-- STATE-OWNED POLFA TARCHOMIN GROWS - PB ON THE COVER: “Polfa Tarchomin began producing disinfectants in March; it is already generating more revenue from them than from selling medicines, and now it is adding masks to its offer.” -- PULSE ON POLFA AS A MAIN SUPPLY SOURCE FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR - STATEMENT FROM ITS CEO, JAROSŁAW KRÓL: "At the very beginning of the pandemic, we launched disinfectant production at express speed, for which there was enormous demand. Starting its production did not require significant capital expenditure – production lines of this type are not expensive; in the case of lines for small-capacity packaging, we had space to set them up, and we quickly organized subcontractors along with the necessary raw material supply and quality control process" – says Jarosław Król, CEO of Polfa Tarchomin, for "PB". -- POLFA INVESTS HALF A BILLION IN AN ONCOLOGY DRUG FACTORY - PB CONTINUES: “According to the CEO of Polfa, the cornerstone of the new factory is to be laid in the second quarter of next year, and the new plant is to be ready two years later. The cost of the entire investment is estimated at PLN 450 million. "PB" writes that additional profits are expected to come to the company not only from the supply of disinfectants but also from another category of products needed during the pandemic, namely disposable masks. https://www.pb.pl/panstwowa-polfa-urosla-na-pandemii-1005458 -- SASIN IS RIGHT, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT AUTHORITIES ARE NOT MEANT TO COMPLAIN, BUT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI IN GW: “And unfortunately, he is right. In every professional group, there is always a portion of people lacking goodwill, sacrifice, or commitment. That's how the world is built. There is nothing strange about it. There are more such problems. For example, the unwillingness of some citizens to wear masks and some teachers to risk getting infected at work. (...) So why did so many people react with such indignation to the words of the Deputy Prime Minister, who stated a universally known and obvious truth? The answer is quite simple: because in this whole ocean of problems, the biggest problem is the government (including Sasin), which still does not understand that it is there to solve problems – not to complain. However, it constantly complains and solves few of our problems, while generating many.” -- LET THE GOVERNMENT ACT, NOT GRUMBLE - ŻAKOWSKI CONTINUES: “Since the government is not telling us what its short-, medium-, and long-term goals are – especially whether it wants to primarily reduce economic, human, or political losses – the opposition or any experts cannot give it any good advice. Except for one: it should start acting, not just grumbling.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26397489,rzad-narzeka-na-lekarzy-ale-glownym-problemem-jest-on-sam.html -- WHY DON'T COMPLAINING CITY OFFICIALS CREATE A "CHEAP STATE" THEMSELVES? - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “We are dealing with a significant rift in thinking within the Third Polish Republic camp. When they talk about the Polish state, central offices, ministries, and agencies, they propose a "cheap state," a fight against bureaucracy, and the search for better methods of operation. However, when we start talking about Gdańsk, Poznań, Warsaw – no such proposal appears. I carefully read all interviews with the mayors of these cities, and not one of them has ever even hinted at this topic. Is everything great? Nothing needs to be changed? Can't savings be made on bureaucracy? Not to mention the numerous expenditures on dubious artworks, ideological propaganda programs, concerts generously paid for from the city budget. Can't the "privileges of power" really be reduced?” -- LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT PROVING MORE EFFICIENT; ONLY STRONG AUTHORITY CAN BREAK LOBBYIST RESISTANCE - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: “This shows how false the prescriptions presented to all Poles by the liberal camp regarding state life are. It turns out they are unable to implement them themselves. It is confirmed that the only goal of proposals to "decentralize" further areas is to weaken Polish statehood. Local governments, in the face of crisis, are not proving more efficient, more capable of reform, nor are they seeking effectiveness. In Polish conditions, only strong political will and strong central authority can overcome (and even then, only from time to time) the resistance of lobby groups.