-- KOSINIAK STRONGLY COUNTERS TUSK, THE PRIME MINISTER ON THE LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS, KIERWIŃSKI ON THE TRADE OF DEPUTY MINISTERS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/04/29 -- THIS IS ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT WILL RECUR, LIKE THE DREYFUS AFFAIR - PROF. JAROSŁAW FLIS IN WIADOMO.CO: “I am usually an optimist, but this time I think we would have to crawl out of it for a very long time. In the perspective of our lives, this would be one of the topics that will recur. Like the Dreyfus Affair in France or the Civil War in the United States. This would be an experience that would make the 'night shift' or even the Smoleńsk catastrophe seem like secondary events. -- IT IS KNOWN THAT THE MORE PROBLEMS ARISE ALONG THE WAY, THE MORE THE CONVICTION WILL GROW THAT THIS WHOLE UNDERTAKING WILL END IN FAILURE - continued Flis: ”Such a conviction, in turn, leads to less engagement from the entities on which much depends – from rank-and-file post office employees, through managers of municipalities and schools, which, like it or not, are involved in all this, to members of election commissions who now do not want to participate”. -- 12 MILLION PACKAGES WILL REACH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER VOTED. HENCE THE QUESTION, WHAT WILL THEY DO WITH THEM. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRONISŁAW KOMOROWSKI AND ANDRZEJ DUDA IN THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS HALF A MILLION VOTES, WHICH IS BARELY 1/24 OF THE VOTES THAT WILL REACH PEOPLE WHO DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THAT ELECTION - continued Flis: “If 1 in 24 of those votes had been used in favor of Bronisław Komorowski, he would have won. It is really not an undertaking of any extraordinary scale to collect unnecessary packages and cast votes on them. Such temptation can breed tolerance for breaking the law – because the system is in no way protected against people who will commit crimes. The fact that it is written in the law that something is forbidden does not mean that it will not happen. What will we do if ballots are traded? And what about Poles who are registered in the country but reside abroad, and there are 2 million of them? Families know their PESEL numbers, so it won't be a problem to vote for a husband in England or a daughter in Ireland. In Bavaria, turnout increased by 1/4 when ballots were sent to people's homes. We don't know if 1/4 more actually voted, or if it was just those living with non-voters who dropped off their ballots”. https://wiadomo.co/prof-jaroslaw-flis-te-wybory-przycmia-nocna-zmiane-i-smolensk/ -- KACZYŃSKI WANTS TO KNOW WHERE GOWIN IS - THE SEJM MAJORITY IS SHAKING - JEDYNKA GW (Agata KONDZIŃSKA, Iwona SZPALA): “PiS politicians with whom 'Wyborcza' has spoken admit that there is no certainty at Nowogrodzka street whether they still control the Sejm. But there is a conviction that the May deadline for presidential elections still applies. Such decisions were made in a narrow circle of Kaczyński's associates, at a meeting of the political committee presidium. PiS is to maintain its hard line. And to count their votes during the crucial vote on the postal voting bill, which will return from the Senate next week. Kaczyński also wants to know where Jarosław Gowin politically stands now, who left the government in protest against the May elections, but his Porozumienie (Agreement) party remains in the right-wing coalition”. -- PUBLIC ASSURANCES HAVE NOT CHANGED UNOFFICIAL AGREEMENTS - continued GW authors: “According to our information, the public statements of Gowin and KO significantly differ from the behind-the-scenes agreements. Nothing has changed. The opposition is preparing to submit a motion to dismiss Marshal Elżbieta Witek. And Gowin remains the strongest candidate to replace her. The success of the opposition's plan has a serious question mark: liberals, leftists, libertarians, nationalists, and peasant parties are to jointly oppose Kaczyński. When Gowin opposed Kaczyński, KO, Lewica, and PSL were unable to establish a common message on how to proceed in such a situation. It is a difficult coalition. And it's not just about the May vote, but its consequences. If the opponents of PiS change the Marshal, they may be forced to form a technical government”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25905484,pis-przekupuje-poslow-opozycji-oferuje-nawet-posady-w-rzadzie.html -- IT WASN'T GOWIN WHO OVERBID, KACZYŃSKI IS FACING DEFEAT - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “Do you remember those headlines on internet portals: 'Gowin overbid'? There is much indication that someone else entirely overbid. His name is Jarosław Kaczyński. He overbid by insisting on the May presidential elections. The Episcopate has now supported Jarosław Gowin”. -- THE EPISCOPATE GIVES ABSOLUTION TO THE REBELS OF THE RIGHT - continued WIELOWIEYSKA: “Seeing the dilemmas of the right-wing MPs, the Episcopate decided to support them publicly as well. Tuesday's statement by the bishops in the form of an appeal for agreement between the opposition and the coalition regarding the elections is in fact a blow to Kaczyński and support for Gowin. Especially the fragment about seeking 'solutions that would not raise legal doubts or suspicions not only of violating the existing constitutional order, but also of the principles of free and fair elections accepted in a democratic society.' This letter is a signal to the people of Porozumienie: you have our blessing, you can vote with Lewica on this matter”. -- TERLECKI'S POST SHOWS HELPLESSNESS - WIELOWIEYSKA'S CONCLUSIONS: “Today he is losing to himself. At this moment, he is filled with rage that Gowin is winning. This is evidenced by a tweet from one of Kaczyński's closest associates, Ryszard Terlecki, about 'rank-and-file MP' Gowin and 'sick ambitions'. This post is a sign of helplessness. And perhaps a harbinger of a completely new political distribution after the collapse of the United Right”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25904472,zanosi-sie-na-porazke-kaczynskiego-biskupi-wsparli-gowina.html -- WŁADYSŁAW FRASYNIUK BELIEVES A REBELLION IS COMING - in conversation with Dorota Wysocka-Schnepf in wyborcza.pl: “I am not calling for protests today, because I am convinced that a wave of discontent and rebellion is coming. Either Kaczyński will realize that this wave can sweep them out of politics for years and will try to cleverly hand over power to the opposition so that they bear the costs of exiting the recession. Or the younger generation, which has never gone out into the streets, will simply blow this government away”. -- LET THEM CRASH INTO THE WALL - SAYS FRASYNIUK: “I am deeply convinced that we should give Jarosław Kaczyński and Jacek Sasin, who is emerging as the main logistician in contemporary Poland, a chance to crash into this wall. There is no technical possibility to carry out such a large operation in such a short time”. -- FRASYNIUK ON THE UNACCEPTABILITY OF LEAKS FROM CONVERSATIONS: “Frankly, I have many complaints against politicians, or rather against political celebrities, who probably leak confidential conversations. And they reveal the strategy that the opposition is preparing, thereby undoubtedly making Jarosław Kaczyński's task easier. My insides churn because all these politicians refer to August, to martial law, to the tradition of citizen's valor. Do they imagine that we in the underground first went to 'Tygodnik Mazowsze' and revealed our plans? No, we first acted, and then informed how it turned out”. -- TALKS WITH GOWIN SHOULD HAVE TAKEN PLACE MUCH EARLIER - continued Frasyniuk: “And I believe that all possible mistakes were made with Gowin. Gowin announced much, much earlier that he was against postal elections. Talks should have taken place then. Later, Kaczyński began to push him towards various compromises, which forced Gowin to propose extending President Andrzej Duda's term by two years. Talk. Have no scruples. I'll say more – I have no doubt that Jarosław Kaczyński is holding talks, directly or indirectly, with PSL, with SLD. Kaczyński has no qualms about talking, because he knows that the essence of politics is the constant building of strategic partners”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,82983,25904151,wladyslaw-frasyniuk-fala-wk-u-narasta.html -- DGP WRITES ABOUT A SHORT STATE OF EMERGENCY AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY (Tomasz ŻÓŁCIAK, Grzegorz OSIECKI): “A state of emergency at the beginning of May. As DGP has established, such a scenario is being considered within PiS. – There is an idea to introduce a state of emergency for one to two days at the beginning of May, perhaps during the long weekend. It is still being considered whether this will gain voters for Andrzej Duda, or whether it might lead to defeat – claims our source. When we ask a high-ranking PiS politician about this scenario, he replies that 'all options are on the table.' The introduction of a state of emergency at this time seems reasonable to its proponents for several reasons”. -- ELECTIONS ON AUGUST 2ND? - continued DGP: “The date of the end of Andrzej Duda's term is not insignificant. It expires on August 6th. If a state of emergency were declared for, for example, May 2nd-3rd, the 90-day period after the cessation of this state, during which elections cannot be held, would end on August 1st (Saturday). There is no shortage of opinions that elections could be held the very next day. But even a later date is possible, because a state of emergency assumes that the terms of office of authorities, such as the president, are appropriately extended. The reason for introducing the state of emergency also remains an open question. Perhaps the increasing attention of the government and the president to the problem of drought is not coincidental. Opposition activists and local government officials are urging the declaration of a state of emergency”. -- SCENARIO OF DECLARING THE MAY ELECTIONS INVALID BY THE SUPREME COURT AND CALLING NEW ELECTIONS - continued in DGP: “If there is no law on postal voting, we will formally be in a situation where elections must be organized on May 10th using traditional methods (remote voting was eliminated by the COVID law) and without basic instruments, such as ballots ordered by the National Electoral Commission or full election commission compositions. – I can imagine such elections taking place, but only theoretically, after which the Supreme Court declares them invalid, and the Marshal of the Sejm calls for a completely new date – a person from the government tells us”. https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/7683466,susza-przesuniecie-wybory-pis-chaos-koronawirus.html -- GERSDORF RAISES THE WHITE FLAG - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Taking advantage of the epidemic situation, the ruling camp is fulfilling its dreams of taking control of the judiciary. The departing head of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Gersdorf, is handing over the country's most important court to Andrzej Duda. As PiS opponents add: without a fight”. -- STANKIEWICZ ON THE NOMINATIONS OF MANOWSKA AND LEMAŃSKA FOR FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT: “Whom can Duda appoint as Gersdorf's successor? Almost certainly one of the judges selected for the Supreme Court during PiS rule. The leading candidates are the head of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs, Dr. hab. Joanna Lemańska, or Prof. Małgorzata Manowska, former Deputy Minister of Justice under PiS in 2007. Currently, Manowska is a judge in the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court, but she also heads the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution. Her reputation is compromised by the recent massive data leak from this institution. Information about over 50,000 people associated with the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, including judges and prosecutors, leaked from the university's servers to the internet: names, surnames, addresses, and for about 10,000 people, also phone numbers. An IT specialist from an external company working for Manowska's university is responsible for this”. -- STANKIEWICZ ON THE PATH TO QUESTIONING THE MAY ELECTIONS: “There is another problem – the presidential elections. After all, in the resolution of three chambers, the nominations of all judges of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs were questioned, and after the changes introduced by PiS, it is this chamber that decides on the validity of elections. If Jarosław Kaczyński has his way and the elections are held in May, it means that the extremely controversial vote after an abnormal election campaign will be decided by a chamber whose judges' independence has been questioned by the majority of their colleagues from the Supreme Court. And this will give the opposition and PiS critics the right – at least rhetorically – to question the ruling, and therefore also the election results”. https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/gersdorf-wywiesza-biala-flage-163192 -- GOWIN'S HALF-WORDS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN TUSK'S DECLARATION - STANKIEWICZ in Onet: “Jarosław Gowin's half-words are more important today than Tusk's declarations. He has added to his opposition to postal elections the accusation that changing the voting date – from the scheduled May 10th to another date, up to and including May 23rd – would be unconstitutional. In this sense, he agrees – horrifyingly! – with the opinion of the Supreme Court, hated by PiS. This is another signal indicating that Gowin will vote against PiS when the final clash over the elections takes place in the Sejm next week. While Gowin, supported by several of his MPs, can help the opposition stop Kaczyński, Tusk certainly cannot”. -- THE INVALIDATION OF THE ELECTIONS BY THE EU WOULD BE DEVASTATING: “Until now, the main political insurance for PiS in its relations with the outside world – mainly EU institutions – has undoubtedly been free and democratic elections in which the party gained power. The questioning of the validity of the elections – and many foreign institutions are sending such signals to Warsaw – would be devastating not only for this government, but for Poland as a whole”. https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opinie/wybory-prezydenckie-2020-tusk-nawoluje-do-bojkotu-ale-kandydatka-po-sie-nie-wycofa/pmdswlz -- A BOYCOTT FOR ALL PARTIES EXCEPT PO MEANS DOOMING ONESELF TO NON-EXISTENCE - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: ‘A boycott of the elections for all opposition parties, except PO, means condemning oneself to political non-existence. Hołownia cannot withdraw, because he exists solely as a candidate. His result will be his ticket to further political career. The same applies to PSL, which, thanks to Kosiniak-Kamysz's good result, can leverage its political strength in the perspective of a new political arrangement. In this situation, the Church's appeal for the ruling and opposition parties to develop a common position so that no one can question the democratic nature of the elections will remain unanswered. Compromise is not in the interest of PiS, PO, or the other opposition parties today”. -- SZUŁDRZYŃSKI NOTICES JAŻDŻEWSKI'S ARTICLE FOR ONET: “This scenario has one significant consequence, which publicist Leszek Jażdżewski pointed out. Announcing a boycott of the elections in a situation where PiS does not back down means boycotting their results. And this could end in opening the way to a forceful confrontation and a revolutionary variant”. https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200429182-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Kompromis-ktorego-politycy-nie-chca.html -- ADAM MICHNIK ON THE BOYCOTT: “If this proves impossible, I expect that the candidates from democratic circles will jointly call for a boycott of this vote – in the name of human dignity and decency; in the name of responsibility for the Polish state”. -- DON'T GIVE POLAND TO ROGUES AND CHEATS - continued MICHNIK: “I belong to a generation that for decades was engaged in the fight for democracy and paid a high price for its concern for Poland's freedom, dignity, and sovereignty. That is why I say firmly: We must not give Poland to rogues and cheats. If we forget this, then Poland's catastrophe will not be solely Jarosław Kaczyński's fault. We will all be guilty”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25905859,adam-michnik-polska-na-ostrym-zakrecie.html -- PAWEŁ ZALEWSKI AND KAZIMIERZ MICHAŁ UJAZDOWSKI TO THE OPPOSITION, WHICH SHOULD ACT LIKE WHEN OVERTHROWING MECZIAR - they write in GW: “The lesson of historical experiences is eloquent. Resistance against a government violating the principles