-- PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS SOUGHT PEACE OF MIND - WŁADYSŁAW FRASYNIUK IN GW: “People have always sought peace of mind, which is why the political program of ‘warm water in the tap’ always resonates. After all, PiS continues it. Ideological wars and the creation of enemies serve to mobilize before elections, while on a daily basis, aspirations are satisfied and peace of mind is simply bought. I cannot comprehend how, after 30 years of living in a democratic country, we have a weak civil society. I watch the Prime Minister's conferences and it dawns on me that all you need is a microphone and a stand to make laws. And everyone listens with humility and takes notes about what regulations are being passed during press conferences! Did you see what happened in the USA? People took to the streets to defend their freedom. They understand that there is an epidemic, that they should protect themselves, but they don't want to allow the rulers to lock them in their homes with a mere flick of a finger. Freedom is encoded in their DNA.” -- STAY AT HOME IS A CURSE FOR YEARS - THE RULERS' DREAM SLOGAN - CONTINUES FRASYNIUK: “Exactly, why in Israel can thousands of people go out wearing masks and say: ‘get lost…’? But not here? Here, firstly, it’s not appropriate to use such a word, and secondly, we can’t go out into the streets because this disliked Prime Minister and this disliked Jarosław Kaczyński said #stayathome. The #stayathome hashtag will be a curse for years. It’s a dream slogan for both authoritarian and democratic, liberal governments. They will also gladly use it. As a society, we still have a lot to learn. Above all, that street protests are a fundamental form of democracy and expressing opinions.” -- FOR MONTHS THEY HAVE BEEN PREPARING AND NOTHING, AND WE ARE TO SIT AT HOME, IT'S TIME TO TEST THEM - CONTINUES FRASYNIUK: “The rulers told us that the isolation is to allow the state to prepare to receive more patients. They have been preparing for months and nothing, and we are supposed to meekly sit at home and watch companies go bankrupt, people lose their jobs, children not go to school, and social stratification grow even more? It's time to say: ‘check’. You had time to acquire respirators, masks, and build a strategy. Coronavirus will not disappear next week, the state was supposed to prepare the healthcare system first. If they are lying and have done nothing, by sitting at home, we are only pushing ourselves into an abyss.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25907376,wladyslaw-frasyniuk-jaki-blad-popelnilismy-ze-w-kraju.html -- PROF. MARIAN ZEMBALA ON MORAWIECKI: HE IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR TOUGH TIMES - says in an interview with Eliza Olczyk in RZ: “He is the right man for the difficult times we are facing – wise and honest. I see and greatly appreciate his European outlook and pragmatism in his daily actions. From my work in the Silesian Sejmik and the Polish Parliament, I have gained the conviction that one should never classify people by the group they come from, but by what positive contribution they make in their actions. I have met people from many political factions, even those with controversial views, but many of them performed their duties very well and always thought of the public good as paramount.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/305019998-Prof-Marian-Zembala-Szumowski-to-odwazny-polityk.html -- TUSK HAS CAUSED TROUBLE FOR CIVIC PLATFORM, SHOWED HOW LITTLE HE CARES ABOUT IT - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN POLSAT NEWS: “By stepping ahead and announcing a boycott even before former presidents and prime ministers, Tusk showed how little he cares about his former party. He caused trouble for it. Because there, despite the declaration made by Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska under the pressure of Tusk's speech, that she would also boycott, there was no certainty on how to proceed. And there still isn't. The Marshal of the Senate, Tomasz Grodzki, doesn't want May 10th, even as a completely unrealistic date, but he seems to be leaning towards May 23rd.” -- AN OPPORTUNITY TO OCCUPY THE GROUND PREVIOUSLY HELD BY THE WILTING PLATFORM - CONTINUES ZAREMBA: “One can, of course, consider the boycott slogan as a lifeline for the PO candidate, who is weakening in the polls. But neither did Tusk discuss anything with anyone in Platform, nor did anyone ask him for such a lifeline. So let's move on. After all, these elections, however grotesque and questionable they may be, will have their continuation. Who will have the opportunity for election protests and to sound the alarm in Poland and around the world after them? The losing candidates. Among them are two who are considered to be discreetly supported by Tusk: Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Szymon Hołownia. Isn't this an opportunity for them? To do what? Also, to gradually occupy the ground previously held by the wilting Civic Coalition. Which has been making only mistakes lately, with a poorly chosen candidate at the forefront.” -- WOULD THIS BE BETTER THAN THE ROUTINE OF SCHETYNA AND BUDKA? IT'S STILL UNKNOWN - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: “For Kosiniak, who has some social sensitivity, support from the former could be a burden in the future. On the other hand, for the effusive Hołownia, this new Tusk fits perfectly. But where is anything fresh in terms of program here? How would it be better than the routine presented by Grzegorz Schetyna, Borys Budka, and their numerous collaborators and agitators? It's still unknown.