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/521913-moze-w-wielkich-miastach-niech-sprobuja-taniego-panstwa -- TERLECKI ON A POSSIBLE SEJM SESSION TOMORROW, NITRAS ON TAX INCREASES, ZIOBRO ON BLOCKING EU ATTEMPTS TO INTRODUCE ADOPTION FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/10/15/ -- JACEK GĄDEK DESCRIBES THE PIS DAY MESSAGE IN GAZETA.PL - “THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING EXTREMELY WELL”: “Law and Justice instructs its politicians in "day messages" on what to say about the coronavirus epidemic. Gazeta.pl has them. Parliamentarians are to emphasize in the media that they are "doing everything to ensure the safety of citizens." The party headquarters also sent out a "special brief" describing what the government is doing. It states that the government is doing extremely well.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,26397958,co-politycy-pis-maja-mowic-o-koronawirusie-mamy-partyjne-instrukcje.html#BoxWOpImg1 -- MEPs FROM THE SOUTH FEEL PRESSURE TO UNBLOCK NEW FUNDS, BUT THE DUTCH PERSISTENTLY WAIT FOR THE RULE OF LAW - TOMASZ BIELECKI IN POLITYKA: “For now, MEPs are very firm, but the closer it gets to the end of the year, the more pressure they will feel – especially those from the South – from voters to unblock new funds. However, MEPs in countries like the Netherlands, who also intend to refrain from ratifying guarantees for the Recovery Fund until they see the entire financial package, including the "money for rule of law" regulation, may prove more persistent.” -- THERE ARE NO SERIOUS PREPARATIONS IN BRUSSELS FOR FUNDS WITHOUT POLAND AND HUNGARY - BIELECKI CONTINUES: “So, is the threat of a budgetary deadlock serious? Yes, but although it is purely theoretical to imagine a hasty construction of the Recovery Fund without Poland and Hungary (e.g., in the "Eurozone+" formula) and provisional measures in a blocked EU budget, there are no such serious preparations in Brussels at the moment. The prevailing belief is that in the "negotiating machine," where "give and take" bartering can occur at various levels and in different areas, an agreement will be reached after long and turbulent battles. And that the "money for rule of law" rule will be – due to treaty limitations and the need for consensus among EU countries – very flawed, was realized in Brussels long ago.” -- THE TOUGHEST TOOL IS THE CJEU RULINGS - BIELECKI CONTINUES: “Therefore, the toughest tool will remain the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, to which individual countries can be referred by the European Commission in the final stage of infringement proceedings. This is a very time-consuming path, but – which was not at all obvious until the rulings of 2018 – the CJEU can deal with matters of the independence of national judges. And now, among others, MEPs and France are pushing the EC to expand the existing interpretation of regulations and risk proceedings (and then complaints to the CJEU) also concerning the rights of LGBT people. Not only in the context – this is already a legally examined area – of non-discrimination in the workplace.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/1974950,1,weto-w-co-kaczynski-gra-z-europa-i-czym-sie-to-skonczy.read?src=mt -- IF NOT FOR ACTIVISTS, FEW WOULD EVEN MENTION MINORITY RIGHTS - TOMASZ S. MARKIEWKA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “In the case of LGBT+ rights, a small step would be, for example, registered partnerships. Pragmatists are right about one thing: changes in Poland will most likely be gradual, and we can expect registered partnerships sooner than a full equality package. The problem is that they overlook one small detail: such compromises and small steps are most readily discussed when those terrible 'left-wing radicals' briefly have their say. Take the last few months – if not for the flags on monuments, if not for Margot, if not for the protests of activists, few would have spoken about minority rights during this time.” -- WHEN THE LEFT IS ABSENT FROM THE DISCUSSION, EVEN CONSERVATIVE REGISTERED PARTNERSHIPS SEEM EXTREME - MARKIEWKA CONTINUES: “On a more general level, pragmatists who advise us to meet somewhere in the middle have trouble understanding the relativity of concepts like "political center." If the voice of not only the right but also the left, consistently advocating for human rights, is strongly heard in public debate – then registered partnerships can indeed be found in the middle. However, when this "radical left" is not allowed to participate in the discussion, then supporting registered partnerships appears as an extreme stance, and the center shifts to approximately where Poland is today – according to the ILGA Europe ranking, the most homophobic country in the European Union.” -- ONE SIDE STANDS FIRM, THE OTHER IS PUSHED TOWARDS CONCESSIONS - MARKIEWKA CONTINUES: “The right knows this perfectly well, and therefore refuses to take even a single step towards the center. On the contrary, they are happy to highlight fanatics like Przemysław Czarnek. What kind of compromise can we expect when one side stands firm in its position, and the other constantly scolds "radicals" and