-- NEW 500 ZŁ VOUCHER COMING, ANDRZEJ DUDA ON THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVOCATEURS, PRIME MINISTER MORAWIECKI ON THE OPPOSITION CHANGING ITS MIND ON CPK IN 5 YEARS LIKE THEY DID ON 500+ - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/06/ -- POLITICAL CRITIQUE COLLECTS COMMENTS FROM LEFT-WING POLITICIANS ON JAN ŚPIEWAK'S PARDON: https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/prezydent-ulaskawil-jana-spiewaka-musza-byc-ludzie-tacy-jak-on-ktorzy-staja-po-stronie-slabszych/ -- THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE FOR POLITICAL ELITES - ANDRZEJ GAJCY IN ONET: “Of course, today almost everyone criticizes the PiS leader for these words, but it is enough to cite the transcripts from earlier sessions to see what language is used in the temple of Polish democracy, which is the Sejm, by opposition MPs as well. Unfortunately, this is what we have for political elites today, and what is perhaps worse, a society so divided, which is reflected as if in a mirror in the Sejm chamber.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/chamska-holota-z-wiejskiej-newsletter/ksyqh6x -- PIIS CAMPAIGN STAFF PLACE HOPE IN TRZASKOWSKI NOT FITTING PROVINCIAL POLAND - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: “This is just an anecdote on the margins of a powerful political war where all is fair game. The Platformers believe it is possible to defeat Andrzej Duda. The rapid rise in the polls of the Mayor of Warsaw is already more than just saving the party's assets from Kosiniak-Kamysz, Hołownia, and perhaps also Donald Tusk, who holds an unclear position towards Civic Platform. PiS campaign staff place their hopes in the simplest equation. All their fire is currently concentrated on Trzaskowski, assuming he has every chance to make it to the second round, but fewer chances than his rivals – Kosiniak and Hołownia – to defeat the incumbent president in the second round. This still stems from polls, including internal ones commissioned by the parties, and from an observation of Polish society. Trzaskowski has a larger negative electorate than the others; he seems not to fit in with provincial Poland.” -- DUDA CAN BE A SOFT POPULIST - ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN RZ: “But he also took advantage of the temporary suspension of the campaign following the stalemate; he rested. He returned with a strong message at times. However, he can be a soft populist, and his charm as a model son-in-law, with whom it's nice to take a selfie, still works, especially in smaller towns. And the accusation of lacking independence can easily be turned into a gift of cooperativeness.” -- AND IN SOME MOMENTS HE WAS MORE INDEPENDENT THAN KOMOROWSKI REGARDING THE PLATFORM'S PARTY INTERESTS - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “On the other hand, for all those who portray Andrzej Duda as a puppet, it is worth noting that in a few moments, he was more independent than Komorowski was regarding the Platform's party interests. Please point out at least one important matter where the latter 'stepped out'. Reportedly, Tusk wittily suggested: 'Let Bronisław at least oppose us once.' The associates of the then Prime Minister and leader of the ruling party considered this an excellent joke. The debate about the very purpose of the presidency will also continue, as it stems from the very nature of our system and political reality.” -- DUDA PLAYED THE ROLE OF HOLDING BACK BAD THINGS A FEW TIMES, ALBEIT TOO INFREQUENTLY AND TOO TIMIDLY - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “In this situation, it seemed to me that the president, even if pushed through by the ruling party, creates at least an illusory hope for improving or holding back bad things, temptations of state overreach, bending the law, or violating standards. Andrzej Duda has played such a role a few times. Although, from my point of view, too rarely, too timidly.” -- POLES HAVE ACQUIRED A TASTE FOR DIRECTLY ELECTING THE PRESIDENT - ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN RZ: “Poles have acquired a taste for electing the president. It is a more transparent election, hence more popular. It creates a sense of participation in something important. It is also an additional opportunity for debate. It creates additional chances for various political forces – for the main ones, to heat up polarization, and for weaker or new ones, to promote themselves. Before the Kukiz'15 movement emerged, its creator ran for president in 2015. That he later didn't seize his chance is another matter. Universal presidential elections ultimately mean more, not less, democracy, even if misleading signals are sent that the president is effective, that he can achieve something. And that Poles are using this democracy increasingly unwisely? That is again a matter of cultural and civilizational changes, not legal paragraphs.