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-05-01/szymon-holownia-i-donald-tusk-wieszczami-konca-platformy/ -- THE MESSAGE IS LIKE FROM 5 YEARS AGO - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ ON DUDA'S CONVENTION: “While running for president in 2020, Andrzej Duda proposed his program from five years ago – at Friday's convention, he spoke about 500 Plus on almost every occasion. He smoothly bypassed the main problems facing the Polish state today: the viral collapse of healthcare and irregularities in the preparations for the presidential elections.” -- THE PRESIDENT IS AN OBJECT OF KACZYŃSKI AND GOWIN'S MANIPULATION, THE GAME IS BEING PLAYED WITHOUT HIS PARTICIPATION - CONTINUES STANKIEWICZ IN ONE: “Just a few weeks ago, Andrzej Duda gave the impression that he opposed the May elections. However, after numerous recent defeats in wars with Jarosław Kaczyński – for instance, over control of TVP – he lacked the strength and determination to openly oppose him. Today, the president has become an object of manipulation between Kaczyński and Jarosław Gowin, who, in alliance with the opposition, is trying to block the May elections. In this sense, his convention was merely a firework, because the political game is being played elsewhere – and so far without his participation.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wybory-prezydenckie-analiza-konwencji-dudy-andrzeja-stankiewicza/9cmhy5c -- THE PRESIDENT DID NOT SAY WHO WILL PAY FOR IT - WITOLD GADOMSKI IN GW: “The president's proposals will mean an increase in the budget deficit beyond what the government optimistically forecasts. Someone will have to pay off the enormous debt that will accumulate this year and next. The president did not say who. So let’s say it for him: the debt will burden us all – either taxes will increase, or the government will finance the debt with an inflation tax. Either way, millions of Poles will feel it. The president preferred to talk about co-financing volunteer fire brigades and rural housewives' clubs, which cultivate traditions in folk costumes and pass them on to their daughters.” -- SCENARIO OF A COLD CIVIL WAR, AND DUDA TALKED ABOUT ELECTRIC CARS - GADOMSKI'S CONCLUSION: “More importantly, the election results will be questioned by some legal institutions of the Polish state, such as local governments, and by foreign governments. Laws signed by Duda will be challenged, and the constitutional crisis will deepen. This is a scenario leading to a cold (I hope) civil war. Meanwhile, in his speech, Duda spun a tale about electric cars, which are still expensive, but his chancellery uses them.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25913171,przemowienie-wyborcze-dudy-polacy-nic-sie-nie-stalo.html -- NEITHER CLEVER NOR HONORABLE BOYCOTT - JAKUB BODZIONY IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Giving up on elections at a time when the United Right is increasingly close to collapse is a missed opportunity to weaken PiS. Much suggests that we are currently witnessing the disintegration of the United Right camp. PiS politicians declare that Jarosław Gowin's party will not receive any funds from election subsidies. There is also no talk of a joint start in the next elections, regardless of how Gowin's MPs vote on May 6th. For the opposition to give up on the election issue, which has so strongly divided the ruling camp, would be a missed opportunity. Therefore, the opposition should act on two fronts – negotiating with Gowin to deprive Kaczyński of a majority and conducting an election campaign to reach the second round, should the elections take place. If a runoff is achieved, the final result will not be decided.” -- TUSK'S MESSAGE HAS DEVALUED EVEN FOR THE STILL-IN-CRISIS PLATFORM - CONTINUES BODZIONY: “Another problem with the idea of an election boycott is that it is being pushed by the Civic Platform camp, which remains in political defense. The party has been in crisis for a long time. It is now clear that it was not only related to Grzegorz Schetyna's leadership of the grouping. Borys Budka has also failed to emerge from the political rut. Moreover, Tusk's appeals no longer have the same effect even within Platform, and in other opposition parties, they only elicit shrugs. The former prime minister's message devalued when, after months of sending ambiguous signals, he announced that he would not run in the presidential elections after all. The message was unequivocal – Tusk, instead of a difficult political fight in the country, chose a comfortable position in Brussels. It is difficult for his advice, even within his home party, to be treated with the same reverence as before.” -- HOŁOWNIA'S 5 MINUTES - PLATFORM'S WEAKNESS IS A POLITICAL OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS - CONTINUES BODZIONY IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Moreover, PO, mired in campaign chaos, has no chance of persuading opposition counter-candidates to boycott the elections, and only then would this action make political sense. It's not surprising, because PO's weakness is a political opportunity for them. This is particularly evident in the case of Szymon Hołownia, who is climbing in the polls, and in the latest ones, he holds second place with 14 percent support. Back in February, I analyzed his candidacy and wrote that without the crisis in PO, Hołownia had no chance. Currently, the non-partisan candidate is trying to seize his political 5 minutes.