-- 16TH ANNIVERSARY OF JACK KUROŃ'S DEATH. -- A FRAGMENT OF JACK KUROŃ'S MEMOIR BY PROF. ANDRZEJ FRISZKE: "He cannot find his place. The longing for Gaja creates a void. It is also a time of the movement's deepest crisis. Kuroń advises the underground union authorities but is only a shadow of his former self. He regains strength and energy after 1986, when the authorities announce another amnesty and the climate begins to change. He meets Danusia, with whom the union restores his strength to act. They marry in 1990. In 1988, during preparations for the Round Table talks, the authorities make Kuroń's removal from the list of negotiators one of their conditions. Wałęsa refuses. Kuroń sits at the Round Table as one of the main negotiators of the agreement on political reforms. He advocates for fundamental changes, but without resorting to force. He wants everyone, including former enemies, to be able to participate in building a democratic Poland. And he remains loyal to this principle until the end. In the elections of June 4, 1989, he becomes a member of parliament. A free Poland is the fulfillment of his dreams – independent and democratic, open to its neighbors, especially to the Ukrainians who are dear to him. But the emerging social and economic order meets with his opposition. He cannot remain silent seeing the wide margin of poverty and exclusion. He dedicates his last years to raising the alarm. The "germ of intolerance for evil" mentioned in his youth does not let him rest until his last moment. He dies after several years of severe illness on June 17, 2004." https://www.newsweek.pl/wiedza/historia/jacek-kuron-rocznica-smierci-friszke-kim-byl-solidarnosc-prl-kor/rqtkenn -- THE LAST POLITICIAN WHO HAD BIG DREAMS - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI once wrote about Kuroń in Polityka: "Among the important figures in Polish politics, Jacek Kuroń was the last great dreamer. He was the last significant politician in Poland who could have big dreams without having big illusions. That is, while remaining grounded. I miss Kuroń's dreams even more after reading the great biography of Jacek written by Anna Bikont and Helena Łuczywo, which will undoubtedly become a bestseller, just like the autobiographical books he wrote himself with the help of various people, imbued with a dreamy power." https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/historia/1771710,1,jacek-kuron-ostatni-wielki-marzyciel.read -- KUROŃ'S MEMOIR BY WAJRAK: "This is why, as a four-year-old, he jumped from the audience of the Grand Theatre in Lviv and rushed to the stage to save Jacek and Placek, whom the sorcerer wanted to put in a sack. This is why he became a communist and broke away from communism sooner than many others, becoming its fervent critic and opponent. This is why he sat in various prisons, this is why he co-founded the Committee for the Defence of Workers, this is why he said in prison that he was Jewish when he heard antisemitic remarks from fellow inmates." https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26037197,jacek-od-slabszych-wajrak-wspomina-kuronia-w-rocznice-smierci.html -- KAROL MODZELEWSKI ON ANNA BIKONT AND HELENA ŁUCZYWO'S BOOK ABOUT KUROŃ: "This is the most ferocious, and therefore the best, biography of Jacek Kuroń that I have read. Its advantage is that it debunks the myth of Jacek's character, especially concerning the Stalinist era. This is an experience of a generation, now forgotten or covered by platitudes. There will likely be those who exclaim, 'we always knew it,' but they knew nothing because they weren't around then." http://www.publio.pl/jacek-helena-luczywo,p182828.html ***** -- POLITICO WRITES THAT DUDA COULD BE THE FIRST FOREIGN POLITICIAN TRUMP RECEIVES POST-PANDEMIC: "President Andrzej Duda may soon meet with Donald Trump at the White House, writes POLITICO, citing sources in the American and Polish administrations. The visit is planned at a time when Trump has surprised allies and his own administration with a decision to withdraw more than a quarter of US troops stationed in Germany, with some units possibly being relocated to Poland." -- DANIEL FRIED, QUOTED BY POLITICO, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO POLAND, BELIEVES IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA: "Duda has done a good job with the Trump administration and the president himself. But Poland is in the final stages of its election campaign, and Duda faces strong competition from several formidable rivals," said Daniel Fried, former US ambassador to Poland under the Clinton administration, who is now at the Atlantic Council. "A visit by Duda at such a time would be perceived as the United States taking sides in Poland. That is not a good idea." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/swiat/spotkanie-duda-trump-nieoficjalnie-andrzej-duda-wkrotce-odwiedzi-bialy-dom/7xg6gp9 -- SZCZERSKI ON DUDA'S VISIT TO TRUMP, KWAŚNIEWSKI ON THE MAKEUP FOR HOMOPHOBIA, GĄDEK ON TRZASKOWSKI THROWING PROMISES IN THE BIN - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/06/17/ -- WE DEMAND THE COMPLETE EXPIRATION OF CLAIMS - HANNA GIL-PIĄTEK IN KRYTYKA ON THE LEFT'S REPRIVATIZATION LAW: "We demand the complete expiration of reprivatization claims. We want compensation only for a specific group of people, which means, among other things, an end to the return of property in kind. Furthermore, we want the right to use this law to be granted only to individuals and to be inalienable, which will be equivalent to introducing a ban on trading claims. Finally, we want the compensation of 10 percent of the property's value to take into account the prices, technical condition, and encumbrances of the property (e.g., mortgages) as of the date of acquisition." -- THE LEFT'S PROJECT IN JULY - MP BIEJAT TELLS KRYTYKA: "The Left's project proposal has already been officially supported by the most well-known Warsaw tenant movements: the Committee for the Defense of Tenant Rights and the Jolanta Brzeska Warsaw Tenants' Association, as well as the urban activist Jan Śpiewak, who was recently pardoned by the president. - Of course, we are talking about the assumptions at the moment; the entire project will be developed once we receive feedback from the social side with whom we are holding consultations. This will most likely happen in July." https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/lewica-czas-powiedziec-stop-mafii-reprywatyzacyjnej/ -- THE MAYOR OF OPOLE CLAIMS THERE WERE 10 TIMES MORE PEOPLE AT TRZASKOWSKI'S RALLY THAN AT DUDA'S - as Arkadiusz Wiśniewski says on Onet: "A significantly larger number of Opole residents were drawn to the Mayor of Warsaw. According to unofficial data from security services, this ratio was even 10 to 1, around two thousand people compared to 250. On one hand, there was the substantive content of Mayor Trzaskowski's speech and his warm response to many important issues, including local government matters, and on the other hand, President Duda said that local government is failing. For me, this is a strange and incomprehensible statement." -- THE MAYOR OF OPOLE ON DUDA'S WORDS BEING A TRAGEDY INTERNATIONALLY: "The second issue is that, internationally, the president's words about LGBT are a complete tragedy. These words bring us great shame. Protests are sweeping across the world, where monuments to people suspected of racism or involvement in slavery are being torn down, and issues of human equality are being raised, while in Poland we are moving in the completely opposite direction. We are beginning to exclude, depreciate, and harm people who deserve our respect. In this way, we are going back at least two centuries." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opole/prezydent-opola-przez-slowa-dudy-o-lgbt-spotyka-nas-wielki-wstyd/ -- IT'S NOT ENOUGH, DUDA WON'T WIN IF THE MILLIONS WHO BENEFITED FROM HIS 2015 VICTORY DON'T FIGHT - JACEK KARNOWSKI: "Even a long Dudabus journey and three meetings: Płońsk, Ciechanów, Mława. Half-hour speeches in each, and then another half hour of conversations with Poles. In the heat. Huge effort and great passion to win this time too. But we must say it clearly: it's not enough. Andrzej Duda will not win if the millions of people who benefited from his victory in 2015 do not fight." -- IF POLES FAITHFUL TO THE WHITE AND RED, NOT THE RAINBOW, DON'T GET TO WORK, THE RESULT WILL BE AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: "Today, Andrzej Duda's campaign is about a hard-working candidate, rallies, and conceptual work in the campaign headquarters. But - I repeat - it's not enough. If Poles faithful to the white and red, not the rainbow, tied to the triad of God - Honor - Fatherland, do not get to work, do not go into battle, the election result may be an unpleasant surprise. And Poland may again become a Round Table republic, where the dissatisfied can at best leave. There will be no second chance. In any case, it will not come quickly." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/505048-miliony-ktore-ciesza-sie-z-wolnej-polski-musza-sie-ruszyc -- THE TIME AT NOWOGRODZKA STREET IS NOT FAVORABLE WITH THE CANCELED PRIDE PARADES - JACEK GĄDEK ON GAZETA.PL: "This is an easy topic for PiS, although the timing is not favorable for Nowogrodzka Street right now. Why? Last year, for the first time, the mayor of Warsaw – Trzaskowski – not only patronized the Pride Parade with the city's patronage but also became the first mayor of the capital in history to participate in it. This year, the Parade, which was planned for June 20 (a week before the election!), was canceled due to the coronavirus epidemic. TVP will therefore have to rely on archival footage from the streets of Warsaw and Western cities, as there will be no new material." -- DUDA CAN LOSE BECAUSE OF CZARNEK - A PiS POLITICIAN IN GĄDEK'S ARTICLE: "PiS was on a roll regarding the fight against 'LGBT ideology.' That is, until MP Przemysław Czarnek, a member of the PiS campaign team, stated on TVP: 'Let's stop listening to these idiocies about human rights or equality. These people [LGBT people - ed.] are not equal to normal people.' And at that moment, PiS's offensive collapsed. A politician from this camp: 'Czarnek ruined our campaign. Andrzej Duda might lose the election precisely because of Czarnek. We were on the offensive, and now all our politicians have to explain his words in the media.'" -- LGBT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE MATCH BALL - ANOTHER STATEMENT BY AN ANONYMOUS PiS POLITICIAN IN GĄDEK'S ARTICLE: "There isn't much time left until the elections (June 28 and July 12), so at least until the first round, the PiS campaign headquarters will likely stick to polarization through the LGBT issue. An important politician from PiS: 'This is already polarization for the final victory. There is no better polarization in Poland. This is our match ball in these elections.'" https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,26037197,temat-lgbt-to-mial-byc-matchball-w-wyborach-teraz-w-pis-martwia.html -- THAT WASN'T THE PLAN - AN ANONYMOUS PiS POLITICIAN IN MARCIN MAKOWSKI'S ARTICLE ON WP: "Another adds that due to the ill-considered statements of MPs Żalek and Czarnek, and the president's words in Brzeg that 'LGBT ideology is worse than communism,' they are forced to go into a narrative defense for a while. - That wasn't the plan - I hear." https://opinie.wp.pl/makowski-wyborcze-uniki-jakiej-polityki-chce-rafal-trzaskowski-opinia-6521671140644481a -- I DON'T THINK THE LGBT ISSUE WILL BE DECISIVE - PROF. ANTONI DUDEK IN A STATEMENT TO INTERIA: "I don't think the LGBT issue will be decisive in these elections. Of course, it will be one of the elements, but I believe there will be many factors that will ultimately determine the outcome of the second round, even including how many voters from big cities go on vacation during that time. This is important from the perspective of Trzaskowski's voters, as some of them might not bother to vote. Duda has an advantage here – his voters are poorer, so they are less likely to go away - believes the political scientist from UKSW." https://fakty.interia.pl/raporty/raport-wybory-prezydenckie-2020/aktualnosci/news-gra-w-ideologie-lgbt,nId,4557447 -- BIEDROŃ REALIZED HE WOULD BE SAVING DUDA FROM TROUBLE - AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK ON OKO.PRESS: "However, something else seems to have been decisive. Biedroń realized that by meeting, he would be saving Duda from trouble. There is a crisis in the Presidential Palace: the campaign has overdone the hatred, and the president's tirades against LGBT people have gained international dimensions. 'Dziennik Gazeta Prawna' reports that the American embassy intervened with the president regarding the statements about LGBT people. Ambassador Mosbacher denied this but simultaneously added significant words: 'However, I reiterate: the US condemns discrimination and hatred based on race, religion, origin, or sexual orientation.'" https://oko.press/helena-i-robert-biedron-nie-spotkaja-sie-z-andrzejem-duda-niech-najpierw-przeprosi/ -- DUDA COULD HAVE ACTED DECENTLY AND MET WITH THE MOTHERS, AGATA DUDA ALSO MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY - ADAM SZOSZKIEWICZ in Polityka: "He could have had a moment of introspection. He could have acted decently. Apologized for the scandalous support of homophobia in his political camp. Played the role of a true