-- THE PRESIDENT INTERRUPTS THE RULING COALITION'S CRACKS AND SECURES AN IMPORTANT DECLARATION FROM GOWIN - 300POLITYKA: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/04/28/prezydent-przerywa-rozszczelnianie-obozu-rzadzacego-i-uzyskuje-deklaracje-gowina-ze-nie-wesprze-planu-opozycji/ -- TUSK ANNOUNCES ELECTION BOYCOTT TO FORCE CHANGE FROM PIS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/04/28/ -- THE THIRD REPUBLIC'S JOY IS PREMATURE, THE UNITED RIGHT HAS NOT YET PERISHED - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “The Third Republic's joy is premature. The United Right has not yet perished. It is a political camp that enjoys the support of over 40 percent of Poles. And such support in almost every democracy, barring extremely proportional systems, grants power. President Andrzej Duda, who emerged from the ruling camp, is also the favorite in the presidential election. He was a favorite even before the plague arrived. Opposition parties, especially those fiercely fighting the government, have lower support than when they lost the fight for power in 2015. The government also enjoys the trust of nearly half of Poles (data from today: 49 percent). The number of cabinet supporters is higher than its opponents.” -- MANY SEE THIS AS SMELLING OF A "NIGHT CHANGE" - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “The fact that one of the leaders of the United Right, for reasons still unknown and certainly very vague, decided to demolish this structure – and it appears so – does not change the fundamental fact: Poles do not want a change of government. This is a strictly political crisis, not social or structural. And that is why it is a crisis that the ruling camp will overcome. It may take some time, it may cost a lot, but this story will not end this way. But the fact that Jarosław Gowin struck such a well-functioning structure so lightly gives food for thought. Because the PiS leaders kept their word. They gave a party with a 2% share in the United Right's support a nice slice of power and a dozen or so MPs, and also influence over events. In return, they received an incomprehensible operation that smells of a 'night change' to many. It will certainly be a subject of serious reflection.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/497704-zjednoczona-prawica-jeszcze-nie-zginela-fundamenty-sa-mocne -- WHETHER KACZYŃSKI WILL BE STRIPPED OF HIS MAJORITY MATTERS TO ME - SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI ON ONET: “The opposition has been waiting for this opportunity for four years. I don't know what Gowin dreamt of that night that he got out of bed and decided to defend law and democracy. I can't help but laugh when he justifies his actions by the constitution. But what do I care about Gowin's conscience if he doesn't care about mine. I'm not a priest. What matters to me is whether Kaczyński can be stripped of his majority and the path to dictatorship stopped. And that's why from the first day Gowin started talking about being against Kaczyński's plans, I've been writing everywhere to talk to him.” -- TAKING POWER FROM KACZYŃSKI IS NOT ABOUT BUILDING A POLITICAL CAMP TOGETHER - SIERAKOWSKI CONTINUES: “Gowin probably doesn't have eighteen, or maybe even eight MPs in the Sejm, but it's enough for the opposition to take six to make Kaczyński lose his majority. And don't remind me of the existence of Konfederacja, because Konfederacja dislikes Kaczyński no less than other opposition parties. Most importantly, they also have an interest in taking the majority from him. PiS is a direct rival on the right that has been destroying Konfederacja in every way. Talking about how a government from Konfederacja to Razem makes no sense is nonsense, because the goal is to take power from Kaczyński, not to build a political camp together.” -- SIERAKOWSKI ON THE PROSPECT OF ANTI-PIS GOVERNMENTS: “A year is a very long time. Duda will lose PiS's support, and the air may go out of him. It's not for nothing that we point out his lack of independence. Public media will no longer be PiS property. The prosecutor's office will no longer block investigations into PiS's violations of the law. Courts will not be intimidated. This is not impossible. It has become closer than ever. Does anyone have a better idea of how to achieve this through another route?” -- LEWICA WANTS TO LEAVE PLATFORMA IN THE DUST - SIERAKOWSKI CONTINUES: “Of course, it's not that the party acts entirely without a plan or is guided only by aesthetics (it's easier to believe in this, as it has been the bane of Lewica for a long time). Lewica may simply be focusing on party competition. Seeing Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska's disastrous poll numbers, Lewica might want to 'leave Platforma in the dust': let Budka strive forward and negotiate, he won't achieve anything without us, and he'll compromise himself in the elections with Kidawa's poor result. Platforma will plummet in the polls, we will grow. And when a crisis comes, Lewica will fight PiS for the social voter.” -- PSL WILL OVERTAKE LEWICA BEFORE LEWICA OVERTAKES PLATFORMA - SIERAKOWSKI: “Therefore, PSL will overtake Lewica before Lewica overtakes Platforma. In general, what sense do such considerations make when now the Sejm can be swayed to one's side or lost forever. If Gowin sees what kind of opposition he's dealing with, he might lose the desire for any negotiations if there's no one to negotiate with. He'll get more from Kaczyński. If it were only about honor, he would have left Kaczyński in 2016, not today. It is precisely with terrorists that one negotiates, otherwise there are victims.