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/306059996-Piotr-Zaremba-Czy-Polska-w-ogole-potrzebuje-prezydenta.html -- BOTH SIDES GO TO KACZYŃSKI; IF KACZYŃSKI IS GONE, A FULL-BLOWN SHAMBLES WILL ENSUE - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “It's no longer about who will be the dauphin, who will take over after Kaczyński. It's about the fact that both sides go to Kaczyński and report to him that they have such dirt on the other that it will blow up the entire government – says my contact from the PiS club, not affiliated with Ziobro or Morawiecki. This means that if Kaczyński is gone, a regular bloodbath will begin. Only the leader holds the PiS camp together, but considering Gowin's rebellion regarding the May 10th elections, one can conclude that he is doing worse and worse.” -- KACZYŃSKI KNOWS THAT GETTING RID OF MORAWIECKI IS RISKY; ONE CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SHIELDS, BUT WHO ELSE WOULD MANAGE THEM BETTER - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “But the leader is aware of the substantive weakness of the old comrades from the PC order. Before the 2019 parliamentary elections, he began to remove them from management influence, making a lot of room for young activists. He also knows that getting rid of Morawiecki will harm him. The Prime Minister is rather weak politically in PiS; in the corridors, it is said that he might have a dozen or so loyalists, meaning MPs who orient themselves around him. That's not much, so he is not a threat and stays in office only thanks to Kaczyński. At the same time, Morawiecki – disliked by the PiS mainstream and Ziobro's people – has the most capable personnel in this team to manage complex programs, such as the successive 'anti-crisis shields'. The Polish Development Fund is doing this. One can, of course, complain that the 'shields' do not fully solve the problems or that not everyone received the money on time, but just imagine how these programs would have worked if Minister Sasin had organized them with the effectiveness similar to that of the postal elections. And it was realistic, because Sasin wanted to take over the PFR.” -- ZIOBRO IS STAYING ASIDE - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES IN GW: “Soon, i.e., after the presidential elections. For now, he is staying aside and does not often step into the frame so as not to be associated with the Morawiecki government. He believes that this cabinet will be in an increasingly difficult situation because public sentiment will worsen. He is doing nothing about the epidemic – he has no tasks, so he makes no mistakes. He is waiting for the bodies of his enemies to float down the river on their own.” -- WARCHOŁ DELEGATED TO RELATIONS WITH CONFEDERATION - WIELOWIEYSKA CLAIMS: “Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Warchoł has been delegated to maintain good relations with Confederation members. Since the time they were tempted to support the postal elections, a proposal for the position of Deputy Sejm Marshal for one of the Confederation members has been on the table. The nationalists joke that this proposal also benefits Ziobro, because if a new position of Deputy Marshal were created for the opposition, PiS would have to add another Deputy Marshal of its own, for example, from Solidary Poland, to maintain a majority in the Presidium of the Sejm.” -- ZIOBRO HAS A GOAL IN FLIRTING WITH CONFEDERATION MEMBERS - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “But one should not assume that by courting radicals from outside the PiS camp, Ziobro is naive. By flirting with Confederation members, he is thinking about what will happen if the United Right falls apart. If Kaczyński retires and an open war begins, Solidary Poland will have to become independent, and its natural ideological partner will be anti-European formations. In any scenario, it is beneficial for the Minister of Justice to maintain good relations with Confederation.