-- DEPUTY MINISTER OF CULTURE TO ZAIKS: “We recommend that collective management organizations, which sometimes possess enormous funds, allocate them to help artists during this difficult time. He assessed that large organizations of this type could become more involved in helping creators.” https://www.portalsamorzadowy.pl/polityka-i-spoleczenstwo/lewandowski-zalecamy-organizacjom-zbiorowego-zarzadzania-aby-przeznaczaly-swoje-srodki-na-pomoc-artystom,173307.html -- SZUMOWSKI SPEAKS LIKE A POLITICIAN - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN BIULETYN ONETU: “Szumowski, by supporting the May elections, does not speak like a doctor, but like a politician. It should be remembered that the fight against the epidemic promoted him, propelling him to the top of the polls. Since Szumowski allowed himself to be infected by the virus of politics – he enjoyed power, high recognition, and good ratings – as a politician, he could not oppose Kaczyński. If only because in his political calculations and dreams, he unequivocally bets on President Kaczyński, having abandoned his previous patron, the rebellious Jarosław Gowin. Doctors' principle: primum non nocere does not apply to politicians. They have completely different slogans.” -- ZIEMOWIT SZCZEREK APPEALS NOT TO BOYCOTT THE ELECTIONS, WRITER POINTS TO KOSINIAK - in an article for Liberte, repeating his Facebook posts: “If you boycott these elections, Duda will win in the first round, and PiS will have legitimacy for the next 3.5 years to do whatever they want, and in 3 years everything will be different than it is now. Just as everything today was hardly imaginable a few years ago. It doesn't have much political significance, anyway, because Duda is Duda, and a President is a President and can do what he can, but it has enormous psychological significance for the opposition. Such a chance must not be wasted. I have a feeling that Kosiniak has a chance against Duda in the second round.” -- STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE BOYCOTT - SZCZEREK CONTINUES: “So stop complaining about the boycott and go vote, or vote by mail, even though this way of voting is undemocratic. Too bad. The absent have no voice, no one asks for their opinion, and history usually doesn't care about the reason for absence, even if you show an L4 certificate.” -- LIKE IN KRAV MAGA - IF YOU CAN LAND A BLOW, YOU SHOULD - SZCZEREK CONTINUES: “So I implore you: we must at least try to win, and then think about what's next, not just lie down and be run over. After all, the options don't change and their number doesn't decrease; elections can still be challenged, and the participation of voters for the opposition does not change the fact of legal irregularities. Besides, what do we really want to achieve by challenging? To get it overturned by party judges? To get the case stuck in the EU and deepen the country's marginalization, including ours, and the greater the marginalization, the more PiS will be able to do because they won't care anyway? Will we also not participate in the parliamentary elections? Of course, the way the elections are organized must be challenged, but we must not count on it being our only way to victory in such a situation! If there is a second round, many things can happen. And with this 20-30 percent turnout, it's probably better to mobilize the electorate than demobilize it, because it might turn out that Bosak enters the second round thanks to the mobilization of "Nazis." I believe that you have to fight cheaters like in Krav Maga: if you can land a blow, you should. The opponent sometimes has to reveal themselves, even if they control the situation, and we must look for such moments, not avoid them, because we will never defeat them.” -- CZARZASTY: THERE WILL BE NO ELECTION BOYCOTT: “But if they happen, if PiS goes crazy and introduces these elections on May 10, then as far as I'm concerned, I'm speaking on behalf of Lewica: we will fight, meaning no boycott. I will encourage Mr. Biedroń – he must make the final decision – and my partners to be the ones who will lead the rebellion and simply say to both Mr. Duda and PiS: “As you are constantly breaking the law, we will generally participate in these elections and defeat you.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/496305-plan-platformy-sie-sypie-czarzasty-zadnego-bojkotu -- KOSINIAK WANTS TO PLAY THE ROLE OF ZSL TOWARDS PIS - SŁAWOMIR NITRAS in conversation with Agata Burzyńska in Fakt: “General Jaruzelski organized such elections, and Kaczyński is doing it today. We do not agree to this. And we will not participate in such a farce. I professionally dealt with electoral law. Worldwide, mail-in elections are supplementary elections. But no one knows such a form on which mail-in elections are to be the only way to cast votes. President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, whom I respect, a few days ago urged us to change the constitution with Mr. Gowin and Mr. Kaczyński. Today – to support one candidate in elections that are a fiction. If Mr. