-- WE ARE REPUBLISHING A FRAGMENT FROM ADAM BODNAR'S LATEST BOOK ON 300POLITYCE: Yes, obstacles are being thrown in the way of constitutional bodies independent of the ruling camp, political competitors are being hindered from playing on a level field, and opponents are being discredited, but there is still a chance to heal this situation. Adam Bodnar, the Commissioner for Human Rights, sheds light on the state of the nation in conversation with Bartosz Bartosik. https://300polityka.pl/news/2020/05/11/bodnar-owszem-rzuca-sie-klody-pod-nogi-organom-konstytucyjnym-niezaleznym-od-obozu-rzadzacego-utrudnia-rowna-gre-konkurentom-politycznym-i-dyskredytuje-przeciwnikow-ale-wciaz-jest-szansa-na-uzdrow/ -- The book is available for purchase here: https://obywatelpl.pl/ -- WHERE DOES THE RECORD TOTALIZATOR RESULT COME FROM? POLES ARE PLAYING AND WINNING MORE THAN EVER IN HISTORY - BUSINESS ON 300POLITYCE: https://300polityka.pl/biznes/2020/05/11/mocniejsze-wplywy-do-budzetu-technologiczna-transformacja-totalizatora-dala-rekordowy-wynik-spolki-a-w-powiecie-piotrkowskim-grajacy-zainkasowal-200-mln-zl/ -- SAWICKI ON THE POSSIBILITY OF ELECTIONS BEING IN THE AUTUMN, SASIN SUGGESTS THE PRIME MINISTER'S RESPONSIBILITY - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/05/11/ -- IT IS WORTH AIMING FOR TRADITIONAL ELECTIONS - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “In my opinion, under the current epidemiological conditions, it is worth aiming for as traditional an election as possible, regardless of the opposition frightening people with the alleged epidemiological threat. However, the method of confirming receipt of the ballot can be maximally simplified and secured (e.g., using one's own pen, or a disposable one provided by the election organizer), and placing ballot boxes and tables outside polling stations can also be considered – if the weather permits.” -- POLLING POSITION SHOULD NOT BE LULLING, SOCIAL SENTIMENT IS UNLIKELY TO IMPROVE - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Realistically, elections could take place between the end of June and the end of July. From the ruling camp's perspective, every week counts. Andrzej Duda's high polling position should not lull anyone into a false sense of security. When the opposition stops calling for a boycott, the ratings of the KO candidate will jump, and the current president's lead will shrink. In my opinion, a second round is still very likely. The question of the electoral process will be of great importance – whether candidates must re-register or not; the National Electoral Commission has referred this matter to the legislator. If the door is opened for new nominations, it will be harder for Andrzej Duda to win in the first round. Social sentiment is unlikely to improve.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/499626-warto-isc-w-strone-wyborow-jak-najbardziej-tradycyjnych -- ON ATTEMPTS TO USE THE POLITICAL TURMOIL FOR PERSONAL CORRECTIONS - MARCIN FIJOŁEK: “But there is another, equally important, and perhaps even more significant field when analyzing the entire commotion. From the very beginning, this wasn't just about the elections, their date, or how they would be conducted. Most players want to use the political turmoil for political, strategic corrections – a person involved in the negotiations tells me.” -- TRUST HAS BEEN ERODED TO A MINIMUM - FIJOŁEK ON THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FACTIONS: “At Nowogrodzka [PiS headquarters] – as evidenced by photos published in tabloids today – both Emilewicz, Jarosław Gowin, Zbigniew Ziobro, and even Jacek Kurski appeared. In addition, of course, the entire leadership of PiS. Both the participants and their supporters blamed all responsibility for the crisis on the other factions within the United Right camp. Trust has been eroded to an absolute minimum for the entire project to have a reason to exist.” -- THE ENTIRE DOMINO OF THE UNITED RIGHT WILL BE REARRANGED BY SEPTEMBER AT THE LATEST - FIJOŁEK CONTINUES: “In such a nervous environment and with such great tension, we are entering a crucial stage – from the perspective of organizing the elections – which is making sensible decisions about the mode, method, and date of voting. Regardless of whether it ends with hybrid elections under strict safety measures (the situation as of Monday morning is that this is the most likely option) or entirely by mail, in August, by September at the latest, the entire political domino in the United Right camp will have to be reassembled. On the horizon is not only a new coalition agreement but also a different political landscape, likely with personal adjustments. Political ping-pong, seasoned with regularly returning states of considerable turbulence, will be a constant element of our landscape – with some form of campaign in the background.