-- ARTISTS IN THE WARSAW UPRISING: https://culture.pl/pl/artykul/artysci-w-powstaniu-warszawskim -- PHOTO: Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński with his dog Fred, c. 1931-1932, photo by Aleksander Jałosiński. -- PERHAPS EVEN A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN ZIOBRO AND KACZYŃSKI HIMSELF - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: “Jarosław Kaczyński has a problem. He has to come to terms with his coalition partners regarding the so-called government reconstruction. But no one forced him to initiate this government merry-go-round. And to subject his ministers and politicians of the United Right to weeks of uncertainty. Is he enjoying it? Is it occupying the media? But is it really? After all, behind the term 'reconstruction' lies a power struggle between Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the Minister of Justice, the leader of a coalition party, Zbigniew Ziobro. And perhaps even between Zbigniew Ziobro and Kaczyński himself.” -- IT WAS DIFFICULT TO MAKE NEGOTIATIONS HARDER FOR MORAWIECKI - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Recent events show that these are not always pure squabbles over influence and prestige. During recent negotiations in Brussels, the shape of the EU budget was being decided. At one point, a text from the Politico portal appeared on the table where the Polish Prime Minister was sitting with several key EU leaders. Europe could learn from it that in Poland, immediately after the elections, two topics were launched: media repolonization and the denunciation of the Istanbul Convention. And yet, what was at stake in these negotiations was the linking of funds to the so-called rule of law issue. Both topics could, even indirectly, be linked to this problem. It was difficult to make negotiations harder for Morawiecki.” -- KACZYŃSKI FLEW INTO A RAGE, ORDERED IT CONVEYED TO ZIOBRO THAT HE, TOO, WAS A TRAITOR - ZAREMBA REPORTS: “One of the biggest hawks from Solidarna Polska, Janusz Kowalski from Opole, called Morawiecki a traitor at a closed meeting. And Ziobro himself announced that his MPs would vote against the Prime Minister's report, which would mean its rejection. Kaczyński flew into a rage. He ordered it conveyed to Kowalski and Ziobro that in that case, he too was a traitor. Ultimately, the leader of Solidarna Polska not only did not vote against the government but, at the last moment, made a belated declaration of loyalty to the Prime Minister.” -- ZIOBRO ACCUSES MORAWIECKI OF INEFFECTIVENESS WHILE THROWING SPATTERS IN HIS PATH - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “In the constant struggle for Kaczyński's anointment, he plays the card of an exemplary PiS supporter. He has already spoken out in favor of further changes in the judiciary. The fact that this could harm his European policy is of little consequence. Incidentally, Ziobro later accuses him of ineffectiveness in dealings with Europe, while he himself throws spanners in the works. And the Prime Minister cannot retaliate because the policy is somehow authorized by the President himself. It is certain that the undeclared war between the Prime Minister's camp and Ziobro and his PiS allies – Beata Szydło, and in certain circumstances, even the PC order, i.e., activists who stood by Kaczyński back in the distant 1990s – will continue.” -- IS ZIOBRO USING HIS PLACE IN THE PIS GOVERNMENT AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR FUTURE STRUGGLES AGAINST IT? - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “In reality, it is unknown what his ultimate stake is. Will he try to impose himself on Kaczyński as a potential candidate to be anointed as his successor? Or perhaps he thinks he will one day take leadership of the entire right wing, being anointed by the electorate – hence such concern for distinctiveness? Perhaps, finally, he is aiming to build a separate formation in the future – in league with Konfederacja, with which he now so often resonates, even sharing votes. In the latter case, we would be dealing with using his place in the PiS government as a springboard for future struggles against it. But strengthening Bosak's formation already today, without him, is bad news for Ziobro. The only question is whether this new, constantly beating the ideological drums of Ziobro's right would be so free in disregarding foreign influence, so absolved from all compromises within Poland. It is easy to achieve this from the margins than to later realize such a utopia. Well, but that's a question for everyone, including Konfederacja.” -- ZAREMBA ON THE STRUGGLE WITHIN THE HARDCORE ELECTORATE: “We don't know if a more distinct right wing à la Ziobro and Kurski is a recipe for a more vibrant right wing, one that wins subsequent elections. I rather treat their offer as an element of the struggle within the hard, minority electorate. And besides, in the autumn, a second wave of the pandemic may come and scatter all political wars like boys' games. Which, incidentally, I do not wish for Poland.