-- IT WON'T BE EASY, ESPECIALLY SINCE BELARUSSIANS THEMSELVES ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THEIR FUTURE - JAGIENKA WILCZAK IN POLITYKA: "The Polish Prime Minister handed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya the keys to the new embassy premises and assured that Belarusians can feel at home here. However, words must be followed by actions, there must be a vision and a perspective. It won't be easy, especially since Belarusians themselves are still trying to figure out their future. For now, as Pavel Latushka says, a clear declaration from the European Union is needed that it will not try to detach their country from Russia. And this is a fundamental statement." -- ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN BELARUS - WILCZAK CONTINUES: "Many scenarios for Belarus can be written today. That Lukashenka will return from Moscow convinced (by Putin) that he needs to talk to the opposition about the future. Or the opposite, that he shouldn't talk. That he will intensify repression – or that he will ease up. That he will weather the protests, counting on people's fatigue. That people will burn out and stop taking to the streets. Or that they will come out in larger numbers when economic crisis follows the political one. Anything is possible. However, no one has yet appeared on the horizon who could replace Lukashenka." https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1970744,1,cichanouska-w-warszawie-w-minsku-bez-zmian.read?src=mt -- POLAND'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE EAST IS STARTING TO BE PERCEIVED COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY IN EUROPE - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: "All of this causes Poland's perspective on many issues – for example, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – to begin to be perceived completely differently in Europe than it was not long ago, when the Russians could mock Polish phobias and historical prejudices. The brutality of the regimes in Moscow and Minsk towards their own citizens belonging to the opposition has reached a critical point." -- POLAND CAN GET BACK IN THE GAME - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: "And this is not only an opportunity for Tsikhanouskaya and the millions of Belarusians who support her. It is also an opportunity for Poland to get back in the game as a political player in our region, and perhaps even in the European Union. However, this will require even closer cooperation with Lithuania and the other Baltic Sea countries, the inclusion of Ukraine, and building bridges with Berlin, Paris, and Brussels. That is, a rapid rebuilding of our diplomatic potential, which the current government has willingly squandered in unnecessary disputes in recent years. But above all, it will require realism and looking in terms of fundamental values and Polish interests. Expressions of emotion and gestures of solidarity towards our 'Belarusian brothers' – which Morawiecki spoke so nicely about on Wednesday – cannot replace eastern policy for us. The upcoming Monday, the 20th anniversary of the death of its patron, Jerzy Giedroyć, should also be a good occasion to enter the serious game." https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/309099895-Szuldrzynski-Szansa-dla-Bialorusi-szansa-dla-Polski.html -- JOINT APPEAL FROM BIEDROŃ AND CZARNECKI: "MEPs Ryszard Czarnecki (PiS) and Robert Biedroń (Lewica) in a joint statement appealed to Russia to engage in resolving the crisis in Belarus and to support dialogue between the authorities, the democratic opposition, and civil society in that country." https://belsat.eu/pl/news/czarnecki-i-biedron-wspolnie-apeluja-do-rosji-o-poparcie-dialogu-na-bialorusi/ -- FULL TEXT OF TSIAKHANOUSKAIA'S SPEECH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW PUBLISHED BY OKO.PRESS: https://oko.press/cichanouska-wyklad-na-uw/ -- BIELAN ON GOWIN'S RETURN AND EMILEWICZ'S SITUATION, SZUMOWSKI ON HIS RESIGNATION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/09/10/ -- EITHER YOU ARE WITH ME AGAINST THE CHAINS, OR I WILL CHOOSE NEW PEOPLE FOR GOVERNANCE - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: "With the sharp shift to the right that Zbigniew Ziobro has imposed on the United Right, building his negotiating position before the government reconstruction, the PiS leader is trying to maintain control and slightly pivot towards the center. (...) This is a proposal he is making once again, this time three years before the next