-- 90TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF PRIME MINISTER JAN OLSZEWSKI. -- VIKTOR ORBAN ON POLAND AS THE FLAGSHIP VESSEL DURING THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL DAY - ST. STEPHEN'S DAY: “Nations of Central Europe that want to live in a renewed Christian world should find a way to cooperate, centered around Poland’s flagship vessel – said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday, unveiling the Monument of Unity in Budapest. For many centuries, we have not had such a splendid opportunity for the nations of Central Europe, wisely centered around Poland’s flagship vessel from the Baltic to the Balkans, to shape their own destiny – stated Orban on the national holiday – St. Stephen's Day. According to him, the continent is now sailing “on unknown waters” because “the West has lost its attractiveness in our eyes, and Central Europe does not seem to be the desired world in its (i.e., the West’s) eyes.” In this situation, Europe must find its future in such a way that neither half imposes its way of life and worldview on the other. – This is the alpha and omega of European unity today – he assessed.” https://wpolityce.pl/swiat/514152-orban-polski-okret-flagowy-powinien-skupic-narody-regionu -- DOROTA GAWRYLUK ON MEDIA MANIPULATION SURROUNDING KACZYŃSKI'S CEMETERY VISIT IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MAGDALENA PERNET IN RZ: “In this case, there was an absolute problem of manipulation from beginning to end. Information emerged that Jarosław Kaczyński broke the law by entering the cemetery, and this information was untrue. Journalists did not verify this information. Based solely on the images, they reported that the leader illegally entered the cemetery. This case cannot be defended. Journalists should have checked it.” https://www.rp.pl/Publicystyka/200819377-Dorota-Gawryluk-Wyjsc-ze-swojej-banki.html -- POLAND HAS THE BEST ACCESS TO THE BERLIN-PARIS TANDEM ON BELARUS - TOMASZ BIELECKI IN POLITYKA: “Lukashenka himself, after the EU summit, 'advised' the West from Minsk to better deal with the 'yellow vest problem or the terrible riots in the USA.' 'We shouldn't point fingers at Belarus to distract from problems in France, the USA, or Germany,' he explained in his state media. The EU's response to events in Belarus and potential Moscow actions is currently being forged mainly in the Berlin-Paris tandem (with a primary emphasis on Berlin), to which Poland, due to its size and location, still has the best access in our region – not Lithuania, despite its current extraordinary activity and hosting of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. However, when Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for an emergency EU summit the day after the elections in Belarus, Brussels refused because – as our sources explain – 'Lukashenka's power was not yet seen to be truly wavering' then.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1968268,1,unia-nie-uznaje-wyniku-wyborow-na-bialorusi-co-moze-zrobic.read?src=mt -- FR. ADAM BONIECKI ON THE POLISH GOVERNMENT'S INITIATIVE - INITIATIVES THAT BRING JOY: “There are already initiatives that bring joy. The Polish government has declared that it will allocate PLN 50 million for various aid programs for Belarusian civil society, including victims of repression. More and more Western politicians are speaking out. Let's hope it doesn't end with verbal declarations, and that the European Union, in particular, will come up with an initiative aimed at achieving the peaceful realization of the wishes of the majority of Belarusians (because there is likely no doubt that it is a majority).” -- WE SHOULD BE WITH THE BELARUSIANS AS MUCH AS WE CAN - FR. BONIECKI'S CONCLUSION: “And if events were to take a bad turn… Those of us who remember the period of martial law in Poland will probably also remember the extraordinary openness of Western European countries to accepting Poles who were fleeing the Polish People's Republic at that time. Therefore, it is difficult not to endorse Borusewicz's appeal to 'open Polish borders for Belarusians fleeing Lukashenka's regime and to fund scholarships for Belarusian youth who may lose the opportunity to study in their country.' Today, we should all be with the Belarusians as much as we can.