praises concessions?” -- "THIS SHIFTS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM TO THE RIGHT": “The United States, where a large part of the Democratic Party made "compromises" with the Republican Party for years, should be an excellent warning for us. This led to a gradual shift of the entire political spectrum to the right.” -- WITHOUT THE LEFT, WE ARE DOOMED TO SOLUTIONS BETWEEN PIS AND THE CONSERVATIVE WING OF THE CIVIC PLATFORM - MARKIEWKA'S CONCLUSION: “Politicians and the media can influence voters' attitudes and fears. It largely depends on them what is considered a dangerous extreme and what is considered an obvious, common-sense solution. It really matters whether people are bombarded for several weeks with a message about "radical LGBT+ activists," or whether they hear about further acts of violence against minorities. All participants in political life who dramatized the "radicalism of Margot" in recent months were not so much describing a conservative society as contributing their own brick to making it so. Let us therefore rejoice that we have "radical" LGBT+ activists and a "radical" left in Poland. Without them, we will be condemned to have all "compromise" and "common-sense" solutions always falling somewhere between PiS and the conservative wing of Civic Platform.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/zgnile-kompromisy-z-prawica-markiewka/ -- THREE MONTHS OF REMOTE LEARNING DEEPENED DISPARITIES - PRZEMYSŁAW WILCZYŃSKI IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “In addition to the rather obvious conclusion today that three months of remote learning led to deepened disparities among children, the discussants also reached a less frequent conclusion: a similar phenomenon can be observed among teachers. Those with competencies, enthusiasm, and tools, who are in the minority, could spread their wings – those who were already suppressed and found themselves less comfortable in the digital world simply fought for survival.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/zyczenia-dalszego-entuzjazmu-165278 -- TOMASZ SAKIEWICZ ON THE RUSSIAN TONES IN KONFEDERACJA'S NARRATIVE REGARDING THE PANDEMIC: “The problem is that the epidemic situation demands great responsibility from public figures. If we want to identify who is a simple egoist, ready to risk the lives of their compatriots for a few percentage points of support, we have a unique opportunity to observe it. The most important representatives of Konfederacja have proven to be people detached from the nation's community. I write this with genuine regret, because I know many decent people who joined them. However, this does not change the image of the entire grouping. For their own political gain, they are willing to sacrifice the lives of our compatriots. (...) And the scoundrels who prey on human emotions and encourage people to expose themselves must be held politically accountable. It's time to stop pretending that waving the Polish flag always serves Poland. Russians, when needed, will sing our anthem better and hang the Polish flag higher. Let's look at the real consequences of actions and not let ourselves be exposed.” https://niezalezna.pl/357710-wystawianie-na-strzal -- TOMASZ ŻÓŁCIAK ON THE OBSTACLES FACING TRZASKOWSKI - WRITES IN DGP: "The mayor of the capital may face responsibility for violating public finance discipline or even criminal liability – such a warning was issued last year by... the Internal Audit Bureau of the capital city hall. (...) If the scenario warned against by the Internal Audit Bureau comes true, it could pose another obstacle to Rafał Trzaskowski's efforts to build a new civic movement, the inauguration of which is planned for Saturday (yesterday at 1:00 PM, StartujemyzRuchem.pl recorded over 5.1 thousand applications). Recently, Trzaskowski, following the crisis related to the repair of the Czajka wastewater treatment plant, was forced to communicate further unpopular decisions, such as budget cuts (city revenues in 2020 are expected to fall by approx. PLN 1.5 billion, partly due to the pandemic) or changes in the functioning of the paid parking zone (a proposal to increase rates by 30%, extend paid hours). Yesterday, the problem of renewed sewage discharge into the Vistula River resurfaced. Due to the increasing water level in the river, it became necessary to temporarily dismantle the pontoon bridge with the emergency pipeline. And as if that were not enough, for this morning, the Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment, Jacek Ozdoba, called a press conference entitled "Waste Crisis and Lack of Waste Policy in the Capital City of Warsaw." https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/7848932,rafal-trzaskowski-polityka-zakupowa-odpowiedzialnosc-karna-audyt.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Olgierd Geblewicz, Marzena Wróbel.