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/499659-polityczny-ping-pong-i-stan-permanentnych-turbulencji -- JUNE 28TH IS A DUEL ON FAIR TERMS - PROF. JAROSŁAW FLIS in conversation with Piotr Witwicki on Polsat News: “The provision on the election silence is statutory, and the National Electoral Commission (PKW) theoretically has no power to repeal it, but it acted on common sense and told us that it doesn't exist. It can also put elections on solid ground. It is enough to exercise common sense and send a signal to tread this ground well and refrain from digging wolf traps. June 28th will be a duel on fair terms.” -- THE JUNE DEADLINE HAS THE VALUE OF MEETING HALFWAY - FLIS CONTINUES: “The chances are fifty-fifty. Until now, the ruling camp believed that if the elections were held in May, it would be great because their candidate would win, and if in August, it would be bad because they might lose. The opposition thought the opposite. Therefore, this June deadline has an additional value: it's a kind of meeting halfway. The chances will be equal, and it would be good if no one tried to exploit this situation anymore.” -- FLIS ON THE OPTION OF VOTING BY MAIL UPON REQUEST: “We should return to what is stable, i.e., the procedure practiced by the Polish state for 30 years. This is how the elections were held in 2015, and no one questioned anything then: voting in polling stations with the option of postal voting. If someone is afraid to go to the polling station, they should be able to vote by mail upon request. This way, we avoid sending out blank ballots, as this is a fatal threat to the fairness of the elections. We will conduct everything using the PKW's resources, as has been done for 30 years. Today's electoral crisis is a truly traumatic experience. We should not risk it again.” https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2020-05-10/prof-flis-dla-polsatnews-pl-28-czerwca-to-pojedynek-na-uczciwych-zasadach/ -- DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA WRITES THAT THE POLITICAL TURMOIL WAS NOT ABOUT ELECTIONS BUT ABOUT UNDERMINING MORAWIECKI - as she writes in GW: “But in reality, it was about tipping the table and a new arrangement where Morawiecki is sidelined. Kaczyński likely didn't believe Ziobro, because if for long weeks it was impossible to bribe Confederation MPs to vote for mail-in elections, why would it succeed now? My interlocutors emphasize that the May 23 elections were not the key, but precisely getting rid of Morawiecki. This is also evidenced by the Prime Minister's own stance, who immediately opposed Kurski's scenario. He even offered his resignation, which Kaczyński rejected. Morawiecki resisted, even though the May 23 elections were in a way convenient for him, as they moved away accusations of unlawfully spending public money on preparing mail-in elections by Poczta Polska.” -- GOWIN STEP BY STEP OUTSIDE THE COALITION - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “When the Gowin-Kaczyński pact was concluded, I wrote that it was a superficial peace, as it was only a matter of time before the next clash. It happened on Saturday. And Gowin – although formally in the ruling coalition – is leaving it slowly, step by step. He announced his dissenting opinion not only on the matter of elections but also on the strategy for thawing the economy. He still promotes the so-called Sośnierz plan, which is critical of the government's actions. At the same time, he observes the politicians of PiS undermining each other, happy that he made the decision to change course and correctly predicted the increasingly sharp conflict within this group.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,25934001,kulisy-niedoszlego-przewrotu-nie-wybory-ale-pozbycie-sie-morawieckiego.html -- HOUSE OF CARDS WITH POLISH POLITICS IS BORING - JAROSŁAW GOWIN IN DGP answering Tomasz Żółciak and Grzegorz Osiecki's question about the Saturday turmoil: “Responsible politics requires the ability to remain silent. After a month as a rank-and-file MP, I can only say that compared to Polish politics, 'House of Cards' is boring.” -- GOWIN REFERS TO POSITIVE REACTIONS FROM CHMAJ AND HERMELIŃSKI TO THE PKW RESOLUTION: “We are considering such a possibility. Then an alternative plan will need to be built. Lawyers who are authorities for opposition circles, such as Judge Hermeliński or Prof. Chmaj, believe that the Supreme Court's ruling is not required for the Marshal of the Sejm to order new elections and that a PKW resolution is sufficient. This is a simpler formula than the one we proposed with President Kaczyński. If the Supreme Court washes its hands of it, I think such an interpretation may be accepted across party lines.” -- GOWIN ON THE REGISTRATION OF NEW CANDIDATES: “First and foremost, we will restore full PKW control over the elections. We are working on strong guarantees that ballots will reach their addressees. As