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has the desire to play the role that ZSL played for 45 years in Polish history, then be my guest, but not with us.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/koronawirus-raport-faktu-slawomir-nitras-z-po-o-wyborach-prezydenckich/ye4cjhe -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON FB ABOUT RADZIWIŁŁ: “(...) When the Mazovian Voivode, a doctor, fines a nurse who is feeding her 5-month-old own child because she does not want to comply with the order, I get the impression that politicians can also be… (and a foul word here). How did the former Minister of Health imagine this. It is unknown; only platitudes about the war with the virus come from Konstanty Radziwiłł's lips. But even during wartime, there are exceptions to conscription.” -- FAKT ON SZUMOWSKI ON THE FRONT PAGE: VOTED AGAINST TESTS FOR DOCTORS: https://www.press.pl/jedynki/pokaz/505/2020-04-18 -- TOMCZYK ON REFERRING SZUMOWSKI TO THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, HOŁOWNIA ON SUING THE GOVERNMENT - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/04/18/ -- ZAREMBA ON KACZYŃSKI: THE CHARM OF AN EASTERN KACHYK - writes in RZ: “The stubbornness regarding the May presidential elections is completely associated with Jarosław Kaczyński, who communicated his will with the charm of an eastern kachyk, without attempting to reconcile anything with anyone. The demonstration of the leader and his entourage crowding in Piłsudski Square while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Smoleńsk catastrophe, and then with an excursion to cemeteries inaccessible to Poles, is also him.” -- ZAREMBA ON TVP WITH PROPAGANDA SHOWS IN THE BELARUSIAN STYLE - continues in RZ: “To defend him, TVP revealed that there were many such cemeteries, not just one, which is a demonstration of propaganda in the Belarusian style. It is unknown what to admire more here: the impudence or the pyramidal stupidity. And yet this government does not have to fear much. PiS holds first place among parties, and President Andrzej Duda, with his over 50% approval, is ready for another term. Most Poles seem not to believe that mail-in elections would be safe, well-organized, or fair. But other scenarios are even more vague.” -- THE AVERAGE POLE REMEMBERS THE CARELESS COURSE OF TUSK AND KOPACZ: “Most Poles are afraid and believe that this government guarantees them greater security. But the average Pole also probably doesn't believe that they would cope better with other rulers. They remember the careless course of Donald Tusk and Ewa Kopacz regarding swine flu. They remember the healthcare system from their time. Łukasz Szumowski at least has a seriousness that was lacking in the Platform's health ministers, which has drawn people as far from the right as Marek Balicki to him. The discussion about the earlier squandering of money on social programs is also not very convincing. Few believe that previous teams would have found more money to save entrepreneurs or people on precarious contracts in the face of a catastrophe. Morawiecki's shield may be leaky in many places. But Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz's "titanium shield" or Senator Tomasz Grodzki's "dam instead of a shield" are even less convincing.” -- IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS IS A SIGNAL OF A CHANGE OF GUARD ON THE OPPOSITION'S SIDE - ZAREMBA in RZ: “The opposition also has a dilemma. Stumbles in the campaign of PO candidate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska destroyed her no less than her strange decision to run, but nevertheless, "boycott" the elections. Her line of senseless, often poorly documented accusations proved less effective than Kosiniak-Kamysz's more restrained and thought-out approach. It is possible that this is a signal of some change of guard on the opposition side. But the superficial, false, plebiscitary nature of the May elections makes such a change of guard difficult. Because it pushes a significant part of the opposition circles and many ordinary Poles preoccupied with matters other than elections towards boycott reflexes. In theory, Kosiniak-Kamysz could face Duda, proclaiming one thing: "We did not want these elections, we believe we should think about something else, but since you are imposing them on us, we will try to punish you for your indecency." And it is unknown what would win then.