of democracy was effective only when the opposition respected ideological pluralism, but at the same time was able to cooperate across political divisions. Let us recall, for example, the opposition to Vladimir Meciar's policies in Slovakia. It is not about creating artificial unity within the opposition. Each of its currents has the right to develop its own identity. The challenge for many opposition parties and circles is to open up political structures to new environments and fundamentally modernize their programmatic message. However, the common goal cannot be underestimated: resistance against the complete deformation of democracy, the defense of parliamentary subjectivity, and the possibility of expressing public opinion”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25906627,powolajmy-w-sejmie-komisje-wspolna-opozycji.html -- JAROSŁAW GOWIN ON THE NEED FOR A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT - in an article for Onet: “A new social contract is needed. It should include a detailed calendar of actions, health requirements that must be ensured, on the one hand, by the state, and on the other – by entrepreneurs, as well as rules for flexible response in case of an increase in the epidemic. Given the nature and dynamics of the pandemic, it is necessary to consider the need for temporary and local re-freezing of economic activity. All decisions must be clearly communicated and explained to the public. The introduction of solutions aimed at collecting additional data about citizens and their activities should always be preceded by a thorough analysis of their not only short-term but also long-term consequences”. -- POLITICIANS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS ARE NOT NEEDED IN POLAND - continued GOWIN: “Threats can only be limited through a precisely planned, scientifically based, consistently implemented, clearly communicated, and socially accepted strategy. It must be maintained, with appropriate adjustments, for many years, which requires cross-party agreement. Those politicians who do not understand this are not needed in Poland”. https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/koronawirus-jaroslaw-gowin-prezentuje-plan-nowego-otwarcia/px9e3d2 -- PROGRESSIVE DESERTIFICATION OF THE COUNTRY - Bartłomiej SIENKIEWICZ's reflections on the state, in RZ: “Drought also means risks for energy – the shutdown of system power plants located on the banks of the drying Vistula River could be the beginning of a blackout. Access to water and energy determines the entire chain of the country's security. Securing these resources requires enormous funds, long-term planning, and iron consistency. How to do this when the budget is practically empty because it has been spent on bribing the electorate? How to do this when the government still wants to build the Central Communication Port for tens of billions and F-35 fighter jets for billions more, while simultaneously being unable to see the elementary security needs of Poles? And the area described above is only a part of the actions against the 'bad synergy.' Once it fully activates, it will be impossible to stop. Who is to carry this out, who is to protect us from it? A government that cannot secure the first line of defense against the pandemic, i.e., healthcare workers and hospitals? Ministers and the prime minister who repeatedly lie and deceive the public? For Poland, the key in the coming years is a credible government, a state that does not pretend to be doing something, but is efficient at the basic level required by the situation. Meanwhile, despite the government's propaganda, the Polish state is being replaced by a political party and exclusively pursues policies calculated to retain its voters, not responsibility for the country's future. The coronavirus has starkly exposed this weakness, symbolized by the Health Minister's humble agreement, a doctor by profession, to the PiS leader's demand for elections during a pandemic”. https://www.rp.pl/Rzecz-o-polityce/200429189-Bartlomiej-Sienkiewicz-Postepujace-stepowienie-kraju.html -- PHOTO. Sermon to the Birds (Italian: Predica agli uccelli) – the fifteenth of twenty-eight frescoes from the cycle Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis located in the upper church of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, attributed to Giotto di Bondone. *Painted around 1295–1299. The author of the fresco depicted a scene described in the Major Life of Saint Francis by Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, written in 1263. Chapter twelve of this medieval work presents an episode that took place on the road connecting Cannara with Bevagna. Francis preached to a large group of birds, and they opened their beaks, spread their wings, and watched him attentively. Francis is depicted as a frail man, content with the course of his life. His face shows peace and a kind of depth of spiritual wisdom. The trees are of natural size, unlike the other frescoes – which still show the influences of Byzantine art symbolism (The Donation of the Cloak to a Poor Knight, The Miracle of the Spring). The background surprises with its simplicity. The trees are characterized by spring abundance. The hue of the sky is close to lapis lazuli. The coloring of the birds has not been preserved. The surface of the sky has also partially faded. Perhaps the sermon to the birds should be interpreted as an expression of the saint's closeness to the rejected and homeless, whose lives he wished to share.* -- BIRTHDAYS: Jarosław Duda, Piotr Gontarczyk, Vadim Makarenko, Piotr Barełkowski, Jacek Bendykowski, Czesław Kuriata.