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opinie/koronawirus-a-wybory-prezydenckie-sierakowski-o-co-chodzi-lewicy/8149cj7 -- DON'T DO WHAT PIS EXPECTS AND DON'T BOYCOTT - LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI ON ONET: “If, like about 90 percent of Poles, you oppose the idea of presidential elections in May and want to show your disagreement, don't do what PiS expects of you. Protests, boycotts, tearing up ballots – the authorities will be pleased. Only a vote against Andrzej Duda's candidacy will not be an empty gesture, but a loud civic 'No!' directed at the rulers who treat us like 'election fodder.' Do you really want to dance to Kaczyński's tune? In football, as in politics, winners are remembered. Whether a goal was scored by hand, or didn't cross the goal line, becomes a topic of connoisseurs' analysis years later, but it doesn't change the facts. Someone triumphantly raises the cup, while someone else only looks at it with envy.” -- LEAVING THE FIELD IS A WALK-OVER FOR PIS - JAŻDŻEWSKI CONTINUES: “Leaving the field means a walk-over for PiS. A stroll for Andrzej Duda and an easy first-round victory. No appeals, complaints, or calls to international institutions will help. Only political force can compel Jarosław Kaczyński to do anything. Max Weber wrote that politicians should be judged not by their intentions, but by the consequences of their actions. Righteousness is not enough. Effectiveness must stand behind it.” -- THE OPPOSITION SHOULD DISCOURAGE PIS FROM THE ELECTIONS, NOT ITS OWN VOTERS - JAŻDŻEWSKI: “The opposition should discourage PiS from the May elections, not its own voters. The more opponents of PiS declare that they do not want to participate in postal elections, the greater Kaczyński's determination to hold them. If the entire opposition, including Konfederacja, does not start playing for the same goal regarding postponing the election date, then in a month's time, they will only be able to play solitaire on the Sejm's tablets.” -- JAŻDŻEWSKI ON THE FLAMBOYANT CHANGING OF PROFILE PICTURES ON FB: “Only the victory of the opposition candidate in the elections, regardless of their format, offers a chance for Poland to get off its anti-democratic path. Neither fiery appeals and changing profile pictures on Facebook, nor a sense of decency or shame can influence the determination of the ruling camp. Like Baron Munchhausen, we must pull ourselves out of the swamp by our hair.” -- THE AUTHORITIES WILL HUMBLY PROVIDE THE TOOL OF PROTEST - JAŻDŻEWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “A mobilized opposition can present the May elections to voters as a plebiscite on PiS's chaotic and ineffective management of the pandemic crisis. And above all, as a vote of protest from citizens treated instrumentally by the authorities. When people are losing their lives, health, and jobs, when doctors and nurses are at their limit, they are only scheming how to cling to their seats. Everyone, regardless of their views, should rebel against such impudence. We are not helpless. The authorities will themselves, subserviently, provide us with the tool of protest. Let's use it.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opinie/wybory-prezydenckie-2020-jazdzewski-zejscie-z-boiska-oznacza-walkower-dla-pis/8rk0ltb -- DON'T MOBILIZE VOTERS - JAKUB MAJMUREK IN CRITIQUE: “Everything must be done to prevent the May elections. But if they take place, one must not demobilize one's own voters. PiS does not necessarily have to win in May.” -- THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD BE FLOODED WITH COMPLAINTS - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: “Whatever happens, people who cannot vote must be organized: because the ballots won't reach their actual residential address, because they live abroad, because they are sick or in a risk group. The Supreme Court should be flooded with complaints from people who wanted to vote but couldn't. The more of them there are, the more politically difficult it will be for them to be ignored, even by judges appointed by the new National Council of the Judiciary (KRS).” -- I WOULD ADVISE VOTING - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: “Many people on our side don't believe any of this makes sense, assuming that PiS will rig these elections anyway. While it's undeniable that what happens in May won't be free elections, we don't know if the ruling party actually plans to falsify them. If so, it's better to make it harder for them than easier. Rigging elections is a very difficult process, it's easy to make a mistake, and it's hard to deal with fraud when the real result is clearly different. Catching PiS red-handed in fraud or overwhelming the system with complaints from people who were unable to exercise their right to vote is a much bigger problem for PiS and Duda's legitimacy than the constitutional side abstaining from the elections. If Kaczyński is indeed preparing a coup against democracy, it's not worth opening all doors for him to a place where dictatorial power resides. These won't be fair elections, but perhaps there will be a chance, in a game with a cheat, to protect ourselves from being robbed of what is most valuable. I will understand anyone who does not participate in the elections. But for all those for whom it is not an irrational health risk, I would advise – if the elections cannot be avoided – to vote anyway.