-- THEY NEED TO TALK IT OUT - TERLECKI ON SOLIDARNA POLSKA, MULLER ON MORAWIECKI ACHIEVING MORE THAN TUSK, EMILEWICZ ON REDUCING DEPUTY MINISTERS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/07/23 -- TRZASKOWSKI GENERATED NOTHING, CIVIC COALITION STILL HAS A MERE 23% - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR ON HIS BLOG: “And the most difficult thing to understand is that Rafał Trzaaaaaaaaskowski generated nothing. And the all-powerful, always-virgin Civic Coalition has a paltry 23% in polls, even though 49% voted for Rafał. And now 23%? Hołownia was also supposed to disappear, and look, 12%. How is all this possible? Is this world so difficult? Well, perhaps when you were told not to tie presidential election support to party support, it wasn't a stupid idea? Perhaps meddling with the parliamentary Left by thousands of left-wing and liberal good-advice uncles is more wishful thinking than realism? Perhaps shoving 'Rafałek, eat Rafałek, if you don't want Rafałek, eat, damn it, Rafałek, eat, you boor' down people's throats – perhaps that doesn't work? I don't know.” -- MAYBE SMALLER PARTIES WOULD FINALLY OVERTHROW THIS MASTODON FROM PO AND IT WOULD BE A BIT MORE SUBSTANTIVE - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR CONTINUES: “I know we’re back exactly where we started. Well, perhaps with one small exception. Hołownia's movement, for now, has 12% and an open field for negotiations with PSL, which, as we hear, have probably already begun. I’m cheering them on heartily, and if the Left were to form a tactical alliance with them on the most urgent matters (climate, social sensitivity, housing), I’d cheer even more. Maybe they would finally overthrow this mastodon from PO. And it would be a bit more substantive.” https://galopujacymajor.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/ale-jak-to-lewica-ma-10-a-wszechpotezna-ko-trzaskowskiego-tylko-23/ -- AS EARLY AS APRIL, THE LEFT WARNED TRZASKOWSKI ABOUT THE CITY BUS OPERATOR - AS MAGDALENA BIEJAT WRITES ON FB: “In recent weeks, two serious bus accidents occurred in Warsaw, operated by the company Arriva. Together with Adrian Zandberg, we intervened with the City Hall in April regarding this company. Under the guise of the crisis, it cut drivers' salaries and extended their working hours. Drivers employed to operate city buses received SMS messages stating that their pay would be reduced by up to 20%, and their working time settlement period would be extended to 12 months. Employees warned that the new working conditions were inconsistent with the law on the driving profession and that long working hours and excessively short breaks posed a threat not only to the employees themselves but also to passengers and all road traffic. The response to our intervention, signed by President Soszyński, only arrived this week. From it, we learned that the city pays Arriva according to the contract, so there are no grounds for changing the drivers’ working conditions. From the same letter, we also know that the city is evading responsibility for violations of labor rights by the company to which it contracts public services. Responsibility lies here with both the City Hall and Rafał Trzaskowski, who is shifting blame onto a private company for endangering Warsaw residents, as well as with Law and Justice – it is due to the anti-worker solutions adopted in the Morawiecki shields that it was possible to impose poor working conditions on the drivers. If we want to ensure good and safe public services, we must primarily combat the causes of problems, not just their effects. The accidents of Warsaw buses are a particularly dramatic result of law violations and disastrous outsourcing practices. It's time we stopped saving on employees. For the good of us all.” https://www.facebook.com/magdalenabiejat -- MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI ON PSYCHOLOGICAL TEAMS THAT CRAFT THE NARRATIVE FOR THE OPPOSITION AND ITS MEDIA TO MAKE IT REPUGNANT: “I am certain this is not a coincidence and that such a line of attack was developed by one of the social psychology teams working for the opposition and its media. Or some hired Russian politologist, a manipulator. Because these are tactics from the arsenal of the dirtiest possible, but unfortunately, somewhat effective. Because defense against them is almost impossible.” -- NOTHING HAS ENDED, THERE IS NO BREAK - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “Who is next in their sights? And they still try to convince us that such media-killing machines are the essence of democracy and freedom of speech. Or perhaps they are evidence of a deep illness of the liberal-left world? Certainly. But they are also a sign of the terrible lengths to which the III RP's media-killing machine is prepared to go, just to snatch a point of support in the polls, to eliminate those they consider pillars of the other side. The elections are over. Nothing, however, has ended. There is no break.