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307319998-Kataryna-Wojny-Ziobry.html -- "ZIOBRO IS PUTTING US AGAINST THE WALL BECAUSE HE WANTS TO BE A LEADER" - THIS IS HOW RECENT MOVES WERE COMMENTED ON IN PiS - AGATA KONDZIŃSKA REPORTS IN GW: “– Ziobro is putting us against the wall. He wants to be a leader. The one who cares about values – this is how it was unofficially commented on in PiS when the Minister of Justice sent a request to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to denounce the anti-violence convention.” -- ZIOBRO IS POSITIONING HIMSELF IN CASE IT SUDDENLY TURNS OUT THAT HE NEEDS TO GO HIS OWN WAY - KONDZIŃSKA CONTINUES: “What is Ziobro playing at? Our interlocutors offer several answers: – It's a rivalry with Konfederacja for the national-Catholic electorate, but also positioning himself within the right-wing camp, should it suddenly turn out that he needs to go his own way. It is also pressure in the ongoing unification negotiations and, of course, an attack on Morawiecki – we hear.” -- THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME ZIOBRO'S FACTION HAS PUSHED PiS INTO A CORNER - KONDZIŃSKA CONTINUES IN GW: “It's not the first time Ziobro's faction has pushed PiS into a corner. The same demands were put forward by Ziobro's circle immediately after the parliamentary elections. Politicians of Solidarna Polska wanted a change of head of government, an halt to the "process of hostile socialization of society, in which the white and red flag is being replaced by a rainbow one," a reckoning with media owned by foreign capital, or the limitation of local government autonomy in the Orban style. – I don't know how it will end this time, but it's easy for them to flex their muscles because they know they have Kaczyński's emotions on their side; they'll go too far if they start messing with abortion, but for now, they're being careful – says our government interlocutor.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26174330,ziobro-dociska-morawieckiego.html -- "I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING IN PLATFORMA THAT LEADS TO DEFEAT: LAZINESS, SHODDY WORK, AND OVERCONFIDENCE" - AGNIESZKA KUBLIK IN GW: “I knew Duda would win. Not because of my brilliant intuition. It was enough to follow Platforma's subsequent campaigns from behind the scenes. I saw everything there that leads to defeat: overconfidence, lack of imagination, laziness, shoddy work, contempt for PR election experts. And underestimating the opponent.” -- KUBLIK ON PLATFORMA'S REPEATED RITUAL OF HOLIDAYS, VACATIONS, AND LONG WEEKENDS: “There was a group within Platforma that wanted to create a campaign headquarters to develop a strategy and take action. First, the reason for not making a decision to gather and discuss it was November 1st. Then, St. Nicholas' Day. Then Christmas. New Year's Eve. Epiphany. Winter holidays. Really. It was around the turn of 2014 and 2015 that Platforma was preparing for the presidential campaign. Then, in the spring of 2015, one of Komorowski's advisors even brought a photographer specializing in political portraits from France. The campaign team did not find time for him.” -- KUBLIK ON HOW PLATFORMA REJECTED THE HELP OF YOUNG PEOPLE: “For four years, everyone complained about young people. That they don't care, that they symmetrize, that they don't understand, inexperienced, what we are fighting for and what threatens us. And Platforma ignored young volunteers. Not just any volunteers, but those trained by Lex Paulson, an American lecturer in rhetoric and political thought at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. The same Paulson who worked on Obama's campaign in 2008 – he built him an army of 2 million volunteers – and Macron's in 2017. His Polish proteges wanted to distribute flyers, hang banners, knock on doors, and persuade. Not blindly, but according to an application developed by engineers, indicating which streets to walk down. They offered the help of specialists from a dozen fields, including marketers and graphic designers. Can you believe that the election headquarters was literally bombarded with requests from young enthusiasts to use their zeal and time? The headquarters was not interested.