-- SASIN AND SZUMOWSKI ON CLUSTERS IN SILESIA, MASTALEREK ON KOSINIAK NOT FIGHTING AND KACZYŃSKI MOBILIZING HIS ELECTORATE, TOMCZYK ON 330 THOUSAND SIGNATURES - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/08/ -- INVESTMENTS WILL HELP US EMERGE FROM THE CORONACRISIS - Bartek Godusławski, Grzegorz Osiecki in DGP. -- RZ ON THE FRONT PAGE NOTES THE ROLE OF THE TOURISM VOUCHER: “Renting a summer house this holiday season has become almost a quarter more expensive. However, President Andrzej Duda, seeking re-election, has announced support. At a meeting with voters in Stalowa Wola, he promised a 500 PLN tourism voucher to be spent within the country. It would be granted to families already receiving 500 PLN for a minor child. Travel agencies report that those booking foreign trips are doing so for late autumn.” https://www.rp.pl/Biznes/306079948-Inne-panstwa-UE-chca-otwierac-granice-Polski-rzad-milczy.html -- 49% OF POLES WOULD GRANT THE GOVERNMENT A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE - ESTYMATOR POLL FOR DO RZECZY: The Estymator poll also asked Poles how they would vote on a vote of confidence if they were in the Sejm. The survey indicates that 48.6% of respondents would support the Morawiecki cabinet. 44.9% would vote against the vote of confidence, while 6.5% chose "don't know/difficult to say." https://dorzeczy.pl/sondaz/142723/wotum-zaufania-dla-rzadu-sondaz-dla-dorzeczypl-jak-zaglosowaliby-polacy.html -- AT LEAST 40% OF RESPONDENTS ATTRIBUTE AUTHORITARIAN TENDENCIES TO THE GOVERNMENT - PROF. KRYSTYNA SKARŻYŃSKA IN CONVERSATION WITH AGNIESZKA KUBLIK IN GW: “We didn't ask respondents how they evaluate the use of police against protesters, only whether they perceive signs of authoritarian rule, including the use of police force. We gave them descriptions such as: ‘Courts issue harsh sentences against those opposing the police,’ ‘Police use force against demonstrators,’ ‘The government will use military units to break the resistance of strikers,’ ‘The government will introduce a ban on all protests and demonstrations by law.’ We asked to what extent they agree or disagree that these describe the actions of the current government. These authoritarian behaviors are attributed to the government by at least 40% of respondents. The largest group, 57%, sees that the police use force against demonstrators. 41% see the harshness of courts towards those opposing the police, and 53% see a ban on all protests and demonstrations. A noteworthy aspect is the relatively higher percentage of "neither agree nor disagree" responses compared to other scales, ranging from 18% to 29%. This may indicate a lack of knowledge. It likely stems from varied access to information that reveals the current government's unlawful, forceful actions.” -- THE YOUNGEST LEAST PERCEIVE AUTHORITARIANISM - PROF. SKARŻYŃSKA CONTINUES: “The fewest people perceiving authoritarian actions of the authorities are among the voters of the United Right. The highest numbers are sequentially in the electorates of: Civic Coalition, United Left, PSL and Kukiz'15, and Confederation, National Movement and Korwin. The youngest respondents (18-24 years old) perceive the government's authoritarianism the weakest, while the oldest (over 55 years old) see it more decisively. The level of education and gender of respondents do not differentiate the level of perceiving the government's authoritarianism.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26011216,epidemia-oswojona-i-upartyjniona.html -- POLISH DEMOCRACY WITHOUT THE ARMOR OF LAW AGAINST TYRANNY - EWA ŁĘTOWSKA IN AN ESSAY FOR OKO.PRESS: “Without the entire package of institutions, procedures, and legal solutions (and ones that function, not just on paper!), which constitute the standard of a democratic rule of law – democracy has no armor against the tyranny that inevitably threatens it when evolving into a majoritarian democracy. That is, one where electoral victory is to signify democracy, as its necessary and sufficient condition.” -- WE HAVE MANORIAL DEMOCRACY - PROF. ŁĘTOWSKA, INSPIRED BY LEDER'S TEXT IN OKO, WHICH WE QUOTED ON SATURDAY: “We inherited paternalistic demoralization from real socialism. However, a historical factor contributing to societal passivity is also the durability of the deeply rooted phantom myth of the messianic idea. By emphasizing the cult of suffering and the sacralization of sacrifice, it served, at the time of its origin, to morally elevate the nation as the executor of a special salvific mission. This stereotype is a dangerous component of national consciousness. According to it, Providence itself was to make Poles a chosen instrument for fighting historical evil. This improved self-esteem when Poland was deprived of independence in the 19th century. At the same time, however, it demobilized and disarmed. For it was not one's own, mundane efforts and self-improvement, but external, supernatural Providence that was to be the active factor, decisive of Poland's position among other states. Worse still, it resulted in an unjustified sense of moral superiority, accompanying divisions in our