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/510485-zabic-metoda-na-pedofila-to-juz-seria-tak-graja -- THE PIS GOVERNMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SHAME, BUT THE TRUE POLISH SHAME WAS LURKING UNDER THE SMILING LOGO OF PLATFORMA - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “The Law and Justice government was supposed to be a shame. The presidency of Andrzej Duda was supposed to be a shame. It was supposed to be a great shame. Across all of Poland, Europe, and the entire world. But the true Polish shame, a burning one, one that pains to the bone, was lurking elsewhere. It was lurking under the ‘smiling’ logo of Platforma Obywatelska. It was lurking under the casual cap of Donald Tusk’s closest associate, often pointed to as his successor. It was lurking under a valuable watch, under a well-tailored suit, under a Western flair, under a condescending attitude towards everyone around. Could there be a greater shame than going to a tormented Ukraine, saying you want to help it modernize, build roads, but in reality, to – as we hear – build a corruption structure, and on a large scale? Could there be a greater shame than robbing a nation so heavily tested, so poor, fighting Russia for its independence? A nation that pays with the lives of its sons and daughters almost daily for freedom from Moscow's oppression? It would be like stealing a collection tin from a poor musician playing in an underpass. Or collecting for orphans and spending it on a foreign trip.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/510455-prawdziwy-polski-wstyd-czail-sie-pod-usmiechnietym-logo-po -- ANOTHER CAMPAIGN IN WHICH MORAWIECKI CONTRIBUTED TO THE COALITION'S VICTORY - ŁUKASZ ROGOJSZ IN GAZETA.PL: “The presidential campaign was therefore another in which Morawiecki significantly contributed to the 'good change' camp's final victory. This strengthens his position in the United Right and his standing in the eyes of President Kaczyński. To such an extent that at the end of June, 'Super Express' reported on plans to make Morawiecki deputy leader of PiS for the coming years. This would be very displeasing to Kurski. Firstly, because he himself was the grey eminence of the United Right candidate's presidential campaign. Secondly, because it is no secret that he does not have good relations with the prime minister. Especially since March this year, when the prime minister, along with the president, brought about his dismissal as head of public television. An element of Kurski's revenge was, among other things, the 'cutting out' of Morawiecki from 'Wiadomości' during the recent campaign.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,26151303,sezon-polowan-rozpoczety-po-wyborach-na-prawicy-nastal-czas.html -- ANDRZEJ GAJCY ON KACZYŃSKI'S INTERVENTION WITH ZIOBRO - writes in Onet: “By openly criticizing the head of government and undermining his trust, the Ziobro faction showed that the 'truce' in effect during the election campaign, ordered by Kaczyński himself, was no longer valid. This defeatism quickly met with a reaction from the PiS leader himself, who, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency, made it clear to his coalition partners that they were gravely mistaken in criticizing the adopted solutions. – We achieved as much as was possible. I know there are critics of the adopted solutions – even within our camp. I want to tell them that they are very much mistaken – emphasized the PiS leader. Unofficially – as we hear – Kaczyński called Ziobro, telling him to calm his 'soldiers' and lower his tone if he wants to remain on board.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/pis-po-wyborach-wojna-ziobry-z-morawieckim/znj66ec,79cfc278 -- THE ALLIANCE OF THRONE AND ALTAR - JACEK KALINOWSKI SPEAKS TO JAKUB BODZION IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “The alliance of throne and altar is a fact. When I saw Jacek Kurski’s second church wedding to his new partner, preceded by the annulment of their previous marriages, it was embarrassing. Kurski was married for 24 years, and both he and his current wife have children from previous relationships! I know Kurski and I know what kind of person he is. If the Church, in addition to the propaganda heard from the pulpit, is dealing in indulgences, it means its authority is dramatically weakening. What is happening in the Church now does not please me in any way, especially since the countryside is an environment of very deep faith. -- KALINOWSKI ASSURES THE PRESERVATION OF PSL'S SUBJECTIVITY - "I assure you that we will maintain our subjectivity. I myself ran in presidential elections twice – with a result of 5.8 percent, and 1.8 percent. My colleagues from PSL had similar results, and then parliamentary and local elections showed that the rumors about our death are greatly exaggerated.” -- KALINOWSKI ON BODZION'S QUESTION ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ALLIANCE WITH PIS: “Let them try and scheme all they want. PSL is and will remain on the democratic side.