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,26172311,lenistwo-pogarda-dla-ekspertow-ignorowanie-mlodych.html -- PLATFORMA NEGLECTED ESSENTIAL CONTACT WITH VOTERS WHILE PIS WAS STRENGTHENING IT - AGNIESZKA KUBLIK CONTINUES: “PO neglected any meaningful contact with its own voters and undecided voters for so long that they lost faith that Platforma cared about them. They voted for Trzaskowski because not everything is indifferent to them. And PiS, over all these years, forged, tightened, and nurtured bonds. It marched with its electorate and sang. It combined patriotic-rosemary tradition with disco polo. Festivals and picnics perfectly combined dignity, white and red with unrefined disco polo. Inventing patriotic disco polo paid off. PiS supplemented this with a list of PO's betrayals and treason and PiS's successes. False, but so what? Did Platforma offer the unconvinced and uninformed something equally attractive? In what town, in what village did people – even supporters, even loyal voters – hold hands with PO politicians and dance with a sense of patriotic good deed?” -- "IN FACT, PEOPLE DIDN'T VOTE FOR TRZASKOWSKI TO EXPRESS SUPPORT FOR PLATFORMA" - SONGWRITER OF THE CAMPAIGN THEME, TOMASZ LIPIŃSKI, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MACIEJ KLUCZKA ON TVN24: “In fact, it was the case that most people who decided to vote for Rafał Trzaskowski voted more for him as a probable option to elect a different president than Andrzej Duda, rather than to express support for Civic Platform. Besides, we are seeing the echoes of this after the elections. Trzaskowski was a kind of screen onto which people projected their hopes. Hopes that perhaps this omnipresent PiS would be somewhat limited by changing the president. And it almost succeeded. Of course, it didn't succeed in the sense that Andrzej Duda became president. Honestly, I expected it. If I were to bet with bookmakers and wanted to win money, I wouldn't bet on Trzaskowski. For many reasons, Andrzej Duda's victory seemed more probable to me. Starting from the very effective propaganda carried out by the so-called public media, through the involvement of the entire government in the campaign, to various electoral injustices, such as a larger number of ballot papers than voters on the electoral roll.” -- "I REMAIN EXTREMELY SKEPTICAL OF CIVIC PLATFORM" - LIPIŃSKI CONTINUES: “It never will be, because parties and politicians will pass, but the song will endure. The song will live on after my death and will continue to give people hope, in completely different circumstances. This song functioned in this context anyway, so pretending it didn't would be pointless, especially in a situation where I would wish for a limitation of PiS's power, or for this party to be deprived of power. This decision was quite obvious to me, but it did not stem from my love – and I want to emphasize this – for Civic Platform. After its dozen or so years of activity, I remain extremely skeptical of it.” https://tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/tomasz-lipinski-jeszcze-bedzie-przepieknie-to-nie-jest-melodia-przegranych,282,4943 -- "PLEASE PROVIDE A PRECISE REGISTER OF EVENTS, NOT GENERALITIES LIKE 'THEY PERSECUTE US EVERYWHERE,' IN THIS SENSE THE REVOLUTIONARY TONE SOUNDS ARTIFICIAL, ESPECIALLY IN WARSAW" - PIOTR ZAREMBA: “However, blackmail strongly resonates today: if you consider the use of the rainbow flag a desecration, it means: you despise it. Such a thought echoes not only in the text they left behind but in countless debates that take place online. A thread of sympathy for this demonstration also appeared among liberal Catholics, led by "Więź" columnists. And I will respond: I can even understand this desperate taunting of religion and old culture. Within this lies a sense of centuries of grievance. However, firstly, this is happening at a time when the list of real grievances of gays and lesbians is primarily the refusal to recognize their legal demands. If any incidents occur in Poland, they are marginal. If it is otherwise, please provide a precise register of events, not generalities like: 'they persecute us everywhere in Poland.' In this sense, the revolutionary tone sounds somewhat artificial, especially in Warsaw.” -- "DON'T BE SURPRISED THAT THIS IS PERCEIVED AS BLASPHEMY" - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “To this, it should be added that Jesus Christ is a sacred figure for Catholics. Not the statue itself, but