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/05/01/bojkot-wyborow-nie-jest-ani-sprytny-ani-honorowy-bodziony/ -- MACIEJ STUHR WONDERS IF THE ELECTION BOYCOTT IS NOT KACZYŃSKI'S DREAM: “This is the subject of my reflections. The elections are just a few days away, but we don't know if they will take place. Will it be the 10th, or maybe the 17th of May? Maybe some other date... From the perspective of a comedian, which I sometimes am, it's incredibly funny, and I'm watching it with curiosity. My first reaction was absolute negation of this farce, and I'm still largely in that position. However, I also listen to what people are saying – that this revolt was foreseen by the most esteemed president of Poland and for him, it's a dream come true if the electorate not voting for the current president stays home. Then the problem will be solved in the first round, so I'm still hesitating a bit.” https://www.tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/1-4-maja,268 -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON PIVOTAL MOMENTS IN POLITICS - EVERY DECISION COULD HAVE PUSHED HISTORY IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION: “Jarosław Kaczyński must answer the question of whether, in the name of victory, he will bend the law and, at the peak of the pandemic, force presidential elections. Decisions made by politicians who faced dilemmas of similar magnitude over the last three decades have changed the course of Poland's recent history. A single politician, party or environment, parliament or government. And when a different decision could have pushed history in another direction. Some of these steps were very unwise or harmful. Others, quite the opposite. This is an incomplete and subjective selection. Let every reader make their own.” -- KACZYŃSKI FACES THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF HIS CAREER - CONTINUES ZAREMBA: “The politics of the PiS government for the next four and a half years oscillated between populist political campaigns and certain achievements in social and economic policy, especially in leveling social inequalities. Kaczyński faced many dilemmas, shuffled his teams, and simultaneously strengthened his power, becoming the de facto sole leader of the state in Poland. Now he faces perhaps the most important question of his career. Should he force presidential elections at the peak of the pandemic? Should he, in the name of a supposed victory, bend the law and poison the political atmosphere to unimaginable limits?” -- ZAREMBA ON HOW MILLER TURNED OUT TO BE THE LAST JUST MAN: “The ruling party was accused of manipulating the media market, of opaque legislative processes. It ended with demands from authorities like Paweł Śpiewak for the establishment of the Fourth Polish Republic. A series of scandals began to unfold, there was a split in the SLD, and Miller lost power. However, it is worth noting that in the subsequent PiS Sejm, only investigation committees examining the 'wrongdoings of the opposition' were established. Civic Platform acted similarly after 2007, with the exception of investigating the gambling affair, where the investigation results were twisted to the conclusion that nothing happened. Thus, Miller not only sank his formation but turned out to be the 'last just man'. Today, investigation committees are no longer established. They turned out to be a hit for several seasons.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/305019995-Michnik-Kaczynski-Miller-Nieoczywiste-wybory-politykow.html -- I MISS A STATE THAT TALKS ABOUT SIMPLE THINGS - SZYMON HOŁOWNIA in an interview with Piotr Witwicki in RZ: “These are slogans, and decisions result from them. One of my first decisions as president will be to convene a Cabinet Council on the water crisis. The National Security Bureau should be reformed. The National Security Council should be expanded to include former presidents and the Chief of the General Staff. I also speak of a 'green veto' that will affect every law that exacerbates the water crisis or distances us from decarbonization and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. We need to strive for energy decentralization, appoint a plenipotentiary for excluded persons and a plenipotentiary for animal rights. We need to talk differently about social solidarity and what communal services look like today. We need to consider how the president could patronize a real, radical reform of healthcare and the one related to the 14 million people affected by communication exclusion. We also need to think about what to do to make people understand that unity is not uniformity, but reconciled diversity. The president has really a lot of tasks. I miss a state that will come down to