for candidates, President Kaczyński and I are convinced that we must not expose Poles to an increase in infections and should not collect signatures for already registered candidacies. Potential new candidates could collect signatures.” -- I AM A RAMROD FOR CONSERVATIVE-LIBERAL VIEWS - GOWIN CONTINUES: “I am a center-right politician. I have conservative views on moral matters and free-market views on economics. These types of views are not particularly popular in Poland. The right is rather socially oriented, and economically liberal circles are approaching the left on ideological matters. Since Zbysław Gilowska, I have probably been the only free-market conservative who truly influences the shape of the state. I would like such circles to play a greater role in the future. Therefore, I consider opening the way for younger politicians to be the most important task. I have in mind people like Prime Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister Marcin Ociepa, Mayor of Chełm Jakub Banaszek, Deputy Chairman of the United Right parliamentary club Michał Wypij, or the energetic and steel-tough MP Magdalena Sroka. I am the ramrod intended to break down the wall of Poles' lack of understanding for this rare alloy, which is conservative-liberal views. If I manage to break down this wall, I will pave the way for my successors.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/opinie/artykuly/7698532,gowin-wybory-koronawirus-house-of-cards-wywiad.html -- TWO CANDIDATES ARE EMERGING - HOŁOWNIA AND KOSINIAK - PIOTR TRUDNOWSKI AT KLUB JAGIELLOŃSKI: “Certainly, in these elections, two candidates are emerging who, just three months ago, could only dream of reaching the second round. These are Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Szymon Hołownia. Kosiniak-Kamysz would like to be the new Andrzej Olechowski, i.e., a politician who, based on a surprisingly good result in the presidential elections, will begin to build a new center of the Polish political scene. Szymon Hołownia, on the other hand, pretends to be a more mainstream Paweł Kukiz, although at times one could say he resembles Stanisław Tymiński more.” -- RE-ELECTION IS UNCERTAIN, IN 2000 CONSERVATIVE VOTERS DID NOT TURN OUT - TRUDNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Is Andrzej Duda's re-election certain? I don't think we can be 100% sure of that. The year 2015 showed that certain polls indicating a first-round victory can be wrong. Moreover, voter turnout can bring surprises. We are in rather unusual circumstances today, and it may turn out that voters will act differently than politicians expect. Let's recall that it was already the case in 2000 that the eastern wall, i.e., conservative right-wing voters, did not turn out for the elections at all. This led to a surprising and spectacular defeat for the then candidate of the right.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/05/09/trudnowski-wybory-prezydenckie-moga-przyniesc-niespodziewany-rezultat-video/ -- A NEW INTERNAL BALANCE WILL NEED TO BE FOUND - GOWIN'S ACTION HAS DISRUPTED THE CURRENT BALANCE IN THE RULING CAMP - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “Gowin's action concerning the election date has disrupted the existing balance in the ruling camp. It has awakened ambitions and concerns within the factions (further amplified by the state of the epidemic, uncertainty about the scale of inevitable economic weakening), which are rendering rational action impossible. From this perspective, the damage is considerable. And in a sense, it allows us to ask whether the United Right, in the form we knew it, can survive. Certain changes may prove unavoidable – because a new internal balance will need to be found.” -- THE THREAT OF LOSING CONTROL - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “If such a reconciliation package is impossible, the members of Porozumienie must choose whether to join Gowin in the opposition camp, go as a appendage to PSL in the footsteps of Kukiz (because without stopping, this is how it might end), or fulfill what they promised their voters – and this is only possible within the United Right. This, in turn, is a path either to confirming/building a new majority without Jarosław Gowin, albeit with a majority of Porozumienie MPs, or to new parliamentary elections. The alternative, in my opinion, is decay, loss of trust in the eyes of voters, and loss of control. I emphasize: Gowin has every right to subjectivity; no one has ever taken that away from him. But if he truly wants this coalition to last, he must take a step back.