-- ADAM LESZCZYŃSKI ON FB: “Why was PiS's move with Jan Śpiewak's pardon so brilliant? Because it brought out a swarm of terrible figures from PO, who, with a complete lack of elementary sense of justice, claim that the scandal a) is insignificant and b) shouldn't be talked about, because elections are 'about the future of Poland' (evidence below - Rosati's TT post). PO's absolute inability to admit that reprivatization is a scandal and a disgrace deeply discourages me from voting for their candidate. In this sense, Duda's move was masterful: the reaction to it reminded the left who truly supports RT.” -- BIELAN ON TRZASKOWSKI'S VISION NETWORK, TRZASKOWSKI WITH 1.6 MILLION SIGNATURES, KOSINIAK ON THE HEALTH SAFETY COUNCIL - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/09/ -- TRZASKOWSKI'S CAMPAIGN ENTERS A NEW STAGE - SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES - WE WRITE ON 300POLITYCE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/09/kampania-trzaskowskiego-wkracza-do-srednich-i-malych-miast-w-pabianicach-pojawia-sie-pierwsze-propozycje-programowe/ -- THE PRESIDENT PAYS THE PRICE FOR THE SLUMP IN POLLS, WHICH VOTERS ARE ISSUING TO PIS - ŁUKASZ ROGOJSZ IN GAZETA.PL ON POLLS WHERE THE AVERAGE FOR PAD IS 39.9% IN THE 1ST ROUND: “In it, President Duda fell slightly below the results achieved by his political camp. The average for the incumbent president over the last week – six polls were published during this time – is 39.9 percent, while the United Right achieved an average of 42.9 percent during the same period (we had four party polls last week). President Duda's polling slump in the first round proves two things. Firstly, the head of state is paying the price that voters are issuing to the United Right. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest threat to the government today is undoubtedly the economic crisis that has affected millions of Poles, and the management of the still ongoing coronavirus epidemic (the last few days have seen a record number of infections, which clashes with the government's increasingly strong lifting of sanitary restrictions). To this, one can add a number of smaller and larger scandals, controversies, and gaffes – including the suspicious business-political ties of Health Minister Łukasz Szumowski and his family, censorship at Radiowa Trójka, and the return of Jacek Kurski to the TVP management.” -- ROGOJSZ ALSO NOTES TRZASKOWSKI'S SLOWDOWN, BUT HIS COLLABORATORS EXPECT TO BREAK 30%: “What might be comforting for the incumbent president is that the upward trend has slowed down for his main opponent. While Trzaskowski has caught up to the support level of Civic Coalition and even slightly surpassed it, he has not yet matched the record result of Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (29% from early February). Trzaskowski's collaborators told us not long ago that the goal for the first round is to exceed the 30% mark. 'In the first round, we are aiming for a result slightly above 30%. That would be a great starting point for the second round. Especially if Duda also falls below 40%, and looking at the current trend, there's a good chance of that,' assessed a PO politician, whom we asked about first-round projections.” -- KOSINIAK-KAMYSZ WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO TAKE RIGHT-WING VOTERS FROM DUDU - ROGOJSZ CONTINUES: “The Kosiniak-Kamysz phenomenon lies in the fact that, out of the entire opposition field, he would have the greatest chance of taking moderate right-wing voters away from Duda. In rural Poland, voters for PSL and PiS are often neighbors, friends, or even family. Both electorates are very close to each other. Additionally, as we have already mentioned, the leader of the peasant party has the smallest negative electorate among the contenders, making it difficult to destroy him with propaganda and make him repugnant to Poles in pro-government media.” -- PARTY SCRAPS IN THE SHADOW OF THE CAMPAIGN - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Morawiecki's opponents within PiS – such as Zbigniew Ziobro, Jacek Kurski, Beata Szydło, or Joachim Brudziński – are trying to weaken the Prime Minister on this occasion. Under the slogan of a new opening in Duda's campaign, they want to detach Morawiecki from the President. This is because, in recent days, the Prime Minister has accompanied Duda in most key campaign activities. According to his opponents, he harms the President by entangling him in PiS's current problems – not only the Szumowskis' assets but also the difficult fight against coronavirus.