elections, which is intended to reduce the risk of voter anger. But that's not all. The leader's initiative is also a signal to his own inner circle: either you are with me against the chains, or I will choose new people to govern." https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/309099896-Dabrowska-Prezes-kontra-struktury.html -- KACZYŃSKI DETERMINED ON ANIMALS - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZ: "Much indicates that this idea (which has not yet been submitted to the Sejm) will become another element of the power struggle within the United Right regarding priorities for the next term. However, PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński is said to be very determined to regulate the issue of animal protection." https://www.rp.pl/Rzad-PiS/200909340-Serial-rekonstrukcyjny-Nie-ma-zgody-co-do-ksztaltu-rzadu.html -- DGP COMPILING A PROBABLE LIST OF 10 NEW INITIATIVES - INCLUDING STATE OWNERSHIP OF HOSPITALS - AS REPORTED BY GRZEGORZ OSIECKI AND TOMASZ ŻÓŁCIAK: "These include primarily: healthcare reform, envisioning the 'state ownership' of hospitals (i.e., taking them away from counties), further changes in the judiciary aimed mainly at speeding up proceedings, changes in the media, meaning market deconcentration or actions with similar effects, amendments to the electoral law (which we wrote about yesterday), changes in the law on political parties involving modifications to subsidy allocation rules, rationalization of operations and employment in administration, changes in the foreign service law facilitating personnel changes in diplomacy, the aforementioned animal protection, i.e., passing a law (preferably with cross-party consensus) that, among other things, will introduce a ban on fur farming." https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/7819209,zjednoczona-prawica-rekonstrukcja-rzadu-pis-reforma-sadow-dekoncentracja.html -- KACZYŃSKI IS LOSING PATIENCE - MARCIN DOBSKI AND DARIUSZ GRZĘDZIŃSKI IN WPROST PREMIUM: "United Right politicians would like coalition agreement negotiations to conclude within two weeks at the latest, but in this case, expectations diverge significantly from reality. Not everyone is happy with the proposals being made at the table. – Everyone agrees that only by staying together can we achieve our goals and continue reforms in the country. The coalition partners are resigned to getting one ministry each, so now we are discussing programmatic issues – a high-ranking PiS politician tells us. Jarosław Kaczyński's party is entering negotiations from a hegemonic position and is sending out the most signals of an imminent agreement, but the mood in Zbigniew Ziobro's Solidarna Polska and Jarosław Gowin's Porozumienie is far from good." https://premium.wprost.pl/10361627/negocjacje-z-gowiniem-i-ziobra-kaczynski-traci-cierpliwosc.html -- KACZYŃSKI WILL KEEP SOL POL'S ELECTORATE WITH HIS OWN CONSERVATIVE FACTION - ANNA DĄBROWSKA IN POLITYKA: "Allegedly, proposals concerning the defense of conservative values have been included in the coalition's program agenda, including opposing the threats posed by so-called LGBT ideology and the culture war. Jarosław Kaczyński agreed to this not to strengthen the Ziobro faction, but to marginalize them using a faction controlled by him within the party. And to retain the electorate that could follow Solidarna Polska." -- CZARNEK AS A SYMBOL OF PiS'S CONSERVATIVE OPENING - DĄBROWSKA CONTINUES: "At the same time, President Kaczyński knows that a portion of his electorate needs the cultural-worldview radicalism that the Ziobro faction has been serving for several weeks. Therefore, he will create a controlled faction within his party to respond to the needs of the most right-wing voters: Ziobro's followers, as it were. Politicians we spoke with do not wish to name names yet. – Today, I can only say that it involves, among others, MP Przemysław Czarnek, who could lead this faction. The President is sure of his loyalty – we hear. Within the party, it is believed that Czarnek is a good successor to Dominik Tarczyński, who moved to Brussels after Brexit. Ultimately, it was Kaczyński who decided that Czarnek would abandon his post as voivode and become an MP, although he did not particularly want to. He thought he would lead the list because he is very popular in his constituency and would then give up his mandate." https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1970736,1,prezes-pis-ma-pomysl-jak-oslabic-ziobre.read?src=mt -- MIASTO JEST NASZE ON INACTION AFTER A YEAR OF