social life. ‘In moments of heightened tension, Polish political life enters Sarmatian costume’ – as Andrzej Leder aptly observes. Perhaps, then, in searching for a term to describe our flawed democracy, we should turn to national tradition and begin to speak of manorial democracy, considering how its actors are treated (or treat themselves)?” https://oko.press/nasza-wadliwa-folwarczna-demokracja-gorzki-esej-prof-ewy-letowskiej/ -- EVEN THE CLERICAL RIGHT WILL EVENTUALLY CIVILIZE THROUGH DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES - WITOLD GADOMSKI IN GW: “Natural demographic processes and changes in customs will ensure that even the clerical Polish right, under the banner of PiS, will eventually civilize. (...) These are not rapid processes, but over the next decades, they will change the strength of individual groupings. I assume that both Civic Coalition and the United Right camp will undergo various upheavals, but voters will always have an offer on both the right and liberal sides. However, transformations are also likely to occur within these camps. In the European Union, groups belonging to the European People's Party (EPP) are still the strongest, meaning Christian Democratic and agrarian parties, whose electoral base was once rural areas and small towns. Parties belonging to the EPP bear no resemblance to today's Polish national-Catholic right, whose voters listen to their parish priest's guidance. Moral changes in Europe have meant that outside of Poland, parties like PiS have no chance of an independent majority. The Polish right will also eventually civilize.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26009905,demografia-zmieni-preferencje-wyborcow-ale-troche-to-potrwa.html -- THE CLASH BETWEEN THE DEFENDER OF THE OLD PI(S) ORDER AND ITS DESTROYER TRZASKOWSKI - THIS IS HOW PAWEŁ WROŃSKI SKETCHES THE ELECTORAL BATTLEFIELD IN GW: “The election campaign, relaunched this weekend, promises to be a clash between the defender of the old PiS order, Andrzej Duda, and his destroyer, Rafał Trzaskowski. One spoke of fear, the other of hope. A group of contenders will follow in the background, attempting to persuade that breaking with this division is Poland's chance.” -- PI(S) WILL TRY TO WIN OVER FRUSTRATED LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS - WROŃSKI ON THE ŚPIEWAK CASE: “Andrzej Duda is using the act of clemency towards urban activist Jan Śpiewak as a political asset, a gesture meant to signify support for young people involved in social issues. Śpiewak was not convicted for fighting wild privatization, but for defamation. Clearly, in the second round, Duda, similar to 2015, will try to neutralize or win over frustrated left-wing activists.” -- THE FEELING OF FATIGUE VERSUS THE FEELING OF SOCIAL SECURITY - WROŃSKI CONTINUES ON THE BATTLEFIELD: “The outcome of the election will be decisively influenced by, on the one hand, the feeling of fatigue and the desire for change in Polish society, and on the other, the feeling of social security and the fear of escalating political conflict, which President Duda warns against.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26011040,rafal-trzaskowski-wyzwal-dude-na-ubite-pole-andrzej-duda-rzucil.html -- TRZASKOWSKI GIVES HIS CAMP ANOTHER BREATH OF AIR - TOMASZ SAWCZUK IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “During a press conference, Borys Budka recently used the phrase: ‘Loser Andrzej Duda.’ This kind of nickname for the incumbent president has a chance to stick in people's memory, similar to the analogous nicknames Donald Trump assigns to his political opponents. We cannot predict whether Budka's designation will be confirmed by the election results, but it is easy to notice that our politics is different than it was not long ago. Civic Platform has for years been unable to speak from a position of conviction and strength. By attempting to impose new rules of the game, Trzaskowski gives his camp another breath of air.” -- TRZASKOWSKI'S CAMPAIGN WILL HAVE TO REACH BROADER CIRCLES - SAWCZUK CONTINUES IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Now the PO candidate's campaign is reaching broader circles. But it will have to reach even broader ones if Trzaskowski is to win – the initial wave of enthusiasm will soon subside. The Platform's candidate will have to win over voters that his parent party has so far been unable to attract.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/06/08/trzaskowski-narzuca-nowe-zasady-gry/ -- THE CURRENT SHAPE OF BOSAK AND HOŁOWNIA'S INTERNET CAMPAIGN FORESHADOWS WHAT POLITICS WILL LOOK LIKE IN 2030 - PIOTR TRUDNOWSKI IN KLUB JAGIELLOŃSKI: “Szymon Hołownia and Krzysztof Bosak are growing most visibly online during this campaign. They are evoking increasing emotions and reaching ever new people. If only internet users were to choose the president, we could expect a heated second-round debate between Hołownia and Bosak. This interesting phenomenon tells us a lot about the future of Polish politics. The current shape of the online presidential campaign foreshadows what we will face in 2030.” -- WE LIVE IN INCREASINGLY SEPARATE BUBBLES - TRUDNOWSKI CONTINUES: “The online 'befriending' of sympathizers with candidates means that we increasingly operate in bubbles. We live in a reality where our main source of information about politics is no longer the media or internet portals, but we primarily learn about politics from the perspective of the players in this political game. We think we have objective information, but we are increasingly becoming recipients of the perspective of only one side. It is worth remembering that online bubbles are very dangerous, as we cease to understand what others think.