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/bialorus-ma-glos-164545 -- RETURN OF TERROR? - OKO REPORTS ON THE 11TH DAY OF PROTESTS: “Alexander Lukashenka is counterattacking. He is again sending the militia and OMON onto the streets. Meanwhile, workers from 137 factories are on strike in the country, and a Coordination Council is being formed in Minsk, which is to help in the peaceful transfer of power to the citizens.” https://oko.press/powrot-terroru-omon-i-milicja-na-ulicach-lukaszenka-nie-chce-wiecej-zamieszek/ -- BELSAT LIVE: https://belsat.eu/pl/news/11-dzien-protestow-na-bialorusi-na-zywo/ -- DWORCZYK ON IMMINENT NOMINATIONS IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BUDGET AMENDMENT, TERLECKI ON GOWIN'S ENTHUSIASM - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/08/20/ -- PROF. JAROSŁAW FLIS WRITES IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY ABOUT THE FRUSTRATION OF PATRICIANS - PERHAPS IT IS BETTER TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT ONESELF RATHER THAN TO REAFFIRM EXISTING BELIEFS: “Several million Polish 'patricians' are experiencing post-election frustration. Perhaps it is worth learning something new about oneself rather than reaffirming one's current worldview.” -- FLIS ON THE SOURCES OF THE CONVICTION OF CIVILIZATIONAL SUPERIORITY: “The conviction of the civilizational superiority of the city over the village once had a solid justification. The countryside provided a food surplus, thanks to which more specialized services could develop – from crafts, through medicine, to education and science. This required a social critical mass – concentrated in the cities. Services required more qualified workers, who – by earning more – were also more frequent consumers of higher services themselves. Often their work was done for the state or the court, and thus paid for by taxes collected in the countryside. This distorted the exchange between cities and rural areas and provided the former with another privilege. Hence, a deeply rooted element of peasant identity was the conviction of being wronged and threatened by them: they came from elsewhere and took the fruits of hard labor to give them to those whose usefulness was questionable.” -- SUPERIORITY AS A TRAP FOR POLITICIANS, HINDERING THEIR ABILITY TO CONVINCE THE MAJORITY - FLIS'S CONCLUSION: “The impulse to emphasize one's cultural superiority and to be 'ahead' of those 'below' clearly leads to a trap. It is a burden for politicians, perceived by 'the people' as advocates for the interests of the urban 'patriciate,' making it difficult for them to gain a majority. This is probably not their biggest burden, but it would be easy to get rid of it. Worse, if for the representatives of the 'patriciate' such an impulse turns out to be the first identifier of division – friend or foe. And 'the people' can flawlessly recognize a sense of superiority. Perhaps they are overly sensitive, but those who provoke them should not be the ones to make them aware of it. Therefore, it is worth thinking three times before embarking on an analysis of Polish society, politics, and elections. The irresistible need to generalize and simplify complex reality can complicate it even further. And hinder not only the understanding of the situation but simply living together.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/w-pulapce-lepszosci-164526 -- RZ ON THE POSSIBLE CANDIDACY OF PROFESSOR GENERAL GIELERAK FOR MINISTER OF HEALTH - AS WRITTEN BY MICHAŁ KOLANKO: “Many experts see such a miracle worker in Grzegorz Gielerak, a major general and professor of cardiology, who has headed the Military Institute of Medicine in Szaserów, Warsaw, since 2007, considered one of the best-managed hospitals in the country. Gielerak has appeared on the shortlist of candidates for Minister of Health several times, but twice candidates from PiS won – first Konstanty Radziwiłł, and then Łukasz Szumowski. The public became acquainted with him when one tabloid photographed him personally delivering crutches to the home of Jarosław Kaczyński, who had knee surgery at Szaserów. However, many more political VIPs are treated at Szaserów (Beata Szydło recovered there after an accident in 2018), and Gen. Gielerak is known for similar care for non-VIP patients as well. He is comprehensively educated, holds an MBA in healthcare, and has numerous postgraduate studies in management, and is considered by successive directors of provincial branches of the National Health Fund to be a tough negotiator of contracts for his hospital.” -- A CANDIDACY THAT WOULD CURTAIL THE INFLUENCE