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,26013858,margines-bledu-dudy-kurczy-sie-w-drugiej-turze-wygrywa-juz.html -- STANKIEWICZ ON THE SMOLDERING CONFLICT IN PO: “Budka's words show that, even today – after a series of painful defeats – Civic Platform cannot unite for elections. And although Trzaskowski is almost certain to reach the second round of the elections, the leadership of PO believes that if he loses, Schetyna will start biting again.” -- STANKIEWICZ ON THE FIGHTS WITHIN THE DOMINANT FORCES: “The internal power struggles in both main parties indicate that the stakes of the election go far beyond the battle to continue or halt the PiS revolution. It's a game about whether and in what form PiS and Civic Platform will survive on the political scene, which they have dominated undivided for a decade and a half.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/partyjne-wycinanki-w-cieniu-kampanii-163655 -- THE SLOGAN REFERENCING LECH KACZYŃSKI IS PART OF A STRATEGY TO SHOW THAT TRZASKOWSKI IS NOT SO TERRIBLE - AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK IN OKO.PRESS: “This is an obvious attempt to show PiS voters that 'Trzaskowski is not as terrible as TVP paints him.' This is one element of Trzaskowski's strategy, which he uses to demonstrate that he is not a candidate of the 'total opposition.' During his speech in Poznań, the KO candidate spoke with respect about Kaczyński's involvement in Georgian affairs and Kwaśniewski's role in building pro-Western foreign policy.” https://oko.press/wiadomosci-trzaskowski-splagiatowal-haslo-kaczynskiego/ -- WE ARE MOVING IN VERY POORLY LIT TERRITORY - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “Certainly, this poll confirms that we are moving in very poorly lit territory. It must be remembered that this is a very unusual campaign: firstly, the pandemic, secondly, the incredibly drawn-out process of organizing elections (including their postponement), and thirdly, the opposition's change of candidate. All of this means that polls are bound to be associated with significant risk. Political dynamics in society are very high, as evidenced by the rapid polling decline of Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and the quick erosion of support for Szymon Hołownia.” -- WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE IT IS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT ANYTHING - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Trzaskowski is rested and still fresh. He has his strengths, which are particularly noticeable compared to his predecessor, but it is also significant that the KO candidate has to adopt others' rhetoric to consider victory. On the other hand, the accounts of those accompanying the President on his campaign trips are unequivocal: the President is greeted with enthusiasm, and his support does not seem to be weakening. In sum, we are in a situation where it is exceptionally difficult to predict anything. Any of the three scenarios is possible: Andrzej Duda's victory in the first round, victory in the second round, or defeat in the second round.” -- THE OPPOSITION CREATES ARTIFICIAL BUBBLES THAT TURN OUT TO BE ANOTHER ILLUSION - KARNOWSKI'S CONCLUSION: “However, one thing must be remembered: the tendency of the Polish opposition to create artificial, closed informational and psychological bubbles, in which it celebrates successive 'successes,' which after some time turn out to be another illusion. There is much to suggest that Trzaskowski's campaign march is not free from this flaw.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/503877-co-nam-mowi-sondaz-cbos-czyli-teren-slabo-oswietlony -- IT IS NOT BY CHANCE THAT HE REPLACED THE WORD 'HONEST' WITH 'COMMON' - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “This is a huge scandal! Hands off, Trzaskowski, from the legacy of the late Lech Kaczyński. A man who removed plaques with the name of the great president's street is now trying to copy his message. A man whose team had to be bypassed for his monument to be erected on Victory Square is shamelessly appropriating his words from 2005! It is surely not by chance that the word 'honest' was omitted, replaced by 'common'.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/503847-wara-trzaskowskiemu-od-dziedzictwa-sp-lecha-kaczynskiego -- PLATFORM REMEMBERS THE LEFT'S DEMANDS BEFORE ELECTIONS - AGNIESZKA DZIEMIANOWICZ-BĄK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI IN KRYTYKA: “It is no novelty that just before elections, Civic Platform remembers the demands of the left. It just so happens that they forget about them right after the elections. Rafał Trzaskowski, before the local elections in Warsaw, distanced himself from Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and promised to 'burn out the reprivatization process to the core.' For almost two years, he has been the mayor of Warsaw and hasn't even struck a match for this purpose. How many times have we heard from PO about registered partnerships? Or seen them wink at women – after which it turned out that women's rights sound nice in an election spot, but the holy abortion compromise is holy. What is the point that the PO candidate today