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/06/06/bosak-vs-holownia-w-drugiej-turze-o-sile-internetowej-kampanii-prezydenckiej-w-2020-r/ -- MAZUREK TOLD ME: BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT IRENA SANTOR - KAZIK STASZEWSKI IN CONVERSATION WITH GRZEGORZ SROCZYŃSKI IN TOK FM: “I once complained to Robert Mazurek that almost everyone tries to place me as a commentator on political or social events. Why doesn't anyone ask me about music? I may feel valued as a lyricist, but I am clearly undervalued as a musician. And he told me: 'Well, you're not Irena Santor.' That's a pretty accurate description of my situation, which I got into partly of my own will, but partly against my will – he explained.” -- KAZIK STASZEWSKI IS ALSO BITTER ABOUT THE OPPOSITION: “In this election, we have a situation where all the candidates are very weak. I don't like the incumbent president, who is merely a depository of decisions made on Nowogrodzka Street. But the opposition also has no candidate I find acceptable – Staszewski said. – I'll put it this way: I won't be voting for someone in this election, but for a purpose. It seems to me that it's a very dangerous situation if all decision-making centers and centers of power are concentrated in the hands of one political force. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that someone from the opposition takes the office of president.” -- IS ANYONE IN POLITICS NOT A PROSTITUTE? - SROCZYŃSKI ASKED, AND KAZIK REPLIED: NO ONE COMES TO MIND: “- Do you know any politician who isn't a prostitute – because that's how you call politicians in your lyrics. Even one – Sroczyński pressed. His guest thought for a moment before answering. – You know what… No one comes to mind right now – he finally admitted.” https://www.tokfm.pl/Tokfm/7,103085,26010201,kazik-staszewski-zdradzil-jak-zamierza-glosowac-w-tych-wyborach.html -- DUDA'S RATINGS SHOULD INCREASE BY 2-3 PP AFTER ENTERING THE CAMPAIGN - AGATON KOZIŃSKI IN WP: “Andrzej Duda has once again hit the campaign trail. He has started fighting again. This should translate into his ratings – they should go up soon. If they increase by even 2-3 percentage points, it will be a signal to him that he is meeting the expectations of Poles. That he is still the politician from 'Ides of March' – who can even turn fear into support for himself. Unless his support remains stagnant. If the 'Dudabus' keeps burning fuel and the president's ratings stay the same, the opposition will receive a clear signal that his Teflon has considerable holes. It will then become clear that whoever reaches the second round alongside the president will have an authentic chance of ultimate victory.” https://opinie.wp.pl/wybory-2020-kozinski-pulapka-notowan-kto-jej-uniknie-duda-czy-trzaskowski-6518986720770752a -- DUDA STOPPED THE DOWNWARD TREND, AND TRZASKOWSKI SLOWED DOWN - MARIUSZ JANICKI IN POLITYKA: “The first week of the formal campaign concludes a significant phase of the presidential rivalry. The analysis of polls suggests that Andrzej Duda has halted the downward trend, and Rafał Trzaskowski's growth has slowed. Both main political camps have essentially resumed their pre-pandemic positions, when Duda had around 40%, and Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska hovered around 26-27%.” -- JANICKI ON TRZASKOWSKI NEEDING TO EXCEED 30% FOR TALK OF A "RAFAŁ EFFECT": “Trzaskowski's rapid recovery of losses, the atmosphere of hope and new energy are impressive, but this is the starting point – the question is whether the PO candidate will exceed the 30% level. If that happens, we could truly speak of a 'Rafał effect,' as it's termed within the Platform. Voter turnout has returned to the norm of 60%, depressed on the opposition side by the boycott campaign (which was morally and legally justified), thus everyone has regained their own: both up and down. Looking at the latest party polls, it's clear that Duda has as much as PiS, and Trzaskowski has as much as KO. Both have secured their electorates, stood at the starting blocks, and now the real game is about to begin.” -- KOSINIAK IS STILL AIMING FOR PSL'S BEST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULT, HOŁOWNIA MAY STILL HAVE A GLIMMER OF HOPE - JANICKI CONTINUES: “Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz uses a similar theme, emphasizing the need to break the fruitless conflict between Platform and PiS, and the urgent need for a third force. Hołownia and Kosiniak are trying to escape the long-standing trap of polarization, as the 'duel of giants' returns, which has already crushed many political start-ups. While Kosiniak-Kamysz no longer has a chance for the second round (though he is aiming for the best result among all PSL presidential candidates in the Third Republic era), Hołownia may still have a glimmer of hope if Trzaskowski's campaign collapses due to a major mistake.