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/499620-dlaczego-kryzys-wywolany-akcje-przez-gowina-jest-tak-nerwowy -- THE CONFLICT IN THE RULING CAMP HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED, IT EXISTS UNDER THE SURFACE - TOMASZ SAWCZUK in Kultura Liberalna: “In any case, it is easy to notice that Kaczyński has cornered himself, Gowin's stance has limited his room for maneuver, and further friction within the coalition has emerged with greater force on this occasion. This means that the conflict within the ruling camp has not been resolved but continues to exist under the cover of a temporary agreement between its leaders. Kaczyński knows that Gowin stood up to him – which cannot go without consequences. And Gowin now knows that Kaczyński cares neither about independent courts – which he somehow rationalized until now – nor even about fair elections. He also doesn't care about Gowin himself, since he humiliatingly deceived him two days after publicly promising something else.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/05/10/sawczuk-w-poniedzialek-dlaczego-gowin-sie-na-to-godzi/ -- WKK AND HOŁOWNIA HAVE A CHANCE TO REACH AN ELECTORATE THAT KIDAWA CANNOT ACCESS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI ON COMPLICATIONS FOR DUDA IN THE SECOND ROUND - writes in RZ: “The chances of winning in the first round are decreasing, and winning in the second round – both against Hołownia and Kosiniak-Kamysz – will be significantly more difficult than against Kidawa-Błońska. This is because both the former publicist and the leader of PSL can count on taking centrist voters with conservative views away from President Duda. In other words, they can attract an electorate that was unattainable for the Civic Platform candidate. Seeing all this, Jarosław Kaczyński eagerly listened to those PiS politicians who said that the moment should be used when the law, already adopted by the Sejm and signed by the president, gives a legal (albeit constitutionally questionable) possibility to hold elections on May 23 and push Andrzej Duda through with elbows and knees for a second term.” -- THE PERSON MAKING KEY DECISIONS IS UNPREDICTABLE - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “Only when the PiS leader realized that the situation was much more difficult did he agree to concessions to Gowin. The catch is that this explanation condemns Jarosław Kaczyński. It paints a picture of a man detached from reality, making key decisions based on information provided by party sycophants. A man who is easily persuaded of something on Wednesday and talked into the opposite on Saturday. This is a dangerous situation, as it would mean that the person making the most important decisions for the state and citizens is completely unpredictable.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/200519959-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Prezes-zapedzil-sie-w-kozi-rog.html -- HE HAS FOUND HIS PLACE IN THE CAMPAIGN AS AN OUTSIDER - ON THE HOŁOWNIA PHENOMENON - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZ: “Hołownia has found his place in the campaign under the sign of the pandemic as an outsider (though surrounded by experienced people who give him gravitas, such as Gen. Mirosław Różański), who attacks the current establishment. But not as another politician. His previous experiences make him appear to many, tired of both the pandemic and the political system, as a preacher who teaches rather than shoots party messages. Every day – morning and evening – Hołownia engages in dialogues with voters on social media. He wasn't even afraid to cry. And although 'boys don't cry,' Hołownia can. The result is second place in the polls, at a time when predictions indicated that a person without political experience would not find their footing during such a serious crisis. Szymon Hołownia's popularity is shown not only by polls but also by data from social media portals, which have become the most important bloodstream of global information during the pandemic – and much indicates that this will remain so. In the last month alone, Hołownia's profile has gained 108,000 likes.” -- PHOTO. Dogs Playing Poker – a series of sixteen oil paintings by American painter Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, commissioned in 1903 by the Brown & Bigelow company for a cigar advertising campaign. All paintings in the series depict anthropomorphic dog characters, but only nine of them, showing animals sitting around a card game table, have gained widespread recognition in American culture. The entire series of Coolidge's paintings owes its considerable popularity to its title. -- HISTORY OF THE PAINTING'S POP CULTURE SUCCESS: https://mymodernmet.com/dogs-playing-poker-painting/ -- EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO, the public was shocked by the premiere of the Sekielski brothers' film about pedophilia in the Catholic Church. In a few days, a new film will premiere, also on YouTube. -- BIRTHDAYS: Ludgarda Buzek turns 85. Patryk Jaki turns 35, and his daughter Ola is born. Also celebrating birthdays are: Anna Streżyńska, Jan Ołdakowski, Zbigniew Benbenek, Joanna Górska.