-- KRASKA ON FURTHER GROWTH UNTIL MID-NOVEMBER, PIS WANTS IMMEDIATE SECOND READING OF THE COVID ACT - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2020/10/22/ -- CRAWLING LOCKDOWN - front page of GW. -- THERE WILL BE NO SHORTAGE OF VENTILATORS - front page of GPC. -- POLAND BEING SHUT DOWN STEP BY STEP - front page of DGP. -- THE PRIME MINISTER HAS CHOSEN THE MOST SENSIBLE POLITICAL STRATEGY AT THE MOMENT - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “By calling for agreement, cooperation, and solidarity in the Sejm on Wednesday, Mateusz Morawiecki has likely chosen the most sensible political strategy at the moment.” -- THE PRIME MINISTER WITH PRAGMATISTS VERSUS HAWKS - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: “The Prime Minister seems to be aware that he is fighting for everything. By trying to reach out to the opposition in his own way, by becoming the face of the fight against coronavirus, he is risking his entire political career. Either he will prove that he can be a leader in these difficult times, or he will fail. The problem is that today he has enemies not only in Civic Platform, the Left, or Konfederacja, but also within his own party. Listening to Ryszard Terlecki, one cannot escape the impression that in PiS there is a strong temptation to go to total war with the opposition or medical circles – this is a constant political method of this party. Seeing the CBA's action against Ryszard K. and Roman Giertych at this very moment – suddenly after so many years of investigation – we perfectly understand that there are forces in PiS who believe that the coronavirus can be covered up with various distractions and old wars. Such as the one waged against gender and LGBT. Compared to this, a group of pragmatists like Minister Adam Niedzielski or Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin seems, firstly, to understand the gravity of the situation, and secondly, the risks associated with it. The future of our country literally depends on which option wins in the ruling party.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/310219895-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Premier-kontra-jastrzebie.html -- UNLIKE THE RADICALS, MORAWIECKI WANTS TO PRESENT HIMSELF AS A MODERATE RIGHT-WING POLITICIAN - DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA IN GW: “Unlike the radicals of the 'good change', Mateusz Morawiecki is trying to present himself as a moderate right-wing politician and a man of dialogue. He would like to build his political future on this.” -- WIELOWIEYSKA ON THE CENTER STRATEGY: “The Prime Minister has long been thinking about his political future and has a plan that seems unrealistic today: a march to the political center and a return to the idea of 'PO-PiS'. Perhaps the crisis – unless it sweeps him off the political scene – will help him realize this concept. Because it allows him to proclaim a beautiful slogan, which he repeated many times on Wednesday: let's go through the middle, let's reject extreme attitudes. Recent invitations to opposition leaders for meetings on Belarus and the pandemic were elements of the same strategy.” -- HE DREAMS OF A MODERATE RIGHT-WING THAT ABANDONS WAR WITH THE EU - WIELOWIEYSKA CONTINUES: “From conversations with people close to the head of government, it appears that he would like to dedicate this term to improving his image, to presenting himself as a centrist politician. Because he dreams of building a moderate right-wing camp that will not destroy the judiciary. It has been sufficiently pacified, some personnel changes have been made, now – in his opinion – an agreement and peace can be built. And the war with the European Union can be abandoned.” -- WIELOWIEYSKA MARGINALIA ON THE ARMY ABANDONING CLAIMS AGAINST THE CITY FOR HELP IN REMOVING THE EFFECTS OF THE CZAJKA FAILURE: “The Prime Minister has also positioned himself as a man of compromise regarding the 'Animal Protection Act'. He announced amendments that are intended to mitigate farmers' protests, but also do not mean withdrawing from the project itself, so that President Jarosław Kaczyński, the main initiator of the 'Act', can save face. On Wednesday, Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski told TOK FM that the army had abandoned its demand for money from Warsaw for help with the Czajka failure. This is another conciliatory gesture from the government.