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1959450,1,tydzien-kampanii-teraz-czas-prawdy.read -- DESTROYING OPPONENTS IS THE HALLMARK OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC - BRONISŁAW WILDSTEIN ON NETWORKS: “The strategy of destroying opponents through slander in every possible aspect is the hallmark of the Third Republic. Urban's 'No' merely formulated more brutally what 'Wyborcza' wrote. Jan Olszewski was preparing a coup d'état, the Kaczyński brothers were covering themselves during the fight against communism, the great poet Zbigniew Herbert went mad, though solely in a political dimension (the guilty were characterized by perspicacity), etc. The industry of contempt, set in motion by these forces, respects nothing. A model example of such action was the 'destruction of the dignity-based foundations of Lech Kaczyński's presidency,' ostentatiously proclaimed by an individual assigned to this task with a pig's snout and a rubber penis. At the same time, the organizers of these campaigns lament the 'division of Poles.'” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/503725-zniszczyc-szumowskiego-oto-iii-rp -- JAROSŁAW GUGAŁA ON WEAK LEADERSHIP GAINED THROUGH FEAR - writes in Liberte: “Leadership gained through emotional incitement of the majority against minorities, to which intellectual elites belong, becomes a hostage to the prejudices, superstitions, and claustrophobia of that majority. This enters a spiral of populism. The price of remaining in power becomes higher with each turn of this spiral, dragging the entire community closer to catastrophe. Maintaining power in such situations requires increasingly stronger mobilizing measures for the majority and the strengthening of power and repression apparatuses, at the expense of the uniform development of the community. State organisms of this type become either hellish machines of war and aggression, or a backward-looking open-air museum.” https://liberte.pl/atlas-slabosci-polskiego-przywodztwa/ -- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON JACEK CZAPUTOWICZ BEING RIGHT THAT NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS ARE GROWING IN IMPORTANCE POST-PANDEMIC: “If the epidemic risk lasts longer, this will undoubtedly be the case. If a regional zone of safe movement of people and goods could be created, a significant portion of previous trade – tourism, commerce – with further countries could remain in place. The consequences of such a redirection of attention and financial flows could be significant for the region and – paradoxically – strengthen its independence. Hence, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz's recent activity in this direction is worth noting.” https://wpolityce.pl/swiat/503678-czaputowicz-wskutek-epidemii-rosnie-znaczenie-sasiedztwa -- FAKT REPORTS ON HOW ANDRZEJ DUDA ATTENDED A WEDDING: https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/prezydent-andrzej-duda-we-wrzawach-wpadl-na-wesele/1tew8zj -- PHOTO CREDIT: The Dream by Jadwiga / Le Rêve, Henri Rousseau, The Museum of Modern Art, New York - thanks to Google Arts and Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-dream/LwEt57AOdD6SGA?hl=pl -- STREET VIEW MOMY: https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/LwEt57AOdD6SGA?hl=pl&sv_lng=-73.9773372&sv_lat=40.7615861&sv_h=318.5015917505322&sv_p=-9.869119467987403&sv_pid=paN21WYuEC8vpOpzHewW7w&sv_z=1 -- THE PAINTING WAS DISCUSSED BY: MICHAŁ MONTOWSKI AND DR GRAŻYNA BASTEK IN A WEEKLY RADIO PROGRAM ON RADIO DWÓJKA - THERE IS SUCH A PAINTING: *In the heart of the jungle, amidst large lotus flowers, a naked woman lies on a sofa, in a pose that is difficult to describe as comfortable, or even credible. A black musician plays for her, and from behind the thicket of leaves, wild yet surprisingly gentle animals look out – lions, an elephant, a monkey, exotic birds. The orange tail of a snake disappearing into the grass glistens. All seem to be immobilized and enchanted by the music. A full moon shines from behind the trees. Unknown laws reign in this exotic, dreamy paradise.* "The Dream" is the last painting by amateur artist Henri Rousseau, a summary of his artistic experiences, and at the same time, the most perfect work among a group of 25 pieces on the theme of the tropical jungle. Where did such an unusual subject come from for a humble civil servant who never traveled beyond the area of Paris and its suburbs? Even Paul Gauguin, who lived in Tahiti for a long time, did not create such a grandiose, yet dreamlike vision of the tropics. https://www.polskieradio.pl/8/406/Artykul/2516454,Sen-Jadwigi -- ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF ANDRZEJ GODLEWSKI. -- BIRTHDAYS: Norman Davies, Arkadiusz Franas.