OF PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES - CONTINUED BY KOLANKO: “Gielerak's candidacy is also not in favor of pharmaceutical companies and private medical companies, which until now have had quite free access to the building on Miodowa Street. The general clearly declares that public hospitals should have priority in funding from the National Health Fund, and reimbursement lists should be drawn up according to the health needs of Poles, not foreign drug manufacturers.” https://www.rp.pl/Rzad-PiS/200819369-Kto-zastapi-Lukasza-Szumowskiego.html -- 'FOR NOW, HE IS THE CHAIRMAN OF CIVIC PLATFORM' - SŁAWOMIR NEUMANN ON BORYS BUDKA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MIROSŁAW SKOWRON IN SE: “I don't rule it out. I'm not saying today or tomorrow, for now he is the chairman of Civic Platform, but even in the near future? One doesn't have to be a Member of Parliament or Senator as punishment. For now, however, the topic has died down, although three years before the elections would have been a better time to do it. However, certainly not in this way, at this pace, not overnight.” -- CIVIC PLATFORM DESERVES RESPECT - CONTINUED BY NEUMANN: “I don't think it has died down, but since we have a parliamentary democracy, political parties should be the basis of activity. Of course, as mass as possible. I understand Rafał Trzaskowski's idea of supporting Civic Platform with civic movements. We have done this before. For all those who criticize Civic Platform and parties in general, I want to say that Civic Platform deserves respect. It is thanks to Civic Platform that we do not have the Orban scenario in Poland. Let's also note that these 'non-party parties' never work out anyway.” https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/superopinie/nie-wykluczam-ze-budka-odejdzie-z-polityki-zapowiada-slawomir-neumann-po-ak-kwQY-SGSU-ZqR6.html -- IS EVEN SUCH CONCENTRATED POWER CAPABLE OF IMPLEMENTING THE ANNOUNCED DEEP CHANGES - BARTOSZ BRZYSKI IN KLUB JAGIELLOŃSKI, BASED ON EDWIN BENDYK'S BOOK: “We have observed attempts to find political subjectivity since 2015. After 8 years of 'lukewarm water in the tap' governance by a formation led by a man who advised politicians with vision to see a doctor, the time has come for the governance of a political camp that had political efficacy inscribed on its banners. What are we dealing with after another 5 years, when the right has been able to concentrate unprecedented power in the hands of one entity in the history of the Third Republic? It seems that Jarosław Kaczyński is still searching for the Holy Grail that would allow him to make changes in Poland that he has been contemplating for almost the last 40 years. Polish public debate is constantly accompanied by a dispute between commentators and politicians who are terrified by the scale of influence from Nowogrodzka [seat of PiS] and those who remain disappointed by its paucity. After the elections, the postulates of repolonizing media, completing the judicial reform, and changes in local governments are returning. However, is even such concentrated power capable of implementing them? Bendyk answers unequivocally: no.” -- THEY STILL DO NOT ACHIEVE THE EFFECTIVENESS THEY DESIRE - CONTINUED BY BRZYSKI: “In domestic politics, it is not much better. Despite the United Right winning such a strong social mandate, subjugating institutions that are theoretically beyond its reach, it still cannot achieve the level of effectiveness it desires. Subsequent ideas about 'reclaiming local governments' or reaching deeper into judicial structures do not look like attempts to seize state assets, but rather like finding the last barrier before creating a direct transmission belt between the controlled apex of the state and its remaining layers.” -- OR PERHAPS THE MYTHICAL POWER THAT IS SUPPOSED TO STAND IN THE WAY OF THE RIGHT'S INTENTIONS SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST? - CONTINUED BY BRZYSKI: “Further necessary large programs, such as 'Mieszkanie Plus' (Housing Plus), investments like CPK (Central Communication Port), the construction of a nuclear power plant, and reforms, such as the one concerning education, can so far be considered failures of the current government. This raises the question of how much the current problem with complex political issues, also present in the West, compels us to reflect that the mythical power standing in the way of the United Right's