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26419783,ciagnie-premiera-do-centrum-czyli-polityczne-kalkulacje-mateusza.html -- PI'S RESEARCH SHOWS THAT POLES WANT COOPERATION - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZ: “The political emphasis of the speech, which also included a description of the defense lines in the fight against the epidemic, is – as we hear – the result, among other things, of research conducted by PiS, which indicates that Poles now expect political cooperation. The appeal for agreement is to test the intentions of the opposition.” https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/310219893-Pandemia-na-zgode-Premier-apeluje-o-solidarnosc.html -- THE CIVIC PLATFORM-MICHNIK-MOSBACHER OPPOSITION HAS CHOSEN THE PATH OF CYNICALLY GAMBLING ON THE DEFEAT OF POLES - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “Rejecting extremes: 'false apostles of anti-masking' and supporters of a complete shutdown of social life. The head of government concluded with an appeal for new solidarity among Poles. It will be necessary. But is it possible? I have serious doubts. The Civic Platform-Michnik-Mosbacher opposition has chosen the path of cynically gambling on the defeat of Poles and the government in the confrontation with the epidemic. They announced 'corona-defeat' a week ago. Konfederacja is playing on the egoism and naivety of younger and wealthier social groups. The Left is flailing between rationality and the shouts of its leaders. The truth is, either the government and Poles will manage on their own this autumn and coming winter, or things will be bad.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/523064-premier-przekonal-dzis-polakow-bo-konkretnie -- THIS TIME DOES HE WANT TO INSURE HIMSELF IN CASE SOMEONE AGAIN POINTS OUT THAT HE UNDERESTIMATED THE CRISIS? - AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK IN OKO: But when one listened carefully to both the Sejm speech and the Prime Minister's later interview on Polsat News, it became clear: things are bad and will not end quickly. In his colorful story that things are good and will get even better, the Prime Minister occasionally slipped in such sentences: “We may face a third wave, we are dependent on whether a cure or a vaccine is found.” “We assume the worst-case scenarios; there may be a second, a third, or subsequent waves.” “I will not promise here that Covid will disappear in a few months.” Does he realize the seriousness of the situation? Does he want to insure himself this time in case someone points out that he underestimated the crisis? https://oko.press/covid-19-w-sejmie-cztery-zaslony-dymne-premiera-morawieckiego/ -- THE PANDEMIC COULD HAVE BEEN STIFLED IN THE BUD IF TESTING HAD BEEN CONDUCTED ON SUCH A SCALE EARLIER - JOANNA SOLSKA IN POLITYKA: “Unfortunately, it was not convincing. Since the testing capacity was so efficiently increased, from 4,000 per day to 80,000 tests, why were so few conducted for so many months? There were still free beds in hospitals, the pandemic could have been tried to be stifled in its infancy. Why did they wait until it spread? Now, as even the Minister of Health admitted, we are testing the limits of the system's capacity.” -- GOVERNMENT STATISTICS DO NOT MATCH REALITY - SOLSKA CONTINUES: “He boasted that in recent months the number of Covid beds has significantly increased, from 6 to 16,000 currently. That they are growing faster than patients who require hospitalization. For now, only 60% of the beds are occupied, so we still have reserves. The question returns – why are people dying, unable to get a hospital bed? On the day when a paramedic died in Garwolin without getting a place, the voivode's statistics showed that only 58% of beds were occupied in Mazovia. Government statistics clearly do not match reality. All the worse for reality?” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1975866,1,morawiecki-o-pandemii-przygotujmy-sie-na-czarny-scenariusz.read -- THE PRESIDENT IS THE GREAT ABSENTEE - JAKUB BODZIONY IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “President Andrzej Duda is also a great absentee. It would seem that in the Polish political order, in such difficult moments, the president could find an important role for himself. Meanwhile, Andrzej Duda's contribution to the fight against the pandemic is that during the election campaign he winked at anti-vaxxers, and after his victory, he went underground for a long time. Some time ago, the president said that “the pandemic will be under control by the end of October,” he reappeared last week on Twitter to… identify a picture of a possum, which he failed to do correctly.” -- THE TROOPS OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO SHOWILY ARRESTED LGBT ACTIVISTS IN THE