrzeja-Dude.html -- THE STAKES ARE NOT PiS REMAINING IN POWER - JAROSŁAW KURSKI IN GW: “Firstly, a government antagonized with half of society cannot be effective. Secondly, society can entrust unlimited power only to someone it trusts. Therefore, we must sit down at the table. The government with the opposition. The opposition with the government. The opposition, too – despite the worst experiences so far, the conflict over the rule of law, citizens' rights and democracy, despite constant attacks in government media – should rise above and delegate its specialists to crisis management, and cooperate with the government. The government and the president must understand that it is no longer about whether PiS will remain in power.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25788056,stawka-jest-nie-wasza-wladza-ale-zycie-polakow.html -- HEALTHCARE IS ALREADY OPERATING AT ITS LIMIT EVERY DAY - JAKUB BODZIONY IN KL: “The Polish healthcare system, which operates at its limit every day, has no chance of reacting efficiently during an epidemic. Therefore, mitigating the effects of the crisis depends on each of us. There can be no exceptions, especially in the case of the Church.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/03/13/koronawirus-w-polsce-rzad-pandemia/ -- JANUSZ ŚNIADEK ANNOUNCES ŻABKA CLOSURE ON SUNDAYS - in conversation with Łukasz Pawłowski in KL: “Announcements are appearing – which I am not surprised by at all – from some other, slightly larger chains, that they also intend to use a similar trick. Most likely, this will end with post offices being excluded entirely from the exceptions allowing work on Sundays. In my opinion, this is the most probable solution, which, I believe, may be introduced quite soon.” -- HOW MANY VOTER CIRCLES ARE WE LOSING DUE TO GOWIN'S IDEAS? - ŚNIADEK FURTHER IN KL: “To these accusations, I could respond with a question: how much damage and how many circles of voters are we losing due to some of Deputy Prime Minister Gowin's ideas? Starting with the deregulation of professions and the dramatically difficult situations that his actions have created, for example, in the taxi industry. The person of the Deputy Prime Minister is not very reliable for resolving certain social issues, in particular. On the other hand, his perspective certainly enriches our discussions in the club with various points of view.” -- WE ARE CONVINCED ABOUT CLOSING ŻABKA ON SUNDAYS - ŚNIADEK FURTHER: “Yes, that's something we are convinced about. If it turns out that this exception is used more widely – which seems to be the case – then the matter will mature to react to it firmly.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/03/10/sniadek-zabka-handel-niedziela-sklepy-wywiad/ -- WOJCIECH MANN IN GW ON THE DECONSTRUCTION OF RADIO BY PiS NOMINEES: “The destruction of the radio has been going on for a long time, as I mentioned in a short online statement. Mindlessly incompetent. Because who in their right mind, intending to take over the media, i.e., information, propaganda, and entertainment, simultaneously destroys this tool? I couldn't comprehend that. If someone looks at well-conducted 'listenership' surveys, then from the moment a group of 'experts' started 'fixing' what didn't need fixing, the listenership plummeted. And no conclusions were drawn. What's more, they stepped on the gas to make it fall even faster.” -- THE CURRENT COURSE IS NOTHINGNESS - MANN FURTHER: “I really don't know. If this course is maintained, it's nothingness. I'm leaving with a sense of bitterness, but I won't slander my station. Well, not my station anymore, but there was a lot of good there once. What was forcibly put on the air didn't really blend with Trójka anyway. For me, it wasn't Trójka. It was interruptions in Trójka radio.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25783553,wojciech-mann-po-odejsciu-z-trojki-mam-nadwrazliwosc-na.html -- 30 YEARS AGO - 1990: The Central Statistical Office announced that inflation over twelve months amounted to 1360%. -- BIRTHDAYS: Józefa Szczurek-Żelazko, Aleksandra Chalimoniuk, SUNDAY: Katarzyna Hall, Janusz Piechociński, Aleksandra Jakubowska, Joanna Tomaszewska, Jerzy Wilk.