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/majmurek-bojkot-wyborow-i-co-dalej/ -- PIS POLITICIANS TREAT THE PRESIDENT LIKE LITTLE CROCODILE BIRDS - WHEN THEY HAVE TO LOOK INTO HIS HYPNOTIC GAZE - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN DGP: “But none of the PiS leaders has a subjective position towards the president. They treat him like little crocodile birds when they have to look into his hypnotic gaze. And the permanent state of rivalry for future anointment of a successor further breaks down resistance. Except for Gowin, who seems to already have one foot outside the camp. A week ago, an important PiS politician assured that the leader of Porozumienie was in contact with Kaczyński. Today, no one claims that anymore. It's a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.” -- GOWIN WOULD BE AN IDEAL MEDIATOR - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Gowin would be an ideal mediator. But when the rulers cannot imagine any conversation other than imposing their will, and the opposition is not eager for further compromises, he himself is being pushed out of his place on the liberal wing of the ruling camp. This is accompanied by the thesis of his former colleagues that he has been aiming for this from the beginning. Right-wing publicists write this, and it is secretly repeated by a faction of PiS politicians whom Gowin has long irritated with his otherness.” -- GOWIN RISKS BEING A WORN-OUT PIECE OF FURNITURE IN THE OPPOSITION - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Gowin is supported by barely a few MPs. That might be enough. The question is whether he himself will want to say 'checkmate.' After all, if he calls for the repeal of the law and fails to do so, he will be discredited. But even if he achieves this, and the majority of Porozumienie MPs disobey him, he will cease to be their leader. Of course, he might receive a warm place in Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Paweł Kukiz's Koalicja Polska, but without any influence on reality. Another thing is that even after capitulation as a rank-and-file right-wing MP, he would become a worn-out piece of furniture in that camp.” -- THE VISION OF A NEW MAJORITY IS AN ELEMENT OF PRESSURE ON KACZYŃSKI, UNLESS THE SPIRAL OF CONFLICT BRINGS ANOTHER SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: “However, an alternative governing arrangement from Konfederacja to the Razem party will not emerge. There is no point in electing Gowin as speaker (or prime minister). There is no common agenda for such an exotic gathering, even in the conditions of a plague. Besides, those PiS politicians who notice that the opposition is not pushing for real, governmental power in these circumstances are right. The demonic vision that an opposition president would start overturning the government in the autumn should probably be put aside. Today, the vision of a new majority is still a means of pressure on Kaczyński. Unless the spiral of conflict brings another self-fulfilling prophecy.” https://forsal.pl/artykuly/1472755,zaremba-wybory-prezydenckie-male-ptaszki-i-oczy-krokodyla-opinia.html -- CHANGES AFTER THE PANDEMIC WILL BE VERY DEEP - JACEK SASIN IN OPINIONS DGP: “Talking about wanting to return to the situation before the pandemic is a cliché. If people want to draw lessons from what this time brings – it's time to face new challenges. We must accept that the changes may be very profound. They will encompass many areas of life, including the international division of labor, the necessity of ensuring our energy, sanitary, and food security. It is important that the pursuit of building security guarantees does not come at the expense of others. This is not a way to a new economic order. Allow me to draw a comparison. Why aren't we surprised that countries located in the so-called Ring of Fire are constantly ready for earthquakes? They use special methods of building houses, teach children how to behave, they have procedures. Life puts us in difficult situations, but it doubly punishes those who do not learn from them.” -- THE RECOVERY OF THE EU ECONOMY IS IN POLAND'S INTEREST - SASIN CONTINUES: “It is in Poland's interest to recover the Community's economy, as we are strongly linked commercially. We want the introduction of EU mechanisms that, in proportion to the scale of the crisis and the capabilities of individual states, will fairly and on honest principles distribute available support. Legal