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/07/23/psl-kalinowski-pogloski-o-smierci-psl-u-sa-mocno-przesadzone/ -- JOANNA SOLSKA DECONSTRUCTS THE 2 BILLION PLN MEDICAL FUND: “Most likely, patients themselves will have to contribute to the Medical Fund; they will become victims of the president’s promise. To find money for the fund, spending on drug reimbursements will be cut. Even though Polish patients already pay the most in Europe for prescriptions issued by doctors. After the creation of the Medical Fund, we will pay even more. Either the list of reimbursed drugs will be shortened, or the reimbursement rate will be reduced.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/1964776,1,wrzutki-i-zmylki-poczta-pieniadze-dostanie-pacjenci-straca.read -- ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ ON THE ELECTION PROTEST IN WHICH TRZASKOWSKI'S COMMITTEE STILL DEMANDS THE ELECTION BE ANNULLED: “The demand for a repeat of the election duel was included in the protest that Trzaskowski's election committee filed with the Supreme Court. Onet obtained this document from the Supreme Court and analyzed its content. Trzaskowski's committee attacks TVP in its protest, accusing it of 'preparing and financing electoral materials for candidate Andrzej Duda using public funds of Telewizja Polska S.A.' This is a blatant accusation of law violation by state television. Trzaskowski's committee also accuses the government of joining the campaign and 'aggressively promoting' Andrzej Duda. The document also contains accusations of committing crimes, including the destruction of ballots.” -- STANKIEWICZ NOTICES AN ERROR IN TRZASKOWSKI'S NAME IN THE DOCUMENT FILED WITH THE SUPREME COURT BY HIS OWN COMMITTEE…: “The protest also mentions 'adding an extra 'X' during the counting of votes to the detriment of presidential candidate Robert Trzaskowski (that's the name in the document – ed.)'. This refers to placing additional crosses on ballots for Trzaskowski to cause them to be invalidated.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/komitet-trzaskowskiego-w-pismie-do-sn-tvp-finansowala-kampanie-andrzeja-dudy/ -- AGNIESZKA ŚCIGAJ ON HOŁOWNIA IN KOALICJA POLSKA - SPEAKS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: “I have absolute certainty that there is indeed space for other leaders who can talk to each other, who do not fight among themselves to be the sole, main leader, but who can actually show Poles that an agreement between different groupings is possible. We need this very much, because all of us in Poland are tired of quarrels. I know that the media narrative is that you have to be on one side or the other, and besides, it is convenient for PO and PiS, and they are striving with all their might to remain in two blocs. We believe that this will not be good for Poland and for Poles; some part of Poles will always be pushed from one side to the other, mainly based on worldview, not on real problem-solving. Therefore, we invite voters of Szymon Hołownia and Szymon Hołownia himself, and other leaders of smaller groupings that are looking for space in Poland for their voice to be heard.” https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/307229908-Kto-sie-polapie-w-balaganie-PiS-u.html -- KACZYŃSKI WANTS US TO PRAISE PO, MICHALSKI WANTS US TO PRAISE PO - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI IN GW: “The logic of both statements is almost identical. For Poland to grow in strength and people to live more abundantly, society must be provided with a unified message, tailored to various just voices, praising in unison what needs to be done and how it needs to be done at a given stage. The substantive difference is that Kaczyński wants the media to praise PiS and constantly show the vileness of PO, while Michalski wants us to praise PO and constantly revile the vileness of PiS. The political difference is that Jarosław Kaczyński is a dictator in Poland, so he can, with the help of the police, government money, etc., implement his dreams of a harmonious media choir, while Cezary Michalski only dreams of great unanimity and tries to infect others with his