throws out the slogan of liquidating informal employment, if it was under his party's rule that this labor market pathology grew to such an extent? And the Warsaw City Hall uses outsourcing and does not particularly object to employment on informal contracts.” -- DZIEMIANOWICZ-BĄK QUESTIONS TRZASKOWSKI'S EFFECTIVENESS: “Of course, it's not just about Warsaw; outsourcing in public services is a widespread pathology that the left consistently fights. But we are talking about the attitudes of presidential candidates. If a local government official from such a wealthy and important city as Warsaw decides to run for president, the natural reaction is to check how they managed the capital. This allows for a comparison of their declarations with their level of effectiveness. Rafał Trzaskowski has enormous tools to change reality in a large city, so his policies are a litmus test of what kind of president he would be for the country.” -- WE DON'T HAVE FRIENDLY TELEVISION STATIONS LIKE PLATFORM DOES - DZIEMIANOWICZ-BĄK CONTINUES: “Regarding the polls, if one believes in their reliability, of course, they show two things primarily. Firstly, the effect of the difficulties in conducting direct campaigning. Neither Biedroń nor the left have the financial means that would allow them, in the absence of direct contact with voters, to flood public space with billboards featuring his image. Nor do we have our own media, unlike PiS, or very friendly television stations like Civic Coalition…” -- PO WILL HOLD PIROGS ACCOUNTABLE FOR PIROGS SCANDALS AS MUCH AS PIROGS HELD PO ACCOUNTABLE FOR PO SCANDALS… - DZIEMIANOWICZ-BĄK CONTINUES: “The chance that PO will hold PiS accountable for scandals is roughly the same as the chance that PiS will hold PO accountable for scandals. (...) PiS is involved in scandals of the same kind as prominent PO politicians were in the past. I know that public memory is very short, but it wasn't that long ago that everyone was outraged by Sławomir Neumann's Tczew tapes, where he spoke directly about the need to cover for one's own. This illustrates PO's approach to politics. What has changed for this party to suddenly be credible in holding anyone or anything accountable? Simply swapping a female candidate for a male one is not enough.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/robert-biedron-wybory-prezydenckie-2020-agnieszka-dziemianowicz-bak/ -- KAROLINA WIGURA ON SPINOZA - AS WRITES ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARY POLISH THINKERS IN OKO.PRESS: “And most importantly, true knowledge heals from harmful emotions. The most important thing, writes Spinoza, is that we do not harbor hatred towards anyone, do not condemn anyone, do not get angry at anyone, do not envy anyone.” -- HATRED IS ALWAYS MUTUAL, BECAUSE PEOPLE RETURN IT IN KIND - WIGURA ON THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF SPINOZA IN THE CONTEXT OF TVP'S MANIPULATIONS ABOUT TRZASKOWSKI: “And one last remark. Spinoza dedicated his philosophical activity to trying to understand what happened to him in 1656. While ridding himself of hatred, he tried to understand its sources. He wrote mainly about religious hatred, but he was also interested in every other kind. He had something to think about: his case was not isolated. Excommunication was a common phenomenon at that time in both Christian communities and Jewish congregations. Hatred, Spinoza wrote, is always mutual, because people, seeing that someone harbors a feeling towards them, return it in kind. One thing is that Spinoza's bad reputation, resulting from a misinterpretation of his philosophy, has, as we can see, deep roots. But another is that one can ask how it is possible that in the 21st century this misinterpretation of Spinoza has still not come to an end.” https://oko.press/trzaskowski-wierzy-w-boga-spinozy/ -- HERBERT'S POEM ABOUT SPINOZA QUOTED BY OKO.PRESS: http://www.fundacjaherberta.com/tworczosc3/poezja/pan-cogito/pan-cogito-opowiada-o-kuszeniu-spinozy -- PHOTO. SPINOZA EXCOMMUNICATED, Excommunicated Spinoza, Samuel Hirszenberg. Samuel Hirszenberg practiced realist painting, gradually transitioning to Impressionism, with many of his works referencing Symbolism and venturing into Expressionism. He painted melancholic genre scenes with Jewish themes, large allegories often inspired by literature. He addressed the themes of persecution and pogroms of Jews, depicted Jewish rituals and traditions, and illustrated their slow process of assimilation. Simultaneously, he created traditional portraits, numerous landscapes, decorative compositions, and occasional nudes. The artist debuted at Zachęta in 1885, exhibiting frequently and systematically at, among others, the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Krakow, the Zachęta Society of Fine Arts in Warsaw, as well as in Berlin, Munich, and Paris. A significant portion of his works were destroyed