me and talk about simple things, because since 2005, I don't know what the war in Poland is about. Do you know what it's about?” -- HOŁOWNIA ON HIS TEAM: “Quite a few people who are already working with me: Mirosław Różański, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, or Michał Kobosko. I have a great ecological, educational, and economic team. Adrianna Porowska is my ideal plenipotentiary for excluded persons. These are people who have done the work. The president can also showcase certain things. For example, through his activities and what he will turn Belweder into. I have concrete plans for that.” -- BELWEDER AS A LIVING LIBRARY - CONTINUES HOŁOWNIA IN RZ: “Belweder is a symbol of Polish independence, and for me, independence is not an idea, but free people. Therefore, on May 3rd and November 11th, I would celebrate there with those to whom we still owe freedom: with people experiencing exclusion. It is a wonderful space to permanently 'launch' a 'living library' there, to organize cultural premieres under the patronage of the president. Belweder must be vibrant with life, not just commemoration.” -- I SEE NO REASON NOT TO LIVE WHERE I LIVE NOW AS PRESIDENT - CONTINUES HOŁOWNIA: “However, I see no reason not to live where I currently live. People should live in houses, not palaces. The president's spouse should not be forced to give up their job. This is not the 19th century, this is an office, not a monarchy. I can't wait for those SOP officers who are waiting for you on the staircase. We'll talk about it after the elections. However, if one is accustomed to normality in life, it is worth nurturing it afterwards. I have a young child who needs social contact, and I don't assume they will have many peers in the Presidential Palace. I will not be a good president if I make my own daughter unhappy. The more normal, the better.” -- HOŁOWNIA ON THE PROBLEM WITH PSL: “If you ask me as a voter, I have a problem not so much with Kosiniak himself, but with the environment he comes from. The PSL is deeply rooted in the corrupt Polish party system, it has so-called 100% coalition capability, it has been in governments with Pawlak, Cimoszewicz, Oleksy, Miller, Tusk, Kopacz, in coalitions with everyone.” -- TVP HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR A LONG TIME, IT'S A SPINE-BREAKING MACHINE - SAYS HOŁOWNIA IN RZ: “It is dedicating more and more time to me, which greatly broadens my cognitive horizons. I see things that I didn't think were possible to do. However, to all those who call for an election boycott, I say clearly: this is a cesspool that we may have to swim through and get dirty in, because the traffic jam is on the other side. I once had a short professional episode with TVP. I was thrown in at the deep end, as they gave me a journalistic slot on Jedynka, after Durczok. When I saw that institution from the inside, I couldn't believe it. PiS has brought to its peak something that has been there for a long time. TVP has been a spine-breaking machine for years. The people who are often there are not bad; in a normal company, they would do a great job, but they found themselves in a situation that I don't envy them for at all.” -- WHAT WILL I LEAVE MY DAUGHTER? 100 THOUSAND? - CONTINUES HOŁOWNIA: “It is not by chance that all these concepts have appeared. For 30 years, we have been in the 1990s and we argue: right-wing versus left-wing. I can't stand it anymore. I am 44 years old, and how much longer should I wait to decide to run? I became a father late and heard various voices. Some said that from that moment on, one should be more cautious, but it actually spurred me on with energy. I thought to myself: what will I leave her? 100 thousand?” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/305019997-Szymon-Holownia-Wprowadze-zielone-weto.html -- PIS IS AMORPHOUS - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF RZ BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA: “Anyone here would rip out a competitor's liver, and the numerous casualties in the form of temporary stars of the economy or politics are a natural cost. In this sense, PiS as a party is completely amorphous, devoid of ideology, and defenseless. And precisely because of this structure that looks like a self-built edifice, the role and person of the leader and his views become so distinct, serving as a kind of reference for lower-level party comrades. Is the President a practicing Catholic? The entire party is demonstratively Catholic and sways to the tune of the church song at Father Rydzyk's birthday. Does the President love the Cursed Soldiers? The entire party vies for the cult of the Cursed Soldiers. Does the President make ill-considered promises? The party does everything to fulfill them. Does the President love cats? Party comrades spend their days scheming how to sneak in a little album about cats or a bag of fresh food for the President. Well, some will call it evidence of loyalty, others sycophancy. In sum, it doesn't matter. What matters is complete loyalty and zero criticism. Therefore, there is no internal debate in PiS, no questioning the president's opinion, no challengers, and Sejm votes are reduced to an automaton.