dream.” -- ŻAKOWSKI ON THE DANGER OF UNANIMITY: “'Unanimity' is the greatest weakness of authoritarian rule. It is what causes authoritarianisms to fall, persisting in error. Pluralism and freedom of criticism are the greatest strength of democracy. Thanks to them, democrats see and correct their mistakes. When democrats limit mutual criticism and fall into unanimity (counting on immediate effectiveness or succumbing to ideological hegemony), they condemn themselves to failures leading to disaster. This was the case when they clung to neoliberal hegemony until populists deprived them of power. It is similar now, when believing in the effectiveness of unanimity, for five years they have been demoralizing their own politicians, discouraging them from seeking policies that will convince the majority. Leaders like Trzaskowski and Budka already understand this. Many of their colleagues and followers – not so much. 'Replatformization,' which Michalski dreams of, is as dangerous for the opposition as 'repolonization' is for the government. Because it will give government and opposition leaders the feeling that they don't have to change anything. And that always leads to ruin. Censorship and self-censorship have similar effects. They destroy what they want to protect. No political force in Poland has benefited from them. It is not worth counting on a precedent.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26149023,gdy-demokraci-ograniczaja-wzajemna-krytyke-i-popadaja-w-jednomysl.html -- RZ ON KGHM'S STOCK PRICE SURGE FOLLOWING SILVER PRICE INCREASES, OF WHICH KGHM IS THE WORLD'S SECOND LARGEST PRODUCER: “KGHM's stock continues its upward trend, supported by a rebound in copper prices, and in recent days, also by strong increases in silver valuations. The group is the second-largest global producer of the precious metal. On Wednesday, KGHM shares rose by as much as 2.1%, to PLN 115.4. This means that the rebound from the March low is already 134%. Copper price increases, after a surge until mid-July, stopped at the level of USD 6.4–6.5 thousand per tonne. Silver came to the rescue, attacking the USD 23 per ounce level on Wednesday – last seen in 2013. Michał Stajniak, a raw materials market analyst at XTB, points out that silver prices have finally started to catch up with gold prices. – Of course, the increase in silver prices is dictated by the current global situation in financial markets. Very cheap money provided by central banks, zero interest rates, stimulus packages mean that precious metals are treated as safe haven assets – a way to store value for times when we will observe price increases, and not necessarily strong economic recovery – says Stajniak. – Additionally, we have a cheap dollar, which is losing value due to positive market sentiment.” https://www.parkiet.com/Surowce-i-paliwa/307239992-Notowania-KGHM-rowniez-na-srebrnym-dopalaczu.html -- PHOTO. Snow Storm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps is an oil painting on canvas by J. M. W. Turner, Tate, London *Hannibal was a commander of the Carthaginian army between 200-100 BC. He was a recognized military leader. Although the title of this work mentions him, Hannibal himself is not depicted. Instead of focusing on the individual leader, this work expresses human sensitivity in the face of nature's power. The focus is on the victims of conflict, the soldiers fighting in difficult conditions. Turner saw similarities between Hannibal and Napoleon, and between the historical Punic War between Rome and Carthage and the contemporary Napoleonic Wars between Great Britain and France. The painting is Turner's response to Jacques-Louis David's portrait of Napoleon Crossing the Alps, which depicts Napoleon leading his army across the Great St Bernard Pass in May 1800, which Turner saw during a visit to Paris in 1802. Turner set his painting in the Val d'Aosta, one of the possible routes Hannibal might have taken to cross the Alps, which Turner also visited in 1802. The identification of Napoleon and France with Hannibal and Carthage was unusual: as a land power with a relatively weak navy, France was more often identified with Rome, and Great Britain's naval power resembled Carthage. A more typical symbolism, linking Britain's modern naval power with Carthage's ancient naval power, can be seen in Turner's later works, Dido Building Carthage and The Decline of the Carthaginian Empire.* https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-snow-storm-hannibal-and-his-army-crossing-the-alps-n00490 -- LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER Saulius Skvernelis turns 50 today. -- BIRTHDAYS: Robert Kropiwnicki, Waldy Dzikowski, Marcin Witko, Marcin Wójcicki, Wojciech Niewierko.