SUMMER ARE NOW DISPLAYING HELPLESSNESS TOWARDS PROTESTERS DENYING THE PANDEMIC - BODZIONY CONTINUES: “The six-month inaction of the authorities is striking. It turns out that people who were able to push laws through the entire legislative process in a dozen or so hours were unable to enact a regulation on mandatory mask-wearing in six months. It is astonishing that the troops of police officers, who so diligently and demonstratively arrested LGBT activists in the summer, are now showing complete helplessness towards thousands of protesters who deny the existence of the pandemic and disregard government restrictions. If the display of power by the state apparatus is limited to repressing minorities or harassing doctors and teachers, then it is a weak and cynical government that prioritizes party games over the health of its citizens. The Law and Justice team, which has been in power for five years, is responsible for this situation and cannot share it with others.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/10/22/bodziony-morawiecki-apeluje-o-zgode/ -- THE PROBLEM WITH CZARNEK AND PI'S IS LESS ABOUT WHAT HE DOES AND MORE ABOUT WHAT HE DOESN'T DO - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI IN GW: “The problem with Czarnek (and PiS in general) is less about what he does (even when he damages the state and the economy), and more about what he doesn't do. All the most foolish PiS laws, expenses, and talk combined will not harm us as much as Poland's total unpreparedness for the autumn wave. So perhaps instead of being led by the nose, still arguing with the authorities about the harm they do or claim to do, it's better to ask about the good they are not doing? Maybe they can sometimes be persuaded.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,26419704,po-braku-owocow-ich-poznacie-czyli-o-zaslugach-przemyslawa.html -- IT WORKED IN THE SENATE, SO WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE IT WON'T WORK IN THE SEJM? OTHERWISE WE WILL PERISH - RAFAŁ TRZASKOWSKI IN CONVERSATION WITH IWONA SZPAŁA IN GW: “Few realize how powerful the machine is that PiS is deploying against us. The ruling party has the entire state at its service, engages all institutions on its side, mobilizes billions from the budget, if only for propaganda TVP. We will perish if we do not organize ourselves seriously. Most importantly, however – in my opinion – we will win only if we present a common opposition list. (...) But it worked in the Senate. Just like in the European elections, so why shouldn't we believe that it won't work in the Sejm. There is one fundamental condition – trust. Today, it is lacking, because everyone too often plays for themselves. If we start doing something together, we can change this mood. That's what I'm aiming for.” -- A COMMON LIST IS A CONDITION FOR VICTORY - TRZASKOWSKI CONTINUES: “In my opinion, the condition for victory is a common opposition list for the Sejm. After the elections, we can go our separate ways to our own clubs. In the long run, there is a coalition government, and thus the need for cooperation and compromise. Today, even a joint press conference in the Sejm is often a problem for the opposition. If the opposition does not overcome mutual distrust and is not ready for an agreement, then in the end, the following will go to the elections: the big Civic Platform, the big Left, the big PSL, and the big Hołownia, and PiS will win. And it will rule for the next four years.” -- TRZASKOWSKI ANNOUNCES SOCIAL DIAGNOSIS: “To begin with, the opposition must develop a proper analytical base that will allow it to reach people, to examine what hurts them the most, what bothers them, what their aspirations are. As a movement, we will prepare a social diagnosis. I will share it with the entire opposition.” -- LET'S BE STRONG, BUT NOT AT OUR OWN EXPENSE - TRZASKOWSKI ON HIS COMPETITORS IN PO: “I would also very much like the PSL to rebuild itself in the countryside at the expense of PiS. I would like Hołownia to be able to attract new conservative voters for the opposition. That's what it's about. Let's all be strong. But not necessarily at our own expense.