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,26006740,gdzie-zniknal-zbigniew-ziobro-siedzi-i-czeka-az-trupy.html -- WE AVOIDED THE IMPRESSION OF CATASTROPHE AND EUTHANASIC REFLEXES - PIOTR ZAREMBA ON POLSAT NEWS: “One could say that PiS proved to be a specialist in not standing out here. Future generations will judge whether this was right. For now, we have avoided the impression of catastrophe and – importantly – euthanasic reflexes that have appeared in many European countries towards the elderly. So, I am not a panegyrist, but I recommend caution in judgments.” -- PORTRAYING SZUMOWSKI AS A PLUNDERER IS ABSURD - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “The other side is unconvincing when, in turn, the frantic search for protective measures at the beginning of the pandemic is used against the minister – I am referring to the so-called scandal with defective masks. It does so with methods that are sometimes ambiguous, because what is arranging an unfortunate contractor of the ministry with a 'Wyborcza' journalist by attorney Roman Giertych? Who – as much indicates – has stepped beyond his role as a lawyer. And it is completely unacceptable to have disgusting, slanderous posters of the minister displayed in the showcases belonging to Agora. There is a campaign, but is every trick permissible? Portraying this politician as the main plunderer of Poland is absurd. Meanwhile, every day he commutes to work from Anin under an overpass with the inscription 'Łukasz Szumowski gangster'.” -- ZAREMBA ON THE LEFT BEING IN AN IDEOLOGICAL TRAP: “It is not surprising, given that, for example, Robert Biedroń's campaign message boils down to the repeatedly stated phrase: 'I am the only progressive candidate.' That is, one who is against the Church and promises rights to LGBT communities. But perhaps one should start with the question: 'Fourteenth pension for everyone, including the wealthy? Or perhaps more money for senior healthcare?' And more broadly, with the question posed in Łukasz Pawłowski's book 'The Second Wave of Privatization.' Can the most popular distribution of benefits to citizens come at the expense of public services, including healthcare?” -- ZAREMBA ON THE CRISIS IN HEALTHCARE AND EUTHANASIC REFLEXES: “In this ineffectiveness lies the tacit conviction that healthcare is a bottomless pit that will swallow any amount of money. And the observation of politicians that in normal times, the sick, even with their families, constitute a minority lobby. But still, this cannot be left unattended. If only because the virus may not leave us. But also because the shortcomings of the healthcare system force doctors in hospitals to make hundreds of decisions close to euthanasia. Since we avoided this spectacular euthanasia due to the pandemic, let's try to avoid the ordinary, unwritten kind.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-06-05/bronie-szumowskiego-i-pytam-szumowskiego/ -- ANDRZEJ LEDER ON SUPERSTITIOUS FEAR OF POWER AND THE SARMATION COSTUME OF POLITICS - WRITES IN OKO: “In moments of heightened emotion, Polish political life enters a Sarmatian costume, which we witnessed last night in the Sejm. (...) Do we all, or a significant majority, still remain in torn sheepskin coats, and do we look at everyone holding power with superstitious fear, accepting that they sometimes have to roar? This pattern, so present in companies, schools, often in medical clinics and offices, determined the reaction of PiS MPs, who gleefully demonstrated something like: 'He really roared at them!' The hope is that worn-out surcoats are no longer facing torn sheepskin coats. In opposition are bourgeois jackets, suits and women's floral outfits, hoodies of workers and students… The only question is whether there will be enough of them all…” -- A WITTY COMMENTARY BY PIOTR PACEWICZ ON LEDER'S LAPIDARY TEXT: “Andrzej Leder's commentary is short and so condensed that it brought to the minds of OKO.press editors a quote from Isaac Babel's 'Odessa Tales' about how Benia Krik [the king of Odessa adventurers, incidentally] said: 'Benia says little, but one wants him to say something more.'” https://oko.press/andrzej-leder-o-chamskiej-holocie-kaczynskiego/ -- PIIS AND THE LEFT RELEASE CITIZENS FROM RESPONSIBILITY - BARTŁOMIEJ SIENKIEWICZ IN AN ARTICLE FOR GW: “PiS and the Left not only release citizens from responsibility but also jointly pursue a similar 'pedagogy of shame' as a weapon against all those who do not consider Poland before 2015 a catastrophe. To succumb to this is to lose by one's own choice – one cannot want to win and at the same time be ashamed of oneself. Especially since there is no reason to be – the balance sheet of previous governments, despite inevitable mistakes for any government, is a cause for pride. Not only in comparison to the current situation.” -- SIENKIEWICZ ON 40%: “Currently, Poland exhibits a combination of 40% actively supporting Kaczyński's policies and 40% of the general electorate, and those who are generally uninterested in their country – meaning, they don't vote. With such socio-political settings, no development project or emancipatory project that would lead us beyond class wars and the risk of Poland's marginalization can be carried