-- LEWICA PRAISES PRESIDENT DUDY'S PARDON OF JAN ŚPIEWAK, TRZASKOWSKI AHEAD OF SEBASTIAN KOŚCIELNIK'S TRIAL, STORM AFTER KACZYŃSKI'S WORDS IN THE SEJM - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/05/ -- ONLY WHEN CRACKS APPEAR CAN WE NOTICE SOMETHING IS WRONG - FORMER PRIME MINISTER HANNA SUCHOCKA ON THE COMMON GOOD in conversation with Zuzanna Dąbrowska in RZ: “I wouldn't say that at all, I wouldn't value it as if the nation wasn't good at building democracy. I think that in our daily rush, a certain superficiality, in a new reality, while carrying out reforms, trying to catch up with the world that has left us far behind in 40 years, we didn't realize the difficulty of deeper reflection on what the common good is. I think it's only certain shocks, critical situations that stop us, force us to reflect. We know that only when deep divisions, even cracks in society, begin to appear, are we able to notice that something is wrong. When things are relatively good, we don't bother with such reflection.” -- I WAS ALWAYS A SOUL FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT - FURTHER REMARKS FROM PRIME MINISTER SUCHOCKA: “I was always a soul for local government. 30 years since the first local government elections is an incredibly important anniversary. Unfortunately, it has passed into oblivion, overshadowed by disputes, quarrels, and again, the common good, of which local governments are an essential element, has been obscured not only by the pandemic but also by political dispute. Observing Poland, traveling around the country, from the very beginning, when I was still very active in political life, I noticed how important the idea was to begin the transformation together with the reconstruction of territorial self-government. It was an extraordinary school for creating civil society, a sense that we can do something ourselves, but it's also not a given forever.” -- THE POLITICAL CLASS TREATED THE PANDEMIC DRAMA AS AN ADDITIONAL ELEMENT IN POLITICAL GAMES, NOT AS THE COMMON GOOD - FURTHER REMARKS FROM HANNA SUCHOCKA IN RZ: “The pandemic is an unbelievable drama, it has re-evaluated, changed the lives of entire societies, changed the life of every individual, and presented each of us with new, difficult challenges. After all, no one assumed we would have to face such a phenomenon. And I have the impression that political life, the political class, has not taken this into account, but has treated it as just another element in political games. The shift in priorities and the change in thinking, a reference to a different value system, has not occurred. Perhaps in our situation, the ongoing quarrel, the dispute over the presidential elections (because it cannot be called an election campaign), had a decisive influence on what is happening. This overshadowed the dramatic nature of the situation related to the pandemic and the challenges we all face. After all, neither the pandemic nor the problems associated with it have ended; we are actually only facing new challenges, new problems, and we are not formulating questions for the future: what does this mean in the context of the common good.” https://www.rp.pl/Wywiady-i-rozmowy/200609616-Hanna-Suchocka-Jak-tworzyc-wspolne-dobro.html -- COMPANIES ARE THINKING LESS ABOUT LAYOFFS, BUT IT'S TOO EARLY TO CELEBRATE - JAKUB SZYMCZAK IN OKO.PRESS: “Almost half of Polish companies have benefited from government aid. Fewer and fewer entrepreneurs are planning layoffs, and optimism is evident in the surveys. However, as many as one in four companies does not expect to rebuild its financial potential to pre-pandemic levels within a year. -- THESE DATA ARE TRULY OPTIMISTIC - VICE-CHAIRMAN OF OPZZ IN OKO'S ARTICLE: “'These data are indeed optimistic. It will be interesting to see if other studies confirm this. Of course, we should not forget that many companies had and still have layoffs and pay cuts. However, the survey result gives hope that 2020 may not be as tragic as it seemed just a month ago. And this means that there was and is no reason to shift so many crisis costs onto employees.” -- DATA FROM BCC SHOW THAT 46% OF COMPANIES USED AID - FURTHER IN OKO: “In turn, a survey by the Business Centre Club shows that 46% of companies used government aid. The BCC survey was conducted among 1166 club members in the third decade of May. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about representativeness. However, we do not have other studies that comprehensively check the reaction of Polish entrepreneurs to the crisis. What else can be learned from the BCC survey? Most often, companies used ZUS contribution exemptions. This is about 40% of them. One in three companies associated with the club reports that its situation has significantly worsened due to the pandemic. When asked about government aid instruments that companies will need in the coming months, 47% of companies responded that they would need wage subsidies.” https://oko.press/jak-idzie-odmrazanie-firmy-coraz-rzadziej-mysla-o-zwalnianiu-pracownikow-ale-za-wczesnie-na-fanfary/ -- PIS COUNTERATTACKS - GW LEAD STORY. -- WILL THE NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE RESTART THE CAMPAIGN? - Michał Kolanko on RZ's front page: “The motion for a vote of confidence in the government is intended to invigorate Andrzej Duda's campaign. The opposition speaks of panic in the ruling camp.” https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1429713-Wotum-zrestartuje-kampanie.html -- IF ANDRZEJ DUDA WINS, IT WILL BE DESPITE HIS CAMPAIGN, NOT THANKS TO IT - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “It builds a narrative of his dispensability, creating an image of a PiS ornament, not an independent politician. As one commentator noted, in joint press conferences, Duda looks like the Prime Minister's assistant, not the head of state. Furthermore, Jacek Kurski's return to TVP, while intended to help Duda's campaign, only reinforces the impression of his irrelevance, as it was he who demanded Duda's dismissal as head of state television three months ago. Of course, all polls today show that Duda has the greatest chance of winning. However, this will happen in spite of, not thanks to, this election campaign.” -- THE PO CANDIDATE HAS NOTHING TO LOSE - Michał Szuldrzyński further writes in RZ: “There is one more factor that puts Trzaskowski in a better position than Duda. The PO candidate has nothing to lose. He is not the party leader who must maintain power. At the outset, he can only build himself up, regardless of the election outcome. If he loses, he will remain the mayor of one of the fastest-growing cities in this part of Europe for the next few years. Unlike him, Duda is playing for everything. A potential loss would mean the end of his political career and – although he is Trzaskowski's age – an accelerated political retirement.” https://www.rp.pl/Analizy/200609621-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Kampania-wyborcza-sluzy-Rafalowi-Trzaskowskiemu-nie-Andrzejowi-Dudzie.html -- DO NOT GET PUSHED INTO AN ANTI-CLERICAL TRENCH - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW ON PO'S CAMPAIGN: “Trzaskowski and his campaign team do not want to give PiS any pretext to focus the campaign on social revolution, which a large part of Poles simply fears. Trzaskowski's stance on the role of the Church in the state has been known for a long time – he showed this in Warsaw, where religious ceremonies were separated from state events. The candidate's campaign team has a plan to constantly introduce new topics: criticism of TVP, a call for modesty in government. Highlighting criticism of the Church is not necessary for Trzaskowski, as he has the support of the left-wing electorate, and has had it since the first round. This is evidenced by Robert Biedroń's weak performance in polls, which worsened even further when the KO candidate entered the race.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26004006,kampania-trzaskowskiego-nie-dac-sie-zapedzic-do-antyklerykalnego.html -- ON DUDA'S STALL - PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GW: “He is still the favorite in the elections – the entire state apparatus and public television, subsidized with nearly PLN 2 billion, which serves as one large election advertisement, supports him. It is clearly visible that the president feels uncomfortable in the role of defender of the status quo, and even increasingly so. Although he is trying to return to the campaign track from five years ago, it is difficult for him to fight elites in a situation where he himself embodies the PiS elites. People who are doing well lately, as shown by the example of Health Minister Łukasz Szumowski's family businesses. Duda is no longer a young and dynamic politician, but a nervous and sometimes comical representative of power, accustomed to the comforts of office.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26004894,wybory-prezydenckie.html -- AFTER THE EPIDEMIC, PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER SO INTERESTED IN WORLDVIEW ISSUES, THIS IS NOT WHAT THIS CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT - RAFAŁ TRZASKOWSKI IN A CONVERSATION WITH GRZEGORZ OSIECKI AND TOMASZ ŻÓŁCIAK IN DGP: “I have a sense of dissonance between what journalists ask and what ordinary people ask. In the post-epidemic era, societies are not so interested in worldview issues. After all, everyone knows my views. I believe that partnership unions should be introduced in Poland. But this is not what this campaign is about.” -- TRZASKOWSKI ANNOUNCES A LOAN POLICY IN HIS PROGRAM: “I will speak about the program in detail in the coming days. We will certainly also address issues of credit policy. A crisis is now approaching, and I am ready to cooperate with the government regarding economic aid. However, it cannot continue that no one is watching the government's actions. I'm