safeguards should also be introduced against the takeover of businesses weakened by the crisis. Such solutions are being introduced by individual countries, including Poland, but they are also necessary for the entire community.” -- EVERY STATE AND SOCIETY SHOULD FIND THE READINESS TO COOPERATE, EMPATHY, AND MUTUAL RESPECT - SASIN CONCLUDES: “The modern world must respond to the new reality after the pandemic – including in economic terms. The European Union faces the same task. Poland stands for stability, modernity, international cooperation, and ensuring the safety of its citizens in the most important areas – food, medical, and economic. Every country and society should find within itself what is invaluable in any circumstances – readiness to cooperate, empathy, and mutual respect.” https://biznes.gazetaprawna.pl/artykuly/1472785,jacek-sasin-npbp-musimy-odpowiedziec-na-swiat-po-pandemii-opinia.html -- JAROSŁAW KUISZ ON WHETHER WE ARE TAX IDIOTS AND EDUCATE DOCTORS WHO LATER WORK IN NORWAY - writes in Kultura Liberalna: “In 2020, when Polish hospitals lack staff, the question of 'brain drain' sounds current. Because how many doctors have left over the past decade under the freedom of movement? Thousands. Even the liberals of 1990 should be moved by the question of whether we are tax idiots. For years, at the cost of the Polish taxpayer, we have been training doctors for countries like Germany or Norway. It's worth remembering that this is not about reducing the problem to some economic chauvinism. It's about the costs of education in Poland, not just for Poles. I recently spoke in Berlin with a young Syrian who trained as an excellent dentist in Poznań. He could say quite a bit in our language. He obtained a Polish diploma with flying colors, but he is by no means treating the inhabitants of Wielkopolska.” -- THE DISPUTE OVER PROCEDURES AND THEIR VIOLATION, AND WHAT ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE? - KUISZ CONTINUES: “Word has it that after 2004, about 2 million Poles have already left to work abroad. We don't know the exact numbers. They represent all possible professions. You don't need to be an economist to realize that this presents us with monstrous challenges for the future. At the same time, we have a demographic decline. 500 plus has done nothing here. Who will contribute to healthcare at a basic standard or future pensions at a sensible level in a few years? It is unknown. Our politicians are engaged in a 'now and here' slaughter – by reducing politics to a dispute over procedures and their violation.” -- PIS USES GRAND WORDS, BUT IN REALITY REDUCES ALL POLITICS TO IMMEDIATE NEEDS - KUISZ CONTINUES: “By the way, PiS seems to be a master of using grand words in theory, while in reality reducing all politics to immediate needs. Please note: even now – during the pandemic – the debate in the mainstream media has been flattened to the next few weeks. Although COVID-19 has revealed dozens of structural problems on a national scale, our attention is diverted to the issue of the date and method of voting in May of this year. Without detracting from immediate sanitary problems, it seems to be an extremely convenient situation for the rulers.” -- WE DON'T BELIEVE IN PUBLIC SERVICES AND WE COUNT ON OURSELVES, THAT'S WHY WE STAYED HOME - KUISZ CONTINUES: “Why did a considerable part of us, Poles, so readily agree to stay home after the pandemic was announced? The answer can be found on internet forums. It is: because we don't believe our hospitals will admit and cure us at all. The government trumpets successes in the fight against the pandemic, while we count on ourselves.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/04/28/liberalizm-2020-drenaz-mozgow-a-koronawirus-o-ciemnej-stronie-czlonkostwa-w-ue/ -- ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM FROM KUISZ: TODAY'S TWENTY-YEAR-OLDS WON'T EVEN BE ABLE TO EMIGRATE, BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NOWHERE TO GO - AUTHOR OF THE BOOK GENERATION '89 - JAKUB SAWULSKI IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI IN KRYTYKA: “They won't emigrate because there will be nowhere to go, it will be bad everywhere like in Poland. And it will be difficult to enter the domestic market at all, and if so, on unfavorable terms and without respecting labor law. If they find work at all.” -- DIFFICULT ENTRY INTO THE LABOR MARKET IN A CRISIS - SAWULSKI CONTINUES: “There are studies and well-empirically grounded conclusions in scientific literature that entering the labor market during a recession affects one's entire private life and health, not just one's professional career. Such individuals have relatively lower earnings throughout their lives and work more, but they also divorce more often and have lower fertility rates. As for health, they have higher mortality rates from diseases such as heart attacks, but also from drug overdoses.” -- THE GENERATION THAT WILL BE HIT TWICE, AS THE MOST PRONE TO LAYOFFS - SAWULSKI CONTINUES: “There were even two avenues after 2004 – one was emigration to the Islands, because for some of us, entering the labor market simply happened by going abroad. And