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/304179995-Kaczynski-na-cmentarzu-kiksy-Kidawy-Polityka-tez-choruje.html -- PIS PAINTED ITS OWN FACE - ZAREMBA in POLSAT NEWS: “At the height of the ongoing dispute over the May elections, and after the faux pas of ostentatiously breaking the rules imposed on all Poles on April 10, PiS did not need the image of a formation that, instead of fighting the epidemic, deals with ideological issues. However, its leaders decided to paint their own faces – by submitting draft bills to the Sejm, including one expanding anti-abortion bans or responding to the threat of pedophilia.” -- ZAREMBA ON WITEK, SASIN, AND TERLECKI - VIRTUOSOS OF INCOMPETENCE AND IRRESPONSIBILITY: "If this were to be some tool of manipulation, it was chosen exceptionally ineptly. The reputational damage is probably more concrete than the gains from the alleged 'diversion'. My superficial investigation showed otherwise. This is another manifestation of thoughtlessness, the mechanical application of rules that no one thought of two weeks earlier. Combined with colossal lack of empathy. With the same lack of empathy, only on a fundamentally more important issue, President Kaczyński insists, along with Elżbieta Witek, Ryszard Terlecki, Jacek Sasin, and other virtuosos of incompetence and irresponsibility, on the May postal vote.” -- THE RULING PARTY CANNOT BE EMPATHETIC - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: “So there was time for a debate about this long ago. But at any other moment than the current one. The rulers, towards their citizens confined to their homes, condemned to poverty and psychological depression, should be empathetic. Unfortunately, they cannot.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-04-17/pis-czyli-pandemiczny-brak-empatii/ -- RADICALLY LOW TURNOUT WILL BE PART OF THE PROBLEM - JAN ROKITA in POLSAT NEWS: “This means that the ruling PiS will have more trouble returning to normality in the near future than some ruling parties in other European countries. Part of this problem will also be the radically low voter turnout, if one of the first symptoms of unfreezing were to be the holding of timely presidential elections on May 10.” -- PIS WILL HAVE TO UNFREEZE AGAINST PUBLIC OPINION - ROKITA continues: “Such actions as a general mask mandate will not help much. And even more so because the credibility of Minister Szumowski on this issue is quite limited, given that everyone observed his sudden change of front, from initially discrediting the effectiveness of masks to now introducing the obligation to wear them even during church services. I therefore have a growing impression that the inevitable attempts to unfreeze, the true goal of which is to limit recession and save the collapsing state budget this year – PiS will have to do it "by force" and "against" the majority of public opinion. And it is not the plague itself, but the way of overcoming it, that has the chance to become a source of real trouble for the ruling party. And perhaps even, after some time – the loss of power.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-04-17/odmrazanie-polski-pis-bedzie-musial-robic-na-sile/ -- ADAM MICHNIK IN GW ABOUT TWO VIRUSES: “Gloomy specters of two pandemics hover over Poland. The virus that poisons the lungs, and PiS, which poisons the minds and hearts of Poles. These two specters have entered into a satanic alliance to transform the democratic Republic into a dictatorship, where man will be the property of the state, where there will be one party, one power, one leader.” -- THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, WHEN YOU SHAKE THEIR HAND, YOU HAVE TO COUNT YOUR FINGERS - MICHNIK continues: “My brilliant editor Antoni Słonimski used to say in the era of conflicts between the communist regime and the democratic opposition: 'We play chess with them, and they play checkers with us.' This meant that one should not make deals with habitual liars who have misled us so many times. My Russian colleague told me sarcastically about the Putin regime: 'Of course, there is democracy in Russia; democracy is one person, one vote. We even know the name of that person.' We also know that name. There are people whose fingers you have to count after you shake their hand.