the figure it represents. You may want to win him over to your side in this way, but don't be surprised by those who perceive dressing him up as blasphemy.” -- "THEY WERE MORE INTERESTED IN SYMBOLIC REVENGE ON TRADITIONAL POLES THAN POLITICAL EFFECTIVENESS" - ZAREMBA ON LGBT BANNERS IN THE 2019 CAMPAIGN: “The question of the effectiveness of such actions remains open. In 2019, equality parades full of anti-religious and vulgar accents were supposed to mobilize Catholic voters. The European Coalition lost, and its victory would have created chances to implement the first demand of LGBT circles: legalization of registered partnerships. In this sense, the extremists of this movement, more interested in symbolic revenge on traditional Poles than political effectiveness, scored an own goal.” -- ZAREMBA ON "LGBT-FREE ZONES" - "THIS IS NOT HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FORMULATED": “Finally, I will recall that this story coincided with the decision of the European Commission structures to withdraw funding from six cities that had declared "LGBT-free zones." From the beginning, I was against this formula because it had bad connotations. Even if conservative local governments did not intend to drive anyone away, they were merely drawing attention to the excesses of "sex education" programs for youth or financial support for LGBT organizations, which are a peculiar, already influential lobby. This is not how it should have been formulated.” https://tygodnik.polsatnews.pl/news/2020-07-31/poczucie-krzywdy-nie-usprawiedliwia-barbarzynstwa-zaremba-o-akcji-aktywistow-lgbt/ -- "WE MUST FIGHT VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION, BUT THE BELIEF THAT IT IS ENOUGH TO ERADICATE RELIGION AND TRADITION IS A DANGEROUS ILLUSION" - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “The question is whether it is about tolerance or about the Church renouncing its teachings. And in these sexual education standards, under the guise of WHO objectivity, a completely different vision of human sexuality is advocated than the one present in many religions. And again, proponents of progress convince that 'scientific guidelines' are transparent, they do not contain ideology. The fact is that by adopting new assumptions – even if they are convinced that they are purely scientific – they are deciding on the nature of man from the outset. Yes, violence, discrimination, and persecution must be fought, regardless of their reasons. But the belief that it is enough to eradicate religion and culture for paradise to reign on earth is a dangerous illusion that has little in common with science.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307319997-Michal--Szuldrzynski-Pozory-obiektywnosci.html?cid -- "PLATFORMA WAITED THREE YEARS TO RATIFY THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION" - KATARZYNA REMINDS IN RZ: “It is significant, by the way, that the Istanbul Convention, being denounced today for the current needs of one politician, was ratified for the same reason. Some seem to forget that President Bronisław Komorowski signed the ratification of the convention only during the 2015 election campaign, although Poland had signed it back in 2012. Platforma, having the government and the president, could have ratified the convention as early as 2013 and, until the change of power, introduced laws adapting the country's law to it. Apparently, however, it was not a priority for them at that time – even when one could still hope that the convention would significantly improve the situation of victims of violence. It became a priority – for both sides – now that, after five years of its validity, it is already known that it has changed nothing, remaining a dead document. PO is therefore a bit deceitful on this matter, but today it defends Poland's interests, because another quarrel is not in its interest. The hope is that Ziobro also irritates the President.