TRAGEDY AT SOKRATESA: "A year will soon pass since the tragedy at Sokratesa Street. Trzaskowski promised major changes in the city after it. The result? No changes even on the street itself, and impudent city hall officials who openly say that traffic throughput is more important than protecting lives." https://twitter.com/janmencwel/status/1303952499125243906?s=21 -- THE POST-ELECTION SUMMER DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE CIVIC COALITION'S PLANS - ŁUKASZ ROGOJSZ IN GAZETA.PL: "The post-election summer is not going as planned by the Civic Coalition leaders. In recent days, Donald Tusk has unexpectedly joined the list of problems. The co-founder and long-time chairman of Platforma is not sparing sharp, public criticism of his former party. This is increasingly irritating and sickening within PO." -- ROGOJSZ ON TUSK'S BLOWS AIMED AT TRZASKOWSKI: "Tusk did not spare even Rafał Trzaskowski, who in Platforma has always been considered a protégé of the former prime minister. 'I didn't propose raising the retirement age just to retire myself at 63,' he blurted out, referring to the words of the Mayor of Warsaw, who stated at the end of the presidential campaign that Tusk is no longer in Polish politics. The second blow aimed at Trzaskowski concerned the civic movement "Nowa Solidarność" created by the Mayor of the capital. He assessed that 'there are three years until the elections and one can get tired.' -- ONE OF TUSK'S LOYALISTS IN ROGOJSZ'S ARTICLE ON TUSK NOT TAKING THE NEW PO LEADERSHIP SERIOUSLY: "Says one of the former Tusk loyalists: – Tusk believes that the juniors have taken over his party and do not show sufficient respect, despite him being the creator of Platforma's power and still a symbolic figure for many associated with it. In this way, the new leadership has offended Tusk's self-esteem. Tusk barely knows Budka, he never liked Nitras, Tomczyk is a young lad to him, and he likes Pomaska, but she was always a young girl to him." -- TUSK HAS SCRAPPED PLATFORMA - ONE OF ROGOJSZ'S CONVERSATIONAL PARTNERS FROM PO: "– He does nothing without a reason. This reason may not be valid, but there is certainly a political calculation behind Tusk's recent actions – muses one of our interlocutors. – It seems obvious that Tusk has written off Platforma. He has decided that there's nothing left to expect from this Platforma, and certainly nothing that he would wish for – he adds after a moment." -- DONALD IS CRUMBLING THE FOUNDATION WE STAND ON - A POLITICIAN FROM THE NEW PO TEAM TO ROGOJSZ: "The reconstruction and rebuilding of a party begins with solidifying the foundation it stands on, and only then building new things around it. Donald is crumbling the foundation we stand on – states a well-informed PO politician in an interview with Gazeta.pl. In his opinion, Tusk is still a very influential and important figure for many activists, politicians, and voters of Platforma, which is not insignificant in this situation. – His tirades against PO demobilize our core electorate, and in this situation, it does not help us. We have over 20 million voters in elections, the difference between us and PiS is minimal, so every vote counts. Donald, not being for Platforma, and even being against it, becomes a threat – we hear." https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,26283308,tusk-ma-dosc-poweru-zeby-nam-zaszkodzic-ale-nie-dosc-zeby.html -- HOŁOWNIA IS LEAVING TRZASKOWSKI BEHIND BY A LENGTH - MARCIN MAKOWSKI IN WP: "Regardless of how effective Szymon Hołownia's 'hunts' prove to be, one thing is undeniable. Although it was Rafał Trzaskowski who was supposed to build a mass social movement after the elections, today it is the former commentator, who did not make it to the second round of the presidential elections, who is leaving him behind by a length." https://opinie.wp.pl/makowski-holownia-idzie-na-lowy-kto-wzmocni-polske-2050-opinia-6552226028357249a -- I AM CONVINCED THAT PARLIAMENTARIANS FROM OTHER SIDES WILL JOIN - SZYMON HOŁOWNIA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PAWEŁ WROŃSKI IN GW: "Returning to ideological differences – I am convinced that parliamentarians from other sides will also join our movement, we will show a new politics – not seeking tribal differences, but common ground. 