-- PFR LAUNCHES ADDITIONAL PLN 7.5 BILLION: The capital support plan for companies in difficulty due to the COVID-19 pandemic – the so-called capital shield – has received approval from the European Commission. This is the last, fifth element of government support planned under the project commonly known as the PFR Financial Shield, which awaited Brussels' consent. This means that capital support will be able to reach Polish companies from June onwards. The European Commission has approved the Polish company recapitalization program for a total amount of PLN 7.5 billion (EUR 1.65 billion), which will support large enterprises and some larger SMEs in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. This program was approved based on the temporary framework for state aid, adopted by the Commission in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is part of broader support for businesses in Poland, the so-called financial shield for large enterprises.
-- TRZASKOWSKI IN SILESIA ON RESPECT FOR TRADITION, PRIME MINISTER ON COMMON VISÉGRAD POSITION ON RECOVERY FUND, WILK ON KONFEDERACJA VOTERS POSSIBLY VOTING FOR TRZASKOWSKI IN THE SECOND ROUND: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/12/ -- CROSSING A CERTAIN LINE OF INTOLERANCE COULD BACKFIRE ON PIS, IS THIS THE MAIN EMOTION OF POLES TODAY? - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “Acceptance of partnerships is constantly growing, so crossing a certain line of intolerance regarding the LGBT concept could backfire on PiS. This is also associated with the greatest risk. Today, Poland faces a series of dramatic problems related to the situation in the world. Turning the election into an ideological dispute about social modernization might be more convenient for PiS than explaining the course of the epidemic. The question is, however, whether this is the main emotion that occupies Poles today.” -- ARE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THE LGBT OFFENSIVE OR JOBS TODAY? - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “Are people talking about the LGBT offensive at their tables today, or rather about who the crisis will leave without a job or part of their income. And last but not least, moral issues cannot be separated from the Church. It has always been the defender of traditional values in Poland. Today, however, it is probably weaker than ever, and certainly the weakest in four decades. Trust in the Church is dramatically falling, as it cannot cope with further accusations of bishops covering up cases of pedophilia among priests. And for this reason, frightening people with 'gender' and LGBT may not bring the desired effect by PiS strategists.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/306119950-Szuldrzynski-Dzender-kontra-pandemia.html -- NO REASON FOR JOY IN THE PALACE - AGATA KONDZIŃSKA IN GW: “According to our information, there are no reasons for joy in the Palace and the campaign team. Internal polls indicate that Andrzej Duda is not the undisputed winner. – His lead over his main rivals is shrinking, and in some polls, in the second round, it is within the margin of statistical error – a person familiar with the campaign's inner workings tells us.” -- KONDZIŃSKA QUOTES A PIS POLITICIAN - THE WORLD IS IN A DIFFERENT PLACE TODAY: “PiS politician: – Frightening people with these topics resonates with our electorate, but I don't know if it's a good idea to make this the axis of polarization; the world is in a different place today. The fact that these topics helped in the local government or European Parliament elections does not mean they will be effective now. Especially since Trzaskowski is not emphasizing them at all.” -- WE SHOULD PLAY AS BROADLY AS POSSIBLE, NO ONE KNOWS WHO WILL VOTE DURING VACATION - A PIS POLITICIAN CONTINUES TO KONDZIŃSKA IN GW: “The party is talking about another unknown: how voters will behave during their holidays. – We haven't practiced such a scenario; we can't say that the PiS electorate will mobilize, and the PO electorate won't because they'll go on vacation. No campaign team can predict this, which is why our candidate should play as broadly as possible.