not even talking about violating the constitution or politicizing institutions that the president should guard. I'm talking about bad governance.” -- NO POLITICIAN SHOULD HAVE THE TEMPTATION TO INFLUENCE TV - FURTHER REMARKS BY TRZASKOWSKI IN DGP: “Should we leave these haters? After what they have done, the credibility of TVP Info cannot be rebuilt. (...) The idea of a 24-hour news channel in public media has been completely compromised. No politician should ever again have the temptation to influence such a station. Public media should focus on fulfilling their cultural and educational mission. Let there be sports, entertainment, even journalism to a limited extent.” -- I WILL BURN OUT WITH A HOT IRON THE EVIL THAT PIS HAS DONE - FURTHER REMARKS BY TRZASKOWSKI IN DGP: “We are talking with experts who will prepare a concept in this regard. It could be the state budget, it could be a new television platform. It is important that it becomes socialized, that people feel it is their television, not the politicians'. I will burn out with a hot iron what PiS has done. Not only in public media. I have a problem with ministers hiding their assets, not with them being wealthy.” https://www.dziennik.pl/artykuly/7734004,trzaskowski-kandydat-wybory-prezydenckie-pis-ko.html -- JANUSZ SCHWERTNER'S REPORT ON ONET, AMONG OTHER THINGS, ABOUT THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF THE FAMOUS 2019 CAMPAIGN SPOT ABOUT REFUGEES: “We have obtained documents from the company Solvere. In one of them, Anna Plakwicz did not hide her pride in the idea she came up with with her colleagues. She described the spot as an 'atomic strike.' She also wondered whether the thesis they intended to put forward – that PO's proposed liquidation of voivodeship offices would open the way for free acceptance of refugees – was actually true. Here is a fragment of this document (original spelling): 'Basic question: Isn't refugees too strong a topic, won't it alienate people?:) And now the question is when to attack them with it, October 15th, probably too early because they will respond on October 17th (3 days before the election, probably too late – we won't heat up the topic?) Spot – question for PO – instead of the government – refugees? Liquidating voivodeship offices in the field means opening the way for free acceptance of refugees? Is that what this is about? The next day, press conferences under all city halls of mayors who signed the letter about accepting refugees.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/hejter-niebezpieczne-zabawy-ludzi-andrzeja-dudy/86gz15s -- SZUMOWSKI CONTRADICTS HIMSELF AND CHANGES HIS MIND - FAKT IN A LEAD STORY: “However, although the minister constantly gives interviews and although he said so much in the Sejm today, he remains silent on the most important issues. Fakt has also established that he repeatedly deviates from the truth. We have collected statements from Professor Szumowski from recent weeks. They clearly show that he contradicts himself! Thanks to his effective fight against the epidemic, Minister Szumowski has become one of the most popular politicians in a few weeks. However, the conflict of interest revealed by Fakt, in which he has been involved for a long time, and the information about his assets hastily transferred to his wife cast a shadow over his image. Minister Łukasz Szumowski continues to equivocate and change his mind.” https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/szumowski-ocalony-sejm-odrzucil-wniosek-o-wotum-nieufnosci-dwa-oblicza-ministra/04x814g -- SE ON EARNINGS IN WARSAW CITY HALL: “But generally, the highest income last year was boasted by the vice-president for roads and communication – Robert Soszyński, who 'collected' a total of PLN 361,000. This includes: PLN 278,000 in official salary, PLN 52,000 from the supervisory board of Koleje Mazowieckie, and PLN 31,000 from apartment rental.” https://www.se.pl/warszawa/on-zarabia-najwiecej-w-ratuszu-znamy-aktualne-zarobki-wiceprezydentow-warszawy-nie-sa-male-aa-VzTK-4QY3-KR23.html -- PIOTR KASZCZYSZYN ON WOJCIECH MUCHA'S BOOK ABOUT THE FEELING OF HOPELESSNESS IN HOUSING ESTATES: “The experience of the crisis in the 1990s was common across the country for cities like Mielec, a 60,000-strong industrial center created by People's Poland. Wojciech Mucha also presents this feeling of hopelessness in his book. Therefore, 'Miasto noży' can be read as a novel about the people made redundant by Polish transformation, referencing Stefan Czarnowski's 1936 essay on the anger of the victims of the Great Depression in pre-war Poland. Redundant for the economy, redundant for politics, 'thrown out of history,' which in the 1990s did not unfold in cities like Mielec, functioning as if 'outside of time.' Moreover, it did not unfold on the PRL-era housing estates surrounding the Main Market Square in Krakow either. Mucha consistently describes the world of housing estates as radically