the second – if someone stayed in the country – was work on civil law contracts, which was a moment of explosion of unstable forms of employment in Poland. My generation is already affected by this from the moment of entering the game, and now we will be hit twice as those most vulnerable to layoffs. It's cold comfort that despite everything, the generation about a decade younger than us will have it even worse.” -- ABOLISH CIVIL LAW CONTRACTS, BUT MAKE EMPLOYMENT MORE FLEXIBLE - SAWULSKI CONTINUES: “No, if at the same time we abolish or significantly limit the use of civil law contracts, and greater flexibility of employment contracts does not apply to employees with long tenure and established positions. I will emphasize again – the goal is to increase the chances for a good type of contract for people entering the labor market or returning to the market after a long break, even if that good contract offers slightly fewer rights than today. The alternative is precarious employment.” -- THERE IS NO POTENTIAL FOR REVOLT FROM THE YOUNG GENERATION - SAWULSKI CONTINUES: “At this moment, I see no potential for revolt from the young generation, because the politicians are not to blame for this crisis. We can agree or disagree on the measures they have taken, but we are not holding them up to public shame. Moreover, in most countries, in situations of uncertainty, we rally around leadership, and trust in political leaders increases.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/milenialsi-bezrobocie-rozwody-samobojstwa-jakub-sawulski-michal-sutowski/ -- USA – AN OVERRATED ALLY - PIOTR WÓJCIK in Krytyka Polityczna: “The global coronavirus pandemic has exposed the short-sightedness of Polish foreign policy, which consists almost entirely of hitching itself to the USA. The rollback of globalization will make regional alliances more important, and the structural problems of the USA, which are now surfacing, will force them to reduce their international activity.” -- UNDER THE PIS GOVERNMENT, ALL EGGS WERE PUT IN THE USA'S BASKET - WÓJCIK CONTINUES: “To say that Poland under the PiS government put almost all its eggs in one basket in foreign policy is an understatement. That basket, in which we placed our diplomatic assets, is of course the United States. It is difficult to overestimate close and good relations with the USA, but in relations with a much stronger state, it is easy to lose moderation and turn partnership into subservience. And that is not a good relationship – although certainly still close.” -- WÓJCIK ON THE ROLLBACK OF GLOBALIZATION AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC: “The coronavirus pandemic will also lead to a rollback of globalization. Many countries have now realized that scattering supply chains across the globe is extremely risky, as in the event of border closures or even restrictions on international flows, access to many essential goods is threatened. Therefore, there will be a completely natural striving in such a situation to shorten supply chains and 'do' more things ourselves. Countries will be more focused on regional relations, while global connections will begin to lose some importance – relatively, of course. The importance of good relations with countries in the region and regional alliances will significantly increase.” -- MOST OF POLAND'S INTERESTS ARE LOCATED IN EUROPE - WÓJCIK'S CONCLUSION: “Most of Poland's interests are located in the EU, and for each of them, we can find allies. By putting forward its own pro-integration proposals, Poland can build its position in the Community, which should grow, and a strong position of Poland in the EU will be as important in the coming years as never before. This shift does not necessarily mean a cooling of relations with the USA – it is rather about a clear change in priorities and attitude towards EU partners and European institutions. The only question is whether the Polish rulers are ideologically ready for such a shift in foreign policy. At least for some, it would be a gigantic identity challenge.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/gospodarka/usa-przeszacowany-sojusznik-wojcik/ -- PHOTO. Sleeping Venus – a painting created around 1508-1510 by the Italian Renaissance painter Giorgione. The work is currently in the collection of the Old Masters Gallery (Dresden). *In 1510, as Europe bid farewell to the Middle Ages and welcomed the Renaissance with ever-increasing scope, Titian completed the painting of his recently deceased friend. He added the sky and a large part of the background to the canvas that would later become the beginning of modern art. This painting depicts a naked woman lying on a white sheet. With one hand behind her head and the other covering her lap*. 'Sleeping Venus' painted by the Italian artist Giorgione is the first modern* painting whose main, if not sole, subject is female nudity. It was one of the last works of the artist, who left behind only six paintings that are undoubtedly his. This is one of them.* http://szymonpiotr.pinger.pl/m/6815548 -- BIRTHDAYS: Marek Biernacki, Jacek Piechota, Andrzej Szejna, Mariusz-Orion Jędrysek, Konrad Gołota, Aleksandra Dyjak.