out.” -- SIENKIEWICZ ON WISE COUNTER-REVOLUTION - ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE THE OLD WORLD ARE FUTILE: “PiS's revolution is not aimed at expanding human freedom or developing the country, but at pushing Poles into the abyss of class strife and a cold civil war fought on the ruins of the state. If we want to stop this, we must be wise counter-revolutionaries, understanding that all attempts to restore the old world are doomed to failure. If we are to carry the values we believe in into the future, we must design the New State in such a way as to preserve them.” -- SIENKIEWICZ ON CHATEAUBRIAND'S LOGIC: “François Chateaubriand, a witness to the French Revolution and the great upheavals of his era, would have understood this trap well. He was ideologically and politically loyal to the ancien régime, shed blood for his convictions, but understood that the automatic return to the old model of power was no longer possible, that the world had changed irrevocably. And he was able to criticize his own camp for political blindness with the same passion as the revolutionaries.” -- A NEW PRESIDENCY MAY FORCE PIS TO CREATE A NEW POLITICAL FRAMEWORK - SIENKIEWICZ'S CONCLUSION: “After all, we cannot change the system every time depending on who wins – that's a recipe for Poland's non-existence. The condition is to achieve a balance that forces PiS or a part of it to participate in creating a new legal framework for politics. I write about 'forcing' because there is no reason to count on the other side's willingness as long as they do not see that their power is not eternal. A new presidency can be a center for constructing a model of governance in Poland that will overcome the dysfunction of the old and the catastrophic consequences of the current system. One that will also encourage cooperation among opponents. Therefore, these upcoming elections must be won.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,26006224,to-nie-jest-bunt-biednych-i-niewyksztalconych-za-kaczynskim.html -- BARTOSZ WĘGLARCZYK ON WHEN DEMOCRACY CEASES TO BE DEMOCRACY: “All political scientists tell us that the fall of democracy does not have to be a rapid event. It usually happens very slowly and it's hard to notice when democracy ceases to be democracy. But observing the symptoms of this process is not impossible. (...) These warnings and checklists are not ideal, of course, because if they were, every competent observer of political life would be able to pinpoint the moment when democracy ceases to be democracy without error. However, it is worth analyzing them. Constantly, because nothing is ever given to us, as a society, forever.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opinie/weglarczyk-o-demokracji-kiedy-jest-zagrozona/clmnggl -- TOLKIEN AND GREEN CONSERVATISM - MAREK WOJNAR IN KLUB JAGIELLOŃSKI: “J.R.R. Tolkien's work shows us that concern for nature cannot be separated from concern for humans. The opposition of these two orders is fundamentally false. The author of 'The Lord of the Rings' rhymes perfectly with both the 'green conservatism' of the oikophile Roger Scruton and the Catholic integral ecology from Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'. And incidentally, it rightly attacks the right-wing derived from Isengard.” -- CONCERN FOR NATURE IN TOLKIEN AS A FUNCTION OF THE FIGHT AGAINST EVIL - WOJNAR CONTINUES: “The concern for nature in Tolkien is a function (and at the same time a result) of the fight against evil. The fight against it takes place through the taming of one's own pride, vanity, greed, lust for power. Through sacrifice. In 'The Return of the King,' Sam Gamgee briefly plays the role of the ring's confidant. He then pondered how he could use it to transform the Gorgoroth Valley into a blooming garden full of trees. However, such thoughts were an illusion, as the hobbit soon realized. It is not possible to fix the world with the help of something that leads to evil.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/06/06/ekologia-integralna-j-r-r-tolkiena/ -- GALLOPING MAJOR ON RACISM IN SIENKIEWICZ'S 'IN DESERT AND WILDERNESS' - WRITES IN KRYTYKA: “'In Desert and Wilderness' by Sienkiewicz is freely available on Wolne Lektury. Whoever wants can read it to their heart's content, even to their poor children if they insist. But the Polish school does not have to offer it to students, just as the German school should not teach its students about Polish car thieves.