separate from the old Krakow, confined within the Planty park.” -- KASZCZYSZYN WRITES ABOUT THE MORALLY DISGUSTING FORMULA OF HOMO SOVIETICUS: “Therefore, the fundamental dimension of 'Miasto noży' is ethical: the former Cracovia fan gives voice to the excluded themselves (his neighbors from the old estate), restores their social 'visibility' and ordinary human dignity. This gesture is fundamental in a situation where in the 1990s, post-Solidarity elites, led by Józef Tischner and his morally disgusting figure of homo sovieticus, spoke of 'redundant people,' and today the 'good change' camp is attempting to play a similar paternalistic role.” -- HOUSING ESTATES THROWN OUT OF HISTORY - FURTHER REMARKS BY KASZCZYSZYN: “The conclusion drawn from his personal history is more significant. It turns out that yes, housing estates were 'thrown out of history' by the specific shape of the systemic transformation, but this agency is not found even in the world of political elites originating from the former leadership of 'Solidarity.' All these arrogant and paternalistically proud visitors to the building on Wiejska Street and the authors of a certain large newspaper from Warsaw were largely just ksero-modernizers, instruments of someone else's will, tools of the neoliberal zeitgeist.” -- THE RIGHT FROM MANOR HOUSES VS CONSERVATISM FROM HOUSING ESTATES - FURTHER REMARKS BY KASZCZYSZYN: "In the Third Polish Republic, we can identify the most mature stage of 'insurgent right-wing' as a result of the Warsaw Uprising Museum's creation, the 'forest right-wing' model associated with reconstructing the fates of the Cursed Soldiers, and the intellectual project of the 'Political Theology' environment, the 'Roman right-wing' composed of Greek virtues, Roman republicanism, and Polish Catholicism. What connects each of these strategies is a focus on the past and a 'manor house' lineage. The Polish right-wing is a right-wing of noble spirit. From this perspective, 'Miasto noży' is a true revolution (sympathy for Tyrmand stems from his anti-communism, not from adopting an urban perspective) in the right-wing imaginary. Wojciech Mucha's book is the voice of the plebeian right-wing, the right-wing from the housing estates, which sees housing estates as a space of historical agency; which does not identify Polishness with a historical 'once and there,' but with 'now and here,' and instead of 'exiting history' – 'enters' it. This is precisely why the novel by a former Cracovia fan is so important for me as an author of Klub Jagielloński – an environment that for several years has been trying to gradually develop the identity of plebeian conservatism: from issues of 'Pressja' Polska z wielkiej płyty and Niech żyje Polska Ludowa!, through the section Polska nowoczesność on the KJ opinion portal, to deglomeration postulates supporting 'Poland of medium-sized cities' and reports developing this idea. https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/06/04/bo-my-wszyscy-z-tych-szarych-blokow-wokol-miasta-nozy-wojciecha-muchy/ -- ADULTS SAW WHAT CHILDREN ARE LEARNING AND NOW THEY ARE FOR CURRICULUM REDUCTION - GRZEGORZ CAŁEK FROM THE INSTITUTE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL INITIATIVES IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Yes! As much as two-thirds are in favor of reducing the curriculum. This is a result of getting to know the contemporary world of the student more closely. Parents, by having to support their children's learning on a daily basis, saw how much there is.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/online-nie-zdaje-egzaminu-163504 -- PHOTO. THE DEATH OF SENECA – painting by Flemish painter Rubens, Pinakothek in Munich. Rubens depicted the moment when Seneca learned of Emperor Nero's accusation and his order for him to commit suicide. The description of the philosopher's death was likely taken from the Annals of Publius Cornelius Tacitus. Seneca is the central figure, naked and standing in a tub filled with warm water. The painter demonstrates a deep knowledge of anatomy and muscle structure, even in an old man. They are not tense, but flaccid and sagging. His entire body is bathed in bright light. On the right stands the executioner, opening Seneca's veins. According to Tacitus, the executioner, and at the same time his friend, Stacius Annæus, prepared a poison for him. Suicide, according to Catholic doctrine, is considered a mortal sin, and for this reason, Rubens depicted the philosopher as one on whom the emperor's sentence was carried out. This depiction of the philosopher resulted from Rubens' own neo-Stoic philosophical views. On the left, imperial soldiers and a young man, a scribe, can be seen. The latter, surrounded by manuscripts, is writing down Seneca's last words, who maintained his clarity of mind and peace of spirit until the very end. -- BIRTHDAYS: Ludwik Dorn, Jacek Protasiewicz, Czesław Sobierajski, Leszek Dobrzyński, Artur Zasada.