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/305019988-Boguslaw-Chrabota-Polska-czyli-autorytet-prezesa.html -- WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF DUDA WINS? CHANGE IN THE JUDICIARY STRUCTURE AND RECALL OF JUDGES - PROF. ADAM STRZEMBOSZ IN GW: “If he did not change his attitude, if he signed everything, the most dangerous thing would happen: a change in the judiciary structure. That is what Ziobro wants. Instead of district, regional, and appellate courts, there would be two levels, judges would be reappointed, and could be recalled. There would be no security. Even in the PRL, when I was appointed a judge in the District Court for Warsaw-Praga, no one could remove me from that court. And now it will be like this: if you rule badly, we'll send you from Warsaw to Szczecinek. Probably, the Minister of Justice would also have the freedom to decide who presides in the first instance and who in the second. He would do with judges what he has already done with prosecutors. Prominent appellate prosecutors were transferred to the regional level, dealing with major economic affairs, and now with petty thieves. It would be a terribly difficult exam for judges. I don't know if it wouldn't be the end of independent judiciary. But this government will not last forever.” -- KACZYŃSKI IS THE FATHER OF THE KRS MODEL - CONTINUES STRZEMBOSZ: “Madam, Jarosław Kaczyński was at the Round Table in the law sub-committee along with me, although he probably won't admit it. The funniest thing is that in our proposed changes, we had everything worked out except for the issue of the National Council of the Judiciary. So, a three-person team was appointed: Jadwiga Skórzewska, Kaczyński, and someone from the authorities – and they established the shape of the National Council, the one that Mr. Jarosław disliked so much.” -- STRZEMBOSZ ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL ORDERING OF THE JUDICIARY AFTER PIŚ: “However, disciplinary proceedings must be conducted against the judicial members of the current KRS, the disciplinary ombudsman and his deputies, the hate group in the Ministry of Justice, and the presidents of courts appointed in violation of the predecessor's term, who dutifully serve the authorities. There is also the issue of judges who should not hold their positions for intellectual or competence reasons – I proposed transferring them to retirement, but this met with protest, as it is more of a reward. Well, but what solution would be as close to the constitution as possible?” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,25908950,adam-strzembosz-kaczynski-nie-jest-inteligentem.html -- WORLD'S BENEFACTORS - GRZEGORZ DOBIECKI ON THE CHINESE PR OPERATION: “We should not be surprised when we soon hear that China has been the first to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and a medicine for COVID-19. And that they are ready to share these medicines with all of humanity. The image of the People's Republic of China as a benefactor of the world will then become perfect.” -- DOBIECKI ON THE CHINESE PLANS FOR 5G AND THE VIRUS AS A CATALYST: “No one is canceling globalization. China is connected with other countries, especially with the so-called free world, by a whole web of dependencies and processes, both cooperative and competitive. The pandemic has at most suspended or interrupted them, but certainly not canceled them. And these are struggles with America for influence not only in the Asia-Pacific region; an unfinished trade war; relocated production; the painstakingly woven web of dependencies in the Belt and Road initiative; competition for access to 5G networks; an arms race and space exploration, including for military purposes; efforts to access natural resources, but also for primacy in green energy... The pandemic may become a catalyst that will unleash a reaction in all these processes – not necessarily new, but this time exceptionally strong. Dislike, distrust, skepticism towards China's reliability and the security of economic ties with this country. In other words, although the coronavirus will harm everyone, it may particularly harm China and its position in the world. But this will only become clear when Chinese masks are no longer needed.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-05-01/chinskie-maski/ -- ZIEMOWIT SZCZEREK RIDICULES LEADERS AND THEIR METHODS OF FIGHTING THE VIRUS: “What can be used to fight the coronavirus? In Estonia, with goose fat, in Belarus with vodka, and Trump recommends injecting oneself with bleach or disinfectant intravenously. And who is behind the mad spread of the virus? And who is not?” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/ziemowit-szczerek/jaszczuroludzie-w-koronach-wirusow/ -- PHOTO. Constitution of May 3, 1791 – Jan Matejko's painting was created from January to October 1891. In May, however, work on it was so advanced that it was possible to display the canvas at the jubilee exhibition in Sukiennice on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the constitution. The painting measures 247 × 446 cm. It is in the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. -- BIRTHDAYS: Paweł Reszka, SUNDAY: Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Aleksandra Gieros, Czesław Bielecki, Kazimierz Plocke, Marcelina Zawisza, Andrew Nagorski, Maciek Sokołowski.