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26420955,rafal-trzaskowski-dla-wyborczej-stare-juz-nie-wystarczy.html -- I DON'T KNOW IF SPINOZA'S GOD GIVES ANY SIGNS TO TRZASKOWSKI, BUT PERHAPS HE SHOULD START READING THEM AND ABANDON THE IDEA OF A MOVEMENT - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “I don't know if Spinoza's God gives any signs to Rafał Trzaskowski, but looking at nature, the Czajka failure, or the second wave of the virus, perhaps the Mayor of Warsaw should start reading them and abandon this whole idea of his new movement.” -- PROBABLY 99% ARE SYMPATHIZERS OF CIVIC PLATFORM - MAJOR CONTINUES: “First of all, Trzaskowski's movement – with the boring, though amusingly stereotypical name 'Wspólna Polska' (Common Poland) – is based on more or less visible falsehood. And this is its biggest problem. Firstly, the supposedly huge support for Trzaskowski and the resulting social mandate is a falsehood. These nearly 10 million citizens who voted for him largely did not vote for Rafał, but against Andrzej. Today, they have very little in common with Trzaskowski's ideas, as evidenced by the rather pathetic number of a mere 16,000 participants signed up for the new movement. Probably 99% are sympathizers of the Civic Coalition.” -- VOTERS SEE THE FALSEHOOD, BECAUSE WHY ANOTHER PLATFORM? - MAJOR CONTINUES: “Secondly, the very idea of an 'apolitical movement' – founded by a professional politician for political goals – is in itself false. Trzaskowski can pursue all these goals through the Civic Platform political party. Of which, let's recall, he is the vice-chairman. If something is a horse, neighs like a horse, and runs like a horse, it is a horse, even if you call it an 'apolitical movement'. Voters see this falsehood, asking why we need a new electoral platform when one and the same Platform already exists, moreover, it even has 'platform' in its, incidentally also quite false, name.” -- THE MOVEMENT 'WSPÓLNA POLSKA' WILL END LIKE THE 'INSTYTUT OBYWATELSKI' - MAJOR CONTINUES: “However, so far, none of these conditions have been met, so everything indicates that the 'Wspólna Polska' movement will end up like the barely alive 'Instytut Obywatelski' (Civic Institute). It will be awakened from its dormant form six months before the elections – as a fresh political idea from the minds of the Civic Platform.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/felietony/galopujacy-major/apolityczny-ruch-rafala-trzaskowskiego-pisze-galopujacy-major/ -- GW ON THE FRONT PAGE ABOUT THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF MASK IMPORTS IN THE SPRING: “The action, organized with great fanfare half a year ago, to import several million useless masks for medical staff by KGHM was in reality an operation by Intelligence Agency officers, who were assisted by companies created by former officers of American and Chinese services – according to 'Wyborcza' findings. https://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,26420993,sledztwo-wyborczej-to-agencja-wywiadu-stala-za-kupnem-bezwartosciowych.html -- 43% FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN HYBRID MODE, 33% FOR SCHOOLS TO REMAIN OPEN AS LONG AS POSSIBLE - KANTAR FOR GW: “The largest group – 43% – estimates that primary schools ‘should also work in hybrid mode, and where there are more infections, in remote mode’. One in three respondents wants them to be ‘open for as long as possible’, and 12% are in favor of closing them for the duration of the epidemic: teaching should be suspended.” -- 21% FOR CLOSING CEMETERIES, 50% FOR LEAVING THEM WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS - KANTAR FOR GW CONTINUES: “The survey shows that 21% of respondents are now in favor of closing cemeteries. 23% are in favor of prohibiting visits to graves only in red zones, with the highest number of sick people. The largest group – 50% – selected the answer: ‘visits to cemeteries should not be restricted anywhere in Poland during these days’. Who thinks this way primarily? The following dependency is visible: in the countryside, 53% are in favor of cemeteries being open on All Saints' Day, while in the largest cities – only 35%.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,26420113,kantar-dla-wyborczej-czy-chcemy-zamkniecia-szkol-i-cmentarzy.html -- BGK INCREASES ITS COMMITMENT TO THE THREE SEAS FUND BY 250 MILLION EURO: Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, which is the initiator, co-founder, and main investor in the Three Seas Fund, has increased its commitment to the Fund by 250 million euro – announced Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, President of BGK, at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Tallinn. In total, shareholders have committed over 800 million euro to the Fund. https://300polityka.pl/biznes/2020/10/21/fundusz-trojmorza-rosnie-bgk-zwiekszyl-udzial-w-funduszu-trojmorza-o-250-mln-euro/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski (turns 65), Marek Krząkała, Michał Rachoń, Anna Plakwicz.