leader and head of state. He could have gone out to meet the mothers of people with different sexual identities, listened to their stories, asked questions, engaged in human conversation. Unfortunately, he did not seize the opportunity. Agata Kornhauser-Duda, also a mother, did not seize it either." -- HOMOPHOBIA IS AN ATTACK ON THE FAMILY - SZOSZKIEWICZ CONTINUES: "Such words are particularly immoral and dangerous coming from those in power. They present themselves as defenders of children, youth, and the family. Perhaps they would notice that homophobia is also an attack on families like Helena Biedroń's and other parents in the same situation. And their pronouncements actually defend family values." https://szostkiewicz.blog.polityka.pl/2020/06/16/matka-biedronia-pod-palacem-dudy/ -- POLONIA IS HEADING FOR A RECORD TURNOUT, AND HAS NOT SUPPORTED PiS LATELY - Anna Dąbrowska in Polityka: "Of the over 330,000 Poles who registered for postal voting (as it was often their only option), 100,000 are Poles from Great Britain, nearly 50,000 Poles in Germany, over 25,000 in the USA, and 20,000 in Ireland. (...) In 2015, PiS also won the parliamentary elections abroad, securing 33.6% of the vote (PO – 18.6%). However, after four years of PiS rule, Polonia shifted its political sympathies. In the 2019 elections, a total of 314,000 votes were cast abroad. KO won – 39% (PiS received 24.9% of the vote). Perhaps Poles abroad will once again want to show PiS a red card. The question is, however, whether their votes will be taken into account?" https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1960350,1,polonia-idzie-na-frekwencyjny-rekord.read -- ANTONI DUDEK POINTS TO TRZASKOWSKI'S INCONSISTENT MESSAGE - as he says in a statement to WP: "Rafał Trzaskowski says he will not be a president who automatically vetoes everything. He declares a willingness to cooperate with the government on the most important issues, but at the same time announces that his election will be the beginning of the end for PiS. This is a strongly inconsistent message at times. Respect for Lech Kaczyński can be left for the second round; in the first, he should consolidate the anti-PiS electorate - says Professor Antoni Dudek from UKSW to Wirtualna Polska." -- PROF. FLIS ALSO POINTS TO TRZASKOWSKI'S INCONSISTENCY: "Professor Jarosław Flis shares a similar opinion. - Andrzej Duda won in 2015 with a similar narrative that Rafał Trzaskowski is using today. The point is not to provoke the other side. The problem, however, is that the Civic Coalition candidate is not doing this consistently. One day he appreciates the 500+ program, the next day he wants to burn out the sins of PiS with a red-hot iron - says the political scientist from Jagiellonian University." https://opinie.wp.pl/makowski-wyborcze-uniki-jakiej-polityki-chce-rafal-trzaskowski-opinia-6521671140644481a -- DUDA'S DEFEAT MEANS POLAND'S DEPARTURE FROM THE WRONG COURSE - ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI IN A CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: "But Poland needs a change. We cannot continue to trudge along with a presidency directed by Jarosław Kaczyński and executed by Andrzej Duda. Poland cannot remain so deeply divided, it cannot lose its European and international standing, it cannot be anachronistic and fail to understand the challenges facing the modern world. Further years of unlimited, unchecked PiS rule could be fatal for Poland, and for this reason, the presidential elections are a game with much higher stakes than just who becomes president. Duda's defeat would mean Poland's departure from the wrong course on many issues that has been implemented since 2015." -- THESE ARE STATEMENTS VERY CLOSE TO FASCISM - KWAŚNIEWSKI CONTINUES in RZ: "But it does so by excluding others. If it were only about protecting the family, no one would have any objections. If Duda says he is in favor of marriage being between a man and a woman, he has the right to do so. But if a candidate and their camp say that these people are not equal to us, then words are spoken that should not be spoken, especially after the experiences of World War II. The statement by PiS politicians, the president's campaign staff, that 'LGBT people are not people' is very close to fascism." https://www.rp.pl/Wywiady-i-rozmowy/200619535-Aleksander-Kwasniewski-Prezydent-Duda-dzieli-spoleczenstwo.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Lesław Piszewski, Franciszek Potulski, Katarzyna Sabiłło.