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307319998-Kataryna-Wojny-Ziobry.html -- EWA CZACZKOWSKA WRITES IN GOŚĆ NIEDZIELNY ABOUT HOW THE CHURCH CANNOT BE SAVED WITHOUT CREDIBILITY, INCLUDING FIGHTING PEDOPHILIA: “We will not save the Church and faith if we are not credible as a community, if we do not fight pedophilia, conduct honest church works, fight against church-political corruption, against tolerating politics in the Church, regardless of its color. Every politician has a duty to implement the social teachings of the Church in public life, but none has the right to use the Church for personal or party purposes. And no bishop should allow this. We need distinct and credible shepherds. We need bishops who set an example of evangelical life, humble and brave in proclaiming the Gospel, loving every person. This is the last moment. No one promised that the Irish scenario cannot be repeated on the Vistula.” https://www.gosc.pl/doc/6430641.O-plonacym-Kosciele-w-Polsce -- TOMASZ S. MARKIEWKA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA ON THE REACTIONS OF COMMENTATORS LIKE LIS TO THE MATTER OF THE FIGURE OF CHRIST: “It is amazing how many politicians and commentators automatically started talking about respect as soon as the topic of rainbow flags on monuments surfaced. Both the 'bad guardians' and the 'good' ones did so. On the one hand, Beata Szydło wrote that: 'LGBT activists demand respect for themselves, but it turns out they have no respect for places and monuments sacred to Poles'; on the other, Tomasz Lis with the words: 'Hanging rainbow flags on various monuments is a bad idea. The rightful fight for one's rights and respect for oneself should not begin with a demonstration of disrespect for the feelings and sensibilities of others.'” -- "A TOPIC UNCOMFORTABLE FOR CIVIC COALITION" - MARKIEWKA CONTINUES: “This may give rise to suspicions that it is not about the fear of mobilizing PiS supporters, but about something else. For example, that the issue of LGBT+ rights is very uncomfortable for the Civic Coalition built around PO, because it reminds how conservative and unmodern this formation is, contrary to the image it tries to create for itself. This would be evidenced by the statements of people like Paweł Poncyljusz: 'The people who did this must be punished in exactly this category. I don't know how much ideology was involved, and how much was 'fantasy,' or perhaps too much alcohol. This is absolutely unacceptable, it must be treated as hooliganism and eradicated, 'burned with an iron,' as much as possible and as the law allows.'” -- MARKIEWKA APPEALS NOT TO REPEAT FOLLIES OF THE FAR-RIGHT: “If someone truly cares about the rights of sexual minorities, the most pragmatic approach is to support LGBT+ people in the fight for these rights. To remind that there is no symmetry between systemic persecution and activists' protests. To consistently stand on the side of the discriminated group, rather than conditioning one's support on whether all representatives of this group meet our requirements. As a minimum: not repeating the far-right's follies about how terribly aggressive LGBT+ circles are. The fewer guardians surrounding LGBT+ people, the closer they will be to freedom.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/straznicy-dobrych-obyczajow-markiewka/ -- "I'M NOT JOINING PLATFORMA" - SZYMON HOŁOWNIA IN OKO: “I am not joining either Platforma or the European Coalition. As far as I know, Rafał Trzaskowski has not applied to Polska 2050 either. However, if areas for cooperation emerge, if it turns out that in some place in Poland we need common resources to solve a problem that is important for people, then of course, there is no problem. We will cooperate on a task basis. But we will certainly not create coalitions, structures, congregations, or anything else. We must start thinking about politics in this way too: can we improve things with you, Platforma, or whatever forms around Platforma, in this place or that, great, let's do it. We were the first to do this work. And how things develop further, life will show.” -- JAKUB MAJMUREK ON PRL HOLIDAY CINEMA: “What is also interesting in PRL holiday cinema is what is missing from it. And what is missing is how fundamentally the People's Republic of Poland changed holiday recreation. It was the PRL that actually created mass tourism in Poland, accessible also to the working classes, through institutions such as children's and youth camps financed by workplaces, cheap trips for students, workers' holidays, and vacation resorts maintained by workplaces.