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26021605,kaczynski-straszy-niemoralnym-trzaskowskim-nawet-w-pis-slychac.html -- DOES THIS CHARTER CORRESPOND TO THE REAL DILEMMAS OF POLES? - MARCIN MAKOWSKI IN WP: “The question is whether these very issues, played out many times in campaigns since 2015, culminating during last year's European Parliament elections – will mobilize once again? Does the national debate around the axes outlined in the Family Charter, presented on Wednesday, June 10, by Andrzej Duda – correspond to the real dilemmas of Poles in the era of a pandemic, economic crisis, and clear shifts in the geopolitical balance of power?” -- HE WHO SHOWS THE MOST EMPATHY TOWARDS THE OPPONENT'S VOTERS WINS THE ELECTION - PROF. ANTONI DUDEK QUOTED BY MAKOWSKI: “He who shows more empathy towards the opponent's voters wins the election. Andrzej Duda currently shows no hint of such empathy; he does not direct his messages to opposition voters; he does not show that he understands them. In a two-round election, one must seek common ground – argues Prof. Jarosław Flis from Jagiellonian University.” https://opinie.wp.pl/makowski-prezydenckie-gwiezdne-wojny-bitwa-o-wszystko-w-ktorej-srodka-nie-ma-opinia-6520429015656065a -- THE ALARMIST TONE OF KACZYŃSKI'S LETTER GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF DESPERATION - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “Jarosław Kaczyński's letter regarding the election was intended to mobilize activists for Andrzej Duda's campaign. But PiS spin doctors probably overdid it a bit, because the alarmist tone gives the impression of desperation and fear of impending defeat.” -- ROOMS BY THE HOUR AND ROBBING the Polish Red Cross - ARE THESE PERHAPS SYMPTOMS OF A MORAL CRISIS? - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “The KNF affair, earnings at the NBP, robbing the Polish Red Cross, Marian Banaś's 'rooms by the hour.' Or perhaps the symptom of a moral crisis and degradation is rather the organization of sending postcards to the First President of the Supreme Court with the inscription 'Get out'?” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26021947,prezes-listy-pisze-i-klamie-jak-z-nut.html -- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE WAVE OF BARBARISM AND LEFTIST TALIBAN OVER THE VISTULA: “The grandchildren of the 1968 revolution generation are entering the Western stage. The movement that demanded absolute freedom is today moving towards building another system where there will simply be no freedom. There will be absolute totalitarianism, different from previous ones, but identical in its nature. Moreover, it will be more detached from the past than previous ones. And a society without a past, without history, without knowledge, is – as we know – a mass exceptionally easy to manipulate. And let's have no illusions: it will not be easy for Poland to resist this wave of barbarism. But we must try, waiting for some sobering up. And therefore, we must not allow people to come to power who, out of simple expediency or conviction, will go down a path that will end with the appearance of left-wing Taliban also on the Vistula.” https://wpolityce.pl/spoleczenstwo/504348-jaki-swiat-zbuduja-nam-lewicowi-talibowie-totalitarny -- CULTURAL AGGRESSOR - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON RAFAŁ TRZASKOWSKI: “Exceptional brazenness. A cultural aggressor, showing no respect for the feelings and sensitivity of the rest of society, presents himself as a victim. A politician who has the courage to stand on the side of citizens, parents, children, against media and business powers, is described as a threat. This is a continuation of the same lie. It is worth emphasizing: this dispute is not about how someone lives privately, with whom they sleep, but about the way the community is organized, about law, about values. Today, everyone in Poland has the right to privacy, to be in any relationship they want; today, no one looks under anyone's duvet. These intimate human matters are being brought to light, played with, not by the United Right camp, but by the supposedly liberal and left-wing opposition. Recently, one of its flagship newspapers did not hesitate to punitively reveal the sexual orientation of a lawyer who displeased them. Is this respect for others?” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/504242-to-trzaskowski-jest-kulturowym-agresorem-niesie-wojne -- TRZASKOWSKI'S TEAM IS PREPARING AN OFFER FOR PSL VOTERS IN THE SECOND ROUND - CLAIMS ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ in Onet: “The Peasants foresee that the presidential election results could completely change the situation in parliament. If Duda wins, PiS may realize its plan and sway two opposition senators to regain a majority in the Senate. Conversely, if Trzaskowski wins, PiS may lose its fragile majority in the Sejm, as some United Right MPs may leave Kaczyński. The Peasants hope that in the latter scenario, the opposition might take power. And they want guarantees from Trzaskowski that they will receive good positions in the