'I agree with Hołownia 95 percent' – this was one of the slogans in the presidential campaign." -- I AM NOT POACHING, GILL-PIĄTEK IS TRADING A COMFORTABLE SEAT FOR A WINDOWLESS ROOM FOR INDEPENDENT MPS - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES IN GW: "I am not poaching, I am not coercing, I am talking. And people make decisions. Please note that MP Gill-Piątek is trading a comfortable seat in a political party's parliamentary room, a delegation to important committees, for the infamous windowless room for independent MPs. And she is doing this not a year or six months before the elections, when the polls are known, but over three years in advance. We have no position for her, no place on a company board for her family. She is coming to us because she believes in the Poland we believe in. She has our DNA, that is, the desire to work for people. I knew Hanna Gill-Piątek as a social activist, a housing specialist, the 'mother' of 80 percent of Poland's problems: demographics, pensions, the labor market. I was impressed by how she fought, for example, for a ban on evictions during the epidemic, how she tried to ensure that social welfare homes could receive aid from the Material Reserves Agency, how many real human problems she solved by being in the Sejm. For now, her presence in the movement gives us insight into the work of the Sejm, but in the future, I hope a parliamentary club for the Polska 2050 movement will be formed." -- THE MOMENT HAS PROBABLY PASSED - HOŁOWNIA ON TRZASKOWSKI'S MOVEMENT: "Rafał Trzaskowski, after achieving a very good result, felt the wind in his sails and decided to channel that energy so as not to let it go to waste. But the moment for that has probably passed. First, there was – understandable, because we are not made of iron – an absence after the campaign, and now an unforeseen situation in the city has arisen. I say this without a hint of satisfaction, because we agreed not to interfere with each other, but to cooperate where necessary for the good of Poland. In subsequent statements by PO members, one can see not only a search for a movement formula but also questions about its relationship with the party, and fears that 'Nowa Solidarność' will cannibalize it. In short: PO is considering how to sensibly divide its electoral capital, while we are building synergy: combining experts, civil movement, and political action into one." https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26283922,holownia-rozmawialem-z-wieloma-osobami-sejmowa-reprezentacja.html -- SHOULD LEWICA TRY AN ALLIANCE WITH HOŁOWNIA? - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: "An alliance between Lewica and Hołownia would allow them to regain former Spring voters, who would be more easily persuaded to this common progressive project, and at the same time preemptively undermine the support for Trzaskowski's grandly announced movement." -- AN ALLIANCE WITH LEWICA WOULD SECURE HOŁOWNIA AGAINST LIBERAL MEDIA, IN LOVE WITH PO, WHO WILL DO EVERYTHING TO UNDO HIM - MAJOR CONTINUES IN KRYTYKA: "Hołownia would then gain not only access to his own club but would also gain an allied club in the Sejm and a blocking minority in the Senate. And this means that together with Lewica, he could start doing real politics. In a few months, his sermons on Facebook will become tiresome, and he will start looking for a new formula. An alliance with Lewica would then be ideal. Finally, it is obvious that liberal media, in love with PO, will do everything to undermine his ideas; everyone there is in love with the holy Rafał and anyone who is not with him is a traitor. Undermining Hołownia together with Lewica would be more difficult." -- ABORTION LIBERALIZATION HAS NO CHANCE, BUT WITH HOŁOWNIA, LEWICA WILL PASS AT LEAST CIVIL UNIONS, WHILE WITH PLATFORMA IT'S AT MOST HOSPITAL VISITS - MAJOR CONTINUES: "Of course, such an alliance would have to be preceded by an analysis of all political drawbacks and risks, as well as a very precise coalition agreement with a written protocol of disagreements, especially in matters of worldview. One can lament this, but let's remember: with the current balance of power, liberalizing abortion law has no chance, and with Hołownia, civil unions will be passed. With Platforma, at most the right to visit in a hospital, after a prior visit to a notary with a sufficiently high fee." https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/galopujacy-major/czy-lewica-powinna-sprobowac-sojuszu-z-holownia/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Stanisław Gomułka turns 80, Tomasz Matynia 30, Tomasz Terlikowski, Andrzej Dera, Aleksander Łuczak, Łukasz Kohut, Łukasz Gibała, Dominik Uhlig, Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, Bartłomiej Radziejewski, Elżbieta Komorowska.