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/galopujacy-major/wyrzucmy-wreszcie-w-pustyni-i-w-puszczy-z-kanonu-lektur/ -- ANECDOTE ABOUT CHURCHILL AND CULTURE IN A CONVERSATION WITH JERZY HAUSNER - MIKOŁAJ FIDZIŃSKI ON GAZETA.PL: ”Churchill is also the author of another saying. In a conversation with members of his war cabinet, when asked where to cut expenses, one of them said 'on culture.' To which Churchill replied: 'Then why are we fighting this war?'” -- HAUSNER TELLS FIDZIŃSKI ABOUT DEVELOPMENT CORRECTION: “Now is the time to make a fundamental correction to the erroneous development line, which, by the way, concerns the entire world, not just Poland or Krakow. We have all been mistaken, and this pandemic is not a punishment for betraying nature. It is an opportunity for us not to go down the path that was the wrong one – the path of excessive consumption, the path of financialization of the economy. The path of not understanding the role that culture plays, treating culture as an add-on, not as its essence.” -- CITY CENTERS HAVE BECOME NO-GO ZONES - HAUSNER CONTINUES: “City centers have become 'no-go zones' for residents. These are not our places; we have been pushed out of them. And this is precisely the moment when – precisely because we have been hit, we have suffered such a loss in city revenues – we need to calmly, but deeply and quickly, rethink the whole matter. Let's not go back to what was. It has collapsed, it has ended. Anyone who continues to maintain such tourist pressure and this model is losing the city.” -- HAUSNER ON THE TOURISTIFICATION OF CITIES: “At this moment, I am editing an alert on historical cities [it was published on Thursday, after the conversation with the professor - ed.]. It shows what has happened as a result of changes in city centers caused by excessive tourist traffic, now referred to as touristification. This has led to a situation that poses a threat. These city centers are now 'ghost centers.' Why has everything that constitutes the urban fabric – bookstores, cultural institutions – been driven out of them? Because commerce took over.” -- READING MAKES US PART OF NATIONAL CULTURE; LET'S FORGET ABOUT SŁOWACKI AND WE DON'T EXIST AS A NATION BECAUSE WE LACK COMMON REFERENCES - HAUSNER CONTINUES: “Therefore, we need, among other things, this creative activity in the sphere of culture and a genuine cultural industry. Festivals, cinemas, but also bookstores that do not make money on their own. The sources of profit are elsewhere, although these profit sources related to books are already weak because readership is declining. And as readership declines, the ability to communicate declines. Reading is one of those areas that makes us part of a single national culture. Let's forget about Mickiewicz, about Słowacki, only then we no longer exist as a nation, because there are no longer common meanings and references!” -- HAUSNER ON SUPPORTING SMALL CINEMAS: “This should be an action directed towards what the Ministry of Development is doing and what is related to small businesses. I am talking about cinemas and other similar ventures that should be maintained because they create infrastructure. Otherwise, if these small cinemas disappear, only multiplexes will remain. But then film culture will effectively disappear, because it needs small cinemas. Like, for example, Kino Sztuka in Krakow, which went bankrupt because the owner was unable to pay the rents, which have been driven up in the city center. The best cinema, which people attended for years and decades and which became a 'multiplex' of high film culture because it had several small halls. Now only Kino 'Pod Baranami' remains, and if it disappears, there will be nowhere to go to see true cinematic art. It's not the same on television.” https://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151003,26002292,prof-hausner-nie-chodzi-o-to-by-ten-okres-przeczekac-to.html -- PHOTO. Francesco Guardi, Fire in the San Marcuola district, Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Guardi shows the destructive, all-consuming essence of fire. Such an embodiment of fiery fury, experiments in color will be found only a few decades later in the works of the English Romantic William Turner. The lessons of the Venetians, in many respects, became the foundation for artists in subsequent epochs. Guardi is a Venetian Rococo painter, considered one of the last classical painters of the Venetian school. Like his two brothers, Guardi painted the architecture and landscapes of Venice. He specialized in creating vedute, which are vast urban panoramas. His works are characterized by topographical accuracy and perfect command of light and color. -- 12 Years Ago, Polsat News Launched. -- BIRTHDAYS: Tadeusz Cymański, Joanna Staniszkis, Małgorzata Winiarczyk-Kossakowska, Krzysztof Turowski, Tadeusz Arłukowicz, Marek Czekalski, SUNDAY: Leszek Moczulski, Wojciech Lamentowicz, Robert Tyszkiewicz.