new arrangement. However, Trzaskowski's campaign team has a problem with the PSL electorate. Although Kosiniak-Kamysz's voters have been changing in recent years, they are still small-town dwellers, more conservative, and closer to the Church. This is difficult to reconcile with Trzaskowski's big-city image, his left-wing views, and his criticism of the Church. Therefore, some of Kosiniak-Kamysz's voters may cast their votes for Duda. – We are thinking about an offer for the second round specifically for PSL voters. It's too early to talk about it yet – says one of Trzaskowski's strategists.” -- STANKIEWICZ WRITES ABOUT RESENTMENT OVER PLATFORM'S ATTACKS IN HOŁOWNIA'S CIRCLE: “— This is unwise, because I find it hard to imagine that voters treated this way by Szymon would vote for Trzaskowski in the second round — says one of Hołownia's strategists in an interview with Onet. He admits at the same time that obtaining Hołownia's official support for Trzaskowski before the second round will be difficult.” -- TRZASKOWSKI'S CAMPAIGN RESEARCH INDICATES THAT BOSAK'S VOTERS WILL NOT SUPPORT DUDY IN THE SECOND ROUND - WRITES STANKIEWICZ: “He also argues that Konfederacja voters are distrustful of PiS, which has been suppressing its right-wing competition for years. — Our research shows that a large part of Bosak's voters want to vote against Duda in the second round — says our interlocutor from Platforma. Everything indicates that the electorates of opposition candidates will decide whether Duda or Trzaskowski becomes president.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/wybory-2020-kto-poprze-rafala-trzaskowskiego/wb98dlp -- THE POLICE ROUNDED UP YOUNG PEOPLE RETURNING FROM A DISCO IN FRONT OF THE PALACE, WHILE FRIGHTENED CHILDREN WERE ISSUED FINES - MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI IN OKO.PRESS: “Only after the event ended did they start rounding up young people returning home. According to witnesses, the officers focused on those walking alone or in small groups, ignoring larger ones. The apprehended, often frightened children were issued 100 zloty fines for participating in an illegal assembly. The situation was documented by an OKO.press photojournalist. Lewica MP Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, who was present at the Palace, intervened. Several of the dancers refused to accept the fines.” -- DZIEMIANOWICZ-BĄK TELLS OKO.PRESS THAT THE CHILDREN ARE BEING ATTACKED BY BOTH THE CITY HALL AND THE RULING PARTY, AND CALLS THE RESPONSE COWARDLY SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS - REPORTS DANIELEWSKI: “And she adds: ‘They are being harassed – because there is no other way to describe either the fact that the Warsaw City Hall calls them right-wing trolls [referring to the statement by Warsaw Deputy Mayor Paweł Rabiej, who called the rainbow disco a right-wing provocation – editorial note], or the fact that the police are lurking for them to catch them on their way home and issue heavy fines. These young people are the future – attacking them or turning their backs on them because it doesn't add up in the polls for someone, is cowardly short-sightedness.’” https://oko.press/mandaty-dla-dzieciakow-z-disco-pod-palacem/ -- I AM NO LESS A JUDGE THAN JUDGES APPOINTED BY THE PRL STATE COUNCIL - PROF. MAŁGORZATA MANOWSKA IN A CONVERSATION WITH MAGDA GAŁCZYŃSKA IN ONET: “Regardless of this – questioning judicial appointments constitutes a violation of the foundations of justice. I am no less a judge than those nominated for appointment by the previous KRS or appointed by the State Council in the PRL. I want to emphasize that I took office as a judge over 25 years ago, and no critical voices will change that.” -- MANOWSKA ON THE LACK OF A SPECIFIED PURPOSE FOR NOT INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF WITHDRAWING SUPPORT SIGNATURES FOR KRS CANDIDATES - THIS WOULD CREATE A REAL THREAT OF PRESSURE ON JUDGES: “Let's remember that the election of members of a constitutional body such as the KRS is a matter of broadly understood public law. This is not civil law, where declarations of will can be made and then withdrawn or declarations of contrary content can be made. In public law, the situation is completely different. Here, to perform an effective legal act, a procedure defined by law is needed. The Act on the KRS did not provide for a procedure for withdrawing support for a KRS candidate. This is also the case, incidentally, in other public law procedures providing for the nomination of candidates or specific postulates with the support of a certain number of people – for example, collecting