implementation of programs – lurking in courts, local governments, or the media – simply does not exist. As Bendyk himself writes, 'the state's entry into solving social problems within the welfare state model initiated a process of deepening dependency, at the end of which was the discovery of the intertwined nature of social problems.' This means that the growing complexity of the problem that the government wants to address generates excessive costs or is simply impossible to bear. Therefore, unable to seize all power, it should consciously share it.” -- BRZYSKI ON THE CLIFF OF SENECA AND THE NEW MIDDLE AGES: “Since PiS is searching for something it cannot find, nothing protects us from the rapidly approaching catastrophe. And let's be clear, this is not just a Polish problem; we are dealing with it both overseas and in the EU. We are inevitably approaching the 'cliff of Seneca,' from which we will have to fall. It is time, therefore, to apply Seneca's strategy – to look for swallows of a new order. Its signal may be the so-called new Middle Ages, because as Grzegorz Lewicki writes on the pages of Gazeta Wyborcza, 'the future is manifold, overlapping centers of power, fragmentation of identities, integration of states into larger blocs, and the development of non-territorial international organizations, as well as technological unification of the world. The future also involves the erosion and transformation of the role of states, which are increasingly dependent on non-state actors.' In summary, new Middle Ages await us. It's time to prepare accordingly.” https://klubjagiellonski.pl/2020/08/19/dlaczego-panstwo-nie-moze-byc-dzis-podmiotowe-wokol-nowej-ksiazki-edwina-bendyka/ -- THEY ARE NOT PROFESSIONALS, ONLY NOMINEES - PIOTR WÓJCIK IN KRYTYKA: “There is no justification for the high salary increases for the Polish ruling elite. Top officials in ministries earn very well; deputy ministers earn significantly less, but they are party nominees, not professionals. And no scientific evidence confirms the thesis that an increase in politicians' salaries translates into an improvement in their quality and integrity.” -- THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR SUCH INCREASES: “Therefore, there is no justification for such high salary increases for the Polish ruling elite. Top officials in ministries, as well as the ministers themselves, earn very well – they are among the top 2-3% earners. Deputy ministers earn significantly less, but they are party nominees, not professionals, so there is no reason for us to pay them more than twice the national average, which they currently receive along with their parliamentary diet.” -- LINK TO THE MEDIAN - WÓJCIK'S CONCLUSION: “The salaries of the rulers should be simplified and linked to the salaries of Poles – preferably to the median – but along with any potential increases, there should be a reduction in all additional benefits that obscure the remuneration picture at the top of power. There is also no scientific evidence confirming the thesis that an increase in politicians' salaries translates into an improvement in their quality and integrity. Raising the salaries of Polish politicians will not magically make them better – they will simply earn much more.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/kupowanie-uczciwosci-nie-dziala-wojcik/ -- THE LITHUANIAN MINORITY IN THE SUWAŁKI REGION WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THEIR NATIONAL TELEVISION. THE LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER THANKS THE POLISH EMITEL: https://300polityka.pl/biznes/2020/08/20/litewska-mniejszosc-na-suwalszczyznie-bedzie-mogla-odbierac-swoja-narodowa-telewizje-premier-litwy-dziekuje-emitelowi/ -- BGK INCREASES THE LIQUIDITY SUPPORT FUND IN THE SHIELD: The fund for liquidity loans for companies financed from EU funds under the Intelligent Development Program is increased by PLN 1.1 billion, to a total of PLN 2.15 billion. The Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego have signed an annex to the agreement concerning this anti-crisis tool. The funds will enable the financing of expenses related to maintaining the company's ongoing operations and will help ensure financial liquidity. https://media.bgk.pl/106143-pozyczki-plynnosciowe-wiecej-antykryzysowych-pieniedzy-dla-przedsiebiorcow -- BIRTHDAYS: Barbara Imiołczyk, Dorota Niedziela, Adam Korol, Mariusz Gosek, Leszek Jastrzębski, Maciej Grubski.