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kultura/film/jakub-majmurek-wakacyjne-kino-prl/ -- "THE RISE IN INFECTIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ONLY POLAND" - PIOTR PACEWICZ IN OKO: “This increase in infections does not concern only Poland. Worrying increases are observed in Spain (July 30, 2.8 thousand new infections), France (1.4 thousand), and Romania (1.4 thousand with a population almost twice smaller than in Poland). Even the 9-million-strong Israel cannot control the epidemic (1.7 thousand), and a jump has occurred even in the Czech Republic (278). Per capita, it is much worse than in Poland in, among others, Belgium, which is three times smaller than us (as many as 673 infections). Europe is becoming concerned. In Spain, they are talking about the beginning of the second wave, which was expected to arrive in the autumn. Hopes that summer heat will help our bodies defend against the SARS-CoV-2 virus are not being confirmed; there are heatwaves in Spain, and infections are increasing. The coronavirus does not exhibit typical reactions like influenza viruses.” -- PACEWICZ ON THE NEED FOR A CREDIBLE SUCCESSOR TO SZUMOWSKI, BUT KARCZEWSKI IS NOT IT - CONTINUES IN OKO: “Credible leadership of the Ministry of Health would be needed, with an energetic head who would rely on good cooperation with experts. Unfortunately, Szumowski has not been able to utilize the expertise of specialists so far, and the ministry has hidden their warning forecasts. Flexible policy, including regional policy, would be indicated, which requires cooperation with local governments and mutual trust. Another weak point of the PiS authorities and Minister Szumowski, who in a huge number of media appearances showed only the role of central authorities, including himself. Stanisław Karczewski, indicated as a potential successor to Szumowski in the event of a government reconstruction, would not, however, mean a good change. On May 13, he resigned from the position of Marshal of the Senate and went to the hospital in Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą to "fight the coronavirus as a doctor." He was photographed in full protective gear, but after 2 days, he went into quarantine.” https://oko.press/rekordy-zakazen-przydalby-sie-nowy-szumowski/ -- ONET ON HOW DEPUTY MARSHAL GOSIEWSKA BLOCKED THE HEAD OF PROTOCOL'S TRIP TO MOSCOW POST: “Deputy Gosiewska is very sensitive when it comes to Eastern issues. She wants an ideal candidate. The question is whether such a person exists on this, let's not kid ourselves, short bench when it comes to foreign service – wonders a PiS MP from the Foreign Affairs Committee. According to him, even before the session, MPs of the ruling party were divided in their assessment of Krajewski, roughly fifty-fifty. – There were fears that a group of three to four MPs would form around Marshal Gosiewska, who would vote against this candidacy, and then PO would join them, seeing an opportunity to oust our ambassador – says a PiS MP. Ultimately, the matter was said to have reached Jarosław Kaczyński himself. The PiS leader allegedly gave the green light by phone to postpone the staffing of the Moscow post for now, and at the same time instructed his MPs to resolve the dispute and make a decision among themselves.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/polska-bez-ambasadora-w-rosji-gosiewska-wstrzymala-wyjazd-krajewskiego/nrkcxc7,79cfc278 -- "AFTER THE LAST ELECTIONS, POLES HAVE ENOUGH REASONS TO SCREAM AND HOWL AND CRY, AND NOTHING LIKE THAT IS HAPPENING" - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF RZ, BOGUSŁAW CHROBOTA: “I have one, particularly important argument that even in the era of the pandemic, frustration does not translate into a need to scream. This is a significant example: Poland, whose citizens, after the last elections, have enough reasons to scream, howl, and cry, and nothing like that is happening. Across the country, life goes on as usual. People buy vodka and ice cream, push their way through in Biedronka, carrying kilograms of sausages and beer. They grill to their hearts' content, and then listen to loud disco polo. The television was not blown up. Neither were government headquarters.” -- EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF RZ ON KACZYŃSKI'S "PLUSH AUTOCRACY": “Politics is entering traditional grooves. Hołownia is establishing a civic movement, Trzaskowski too. Kaczyński's plush autocracy, moreover, provides them with excellent conditions for this. No one is chasing them, persecuting them, or imprisoning them. They can draw from the remnants of democracy with both hands. Why would they scream then? For effect? For principles? Why. And I don't feel like screaming. I look at the Icelandic initiative with warm irony, thinking to myself, what will people invent next to talk about them for a while. Or perhaps they are right, and we are all abnormal? Think about it yourselves. The dog days greatly encourage this.” https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/307319992-Boguslaw-Chrabota-Dlaczego-nie-krzyczymy.html -- 4th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, -- BIRTHDAYS: Irena Wóycicka, SUNDAY: Stanisław Biernat.