signatures for support lists for presidential candidates. Sometimes the law expressly states the ineffectiveness of such 'second thoughts,' as, for instance, in parliamentary elections, with citizen legislative initiatives, or in local referendums. In other cases, it simply does not provide for the procedure for such withdrawal, and the legal effect is the same. It is enough to mention the resolution of the Supreme Court of February 20, 2008, III SZP 1/08, which clearly stated that in the case of appointing someone to a public office, with the simultaneous lack of a legally defined procedure for examining the correctness of such an appointment, the effectiveness of such an appointment cannot be questioned. The rationality of this solution is also evident when we realize that the possibility of withdrawing support for a judge running for the KRS would create a situation where this judge would be exposed to unlawful pressure, which would be dangerous and inadmissible. Therefore, while I understand that the matter of the correctness of the appointment of one KRS member may be a fertile topic for political journalism, from a legal point of view, the matter is simple.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/i-prezes-sn-o-sytuacji-w-tym-sadzie-utrzymuje-sie-u-nas-specyficzna-segregacja/yv2zynw -- TRZASKOWSKI: EXTREMIST, SATANIST, DEMON - PRZEMYSŁAW WITKOWSKI IN KRYTYKA: “What awaits us under the presidency of this sultan of extremism? It is obvious. Compulsory vegetarianism, masturbation of three-year-olds, COVID chipping, mandatory Matura exam with Geremek. 5G towers that homosexualize men. Museums of atheism, a center of club debauchery at Jasna Góra, lynchings of priests, and forced marriages with animals. Forcing people to wipe themselves with the Bible, kissing the feet of black people, and a Secret World Government Command Bunker built with taxpayer money under Okęcie.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/darth-trzaskowski-ekstremista-satanista-demon/ -- THE PRICE OF SOCIAL MARASMUS MAY BE HIGHER THAN THE COMFORT IT BRINGS DAILY - GALLOPING MAJOR IN KRYTYKA: “I know one thing: the fact that no one in Poland is tearing down monuments, indeed, testifies to the relatively calm moods of Polish society. But at the same time, it testifies to political marasmus, so safe in interesting times and so dangerous in less interesting times. A calm society can guarantee security, but also, if someone decides to take away the rights of its members, by the time the society wakes up, it may be too late. Society cannot simply be calm and asleep, and at the same time ready for a violent surge in defense of its rights. It is worth remembering this when we are outraged by the continued destruction of monuments and so pleased that peace prevails in the capital. The price of marasmus may be higher than the comfort that this marasmus provides us with daily.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/galopujacy-major/marazm-polakow-zastygly-w-pomniku/ -- HE DID NOTHING ABOUT A Bipartisan Agreement on Defense - MAREK KOZUBAL IN RZ ABOUT THE PRESIDENT AND THE ARMY: “The creator of this formation was Antoni Macierewicz. Among some of Duda's associates, doubt about the combat capabilities of these soldiers can still be felt. His most serious sin was the silent acceptance of the personnel tsunami that Macierewicz inflicted on the army. Several dozen generals left the army, including the highest commanders. We did not hear him ever stand up for them or try to sensibly integrate them. Nor did he extend a protective umbrella over the army when, during election campaigns, PiS politicians treated soldiers as photo backdrops. He did nothing to create even a minimal bipartisan agreement around strengthening state defense.” https://www.rp.pl/Sluzby-mundurowe/306119948-Wojsko-nie-sluzy-tylko-do-defilowania-nie-jest-tez-scianka-dla-politykow.html -- PHOTO. Anger – one of Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. -- FRAGMENT OF JAROSŁAW MIKOŁAJEWSKI'S TEXT ON GIOTTO'S FRESCOES IN THE PADUA CHAPEL (again): “In the lower row of paintings, where individual virtues on one side correspond to vices on the opposite wall, in the place usually assigned to greed, appears the allegory of envy, with a snake instead of a tongue. Today in the chapel, which looks like a large blue sphere filled with stories about the central figures of God's plan of salvation, there is no longer room for envy. Only emotion remains.” https://wyborcza.pl/duzyformat/1,127290,946264.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Grzegorz Sroczyński, Krystyna Sibińska, Jan Klimek.