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25877039,adam-michnik-zadnych-ukladow-z-kaczynskim.html -- TECHNOLOGIES ARE THE ONLY CHANCE - BŁAŻEJ LENKOWSKI in LIBERTE: “We will not be saved from the coronavirus by a lockdown, and economies in the long term will not be saved from a lockdown by any anti-crisis shield, which means that sooner or later states will be printing empty money. The only chance for a reasonably efficient handling of the epidemic is quickly implemented complex technologies. Only science can save us. I expect that, despite widespread complaints about capitalism, these technological solutions will be developed by private companies and corporations, not by state-dependent entities. And the only salvation for the economy in the long run is a return to activity, unlocking people's activities, and the free market.” https://liberte.pl/uratuje-nas-technologia-i-nauka-nie-lockdown/ -- GW WRITES THAT MASS REDUCTIONS IN ADMINISTRATION AWAIT US - as Judyta Watoła writes: “Every fifth official at the Ministry of Health may lose their job, and there will also be salary cuts. Although the ministry officially denies this, three independent sources have confirmed it to us. Similar cuts await other state offices. However, we learned from three independent sources that not only the Ministry of Health, but also other ministries and provincial offices have received an informal directive from the Prime Minister's Chancellery to start preparing for dismissals and salary reductions for officials, and to estimate how much could be saved as a result.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25879950,wyborcza-ujawnia-wielkie-zwolnienia-i-ciecia-pensji-w-ministerstwach.html -- PEOPLE WILL SEEK EFFECTIVENESS, AGENCY - PROF. WIESŁAW ŁUKASZEWSKI in conversation with Donata Subbotko in GW: “A strong hand and charismatic leaders are the desire of people who feel helpless, people convinced that little depends on them, especially those who are convinced that they have neither legal nor moral means to satisfy their needs. Soon, masses of unemployed people, even chronically unemployed, will appear. According to psychological and sociological knowledge, they will swell the ranks of the helpless, and therefore they do not necessarily have to form a force of resistance against the authorities. In the 1930s, Prof. Stefan Czarnowski, a great sociologist, wrote the text "Superfluous People in the Service of Violence," in which he proved that people who experienced a massive sense of helplessness eagerly joined anti-Semitic squads. They sought a sense of effectiveness, any agency.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25877039,prof-wieslaw-lukaszewski-za-chwile-pojawia-sie-rzesze.html -- Photo. The Appearance of Jesus by the Sea of Tiberias, Duccio di Buoninsegna - part of Maestà, a polyptych intended for the main altar of the Siena Cathedral. Duccio di Buoninsegna – he is the first great painter from Siena and the founder of the Sienese school. Less innovative than Giotto, more connected to the Byzantine style and its typical features: compositional scheme, gold background, isocephaly. The monumental polyptych (originally 5 meters wide) was commissioned in 1308 by the Siena city council and was moved in a solemn procession on June 9, 1311, from the painter's workshop to the Siena Cathedral. Around the base of the throne, an inscription reads: "Holy Mother of God, be the giver of peace to Siena and to the life of Duccio, for he painted you thus.” -- This scene is part of a grand composition called "La Maestà" (meaning the majesty of the Mother of God). It once adorned the main altar of the Siena Cathedral. The central image of the polyptych depicts the Madonna on the throne, adored by angels and saints. It was surrounded by 13 scenes from the life of Mary and Christ, and 16 figures of prophets and saints. On the reverse, 42 compositions depicting the life of Christ have been preserved. https://www.gosc.pl/doc/793125.Kawalek-pieczonej-ryby -- POLITICAL THEOLOGY IS CROWDFUNDING FOR DARIUSZ KARŁOWICZ'S NEW BOOK: “What is common, what connects them on the pages of this book, is the fateful tragedy of history – the consequences of political decisions. April 10, ten years ago, was a turning point, an end, a consequence, a cause, and a reason. This day marks the politicization of Poland's recent history; a new chapter begins from this date. However, Dariusz Karłowicz's latest book, "Thebes-Smoleńsk-Warsaw. On the Illusion and Non-Tragedy of Politics," is not dedicated to the tragic journey to Katyn. It is a collection of essays on the philosophy of politics, in which the author, drawing on ancient texts, discovers universal patterns and attitudes that are highly relevant in our 21st-century politics, and confronts the illusion of the non-tragedy of our Polish politics in the perspective of the last thirty years. Can Antigone tell us something about the Smoleńsk catastrophe, about our political situation anno domini 2020?” -- The book is a meditation on Polish identity and the nature of political identity. Written in exceptionally beautiful Polish, it grapples with the "unutterability" of Poland, its Latinity, republicanism, and commitment to Christian charity – prof. Ewa Thompson https://teologiapolityczna.pl/teby -- BIRTHDAYS: Jan Rulewski, SUNDAY: Barbara Labuda, Małgorzata Sekuła-Szmajdzińska, Iwona Kutyna.