during World War II, and the surviving part is dispersed in private collections. His most famous paintings include: The Wandering Jew, Urania, Excommunicated Spinoza, Jewish Cemetery, Yeshiva, Under the Wailing Wall, Synagogue, Black Banner. -- KAROLINA WIGURA ON THE GESTURE OF KNEELING - she writes in Kultura Liberalna: “When Willy Brandt described the reasons for his kneeling in Warsaw in his diaries, he mentioned that his gesture was not planned beforehand. When he found himself in that place, facing the monument commemorating the bravery of people who, knowing they would die one way or another, decided to die fighting, he felt he lacked words. As he writes, he did what people do when they lack language. It was therefore a situation where words are insufficient, and other means of expression must be used. The situation with police officers in American cities is similar. In the reality of raging demonstrations and polarization that has exceeded all known limits, all words have been spoken and repeated so many times that they have lost their power to impress anyone. The crime committed against Floyd is also something so cruel and absurd, and yet so far removed from the ethos of a police officer, that it cannot be expressed in words. Therefore, the appropriate reaction becomes kneeling. It allows one to shed the divisive language and meet beyond everyday social roles, to see each other as human beings.” -- THE ERA OF FORGIVENESS IN POLITICS HAS NOT ENDED - WIGURA CONTINUES: “The era of forgiveness in politics has by no means ended. The internal need and the meaning of kneeling gestures are proving to be essential. On the one hand, all words of repentance that could have been spoken in the context of World War II and totalitarianism, or even colonialism, have either already been spoken or repeated so many times that they have lost their freshness. Without it, they do not possess the necessary potential to bring about change. However, American police officers remind us that this is not entirely the case. Public gestures of repentance are returning with them in a new, democratic form. The fact that today there is no political or media mainstream, but on the contrary, there are many groups and networks connecting with each other without the mediation of authorities, carries these gestures in a new, moving, and memorable way. Given that protests against police violence are also taking place on the European continent, for example in France, Monahan's gesture and that of American police officers can be inspiring.” -- GESTURES HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE - WIGURA'S CONCLUSION: “These gestures offer hope. In times of political polarization developed to such an extent that we wonder if democracy is still possible, words may no longer be sufficient to build bridges. Gestures, on the other hand, still have the power to create what philosopher Hannah Arendt called reconciliation – bridges through which we can look together at the evil left to us by others and consider ways to fill the gaps that evil has dug.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/06/09/nadzieja-ktora-kleczy/ -- JAKUB MAJMUREK WRITES THAT EVERY SOCIETY NEEDS A DEBATE ABOUT ITS RACIST OR ANTI-SEMITIC PAST: “Every democratic society needs an honest conversation about its racist or anti-Semitic past, as well as about how to commemorate it in the social sphere to satisfy the descendants of victims.” -- MAJMUREK ON THE STIGMA OF COLONIAL VIOLENCE AND RACISM IN FIGURES WE ADMIRE: “However, a discussion about how even the figures and institutions most valued and respected by us are marked by the stigma of colonial violence and racism is necessary. It wasn't only Churchill who made judgments that outrage us today and acted on unacceptable premises. It wasn't only Colston who profited from the slave trade – the entire eighteenth-century Bristol, like Liverpool, was built on profits from the trade in human beings. Contemporary British society needs a conversation about what this past means to it, how to commemorate it in the social sphere, and whether and how to compensate the descendants of the empire's victims. Monumental iconoclasm, however violent, sometimes serves as a sensible starting point for historical conversation. Chris Marker and Alain Resnais made a short film essay in the 1950s with one of the most beautiful titles in cinema – Statues Also Die. The titular statues in the film are African sculptures, once part of a living culture and social life, now dead and displayed in European museum display cases. At the same time, the film heralds the era of decolonization, when the statues of European dominance erected in Africa and Asia will begin to 'die'.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/swiat/protesty-george-floyd-pomniki-rasizm-komentarz-majmurek/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Irena Lipowicz.