***

-- BLAST FROM THE PAST

-- A YEAR AGO: -- PRIME MINISTER MORAWIECKI WILL SURVIVE. BUT PIS MIGHT NOT SURVIVE THE WINTER - WROTE THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF RZ, BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA.
https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art37116431-boguslaw-chrabota-propagandowy-sezon-grzewczy

-- POLL A YEAR AGO: PIS: 33, KO 27, PL 2050 10, LEWICA 9, PSL 6, CONF 5
https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art37116421-sondaz-ibris-odbicie-pis-partia-kaczynskiego-powiekszyla-przewage-nad-ko

***

-- NON-PARTISAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS WILL SUE TUSK UNDER ELECTORAL LAW: https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/raport-wybory-parlamentarne-2023/news-jest-pozew-w-trybie-wyborczym-przeciwko-donaldowi-tuskowi,nId,7050325

-- DONALD TUSK'S PACT WITH CONFEDERATION MIGHT NOT END BADLY FOR POLAND - JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI IN RZ: “As the opposition leader after the elections, Donald Tusk will likely face a dilemma: whether to enter into an alliance with the far-right Confederation to oust PiS, or to sacrifice power for loyalty to his convictions. Europe's experience would suggest choosing the former. (...) Much indicates that Confederation, too, if it took co-responsibility for the country's fate, would lose most of its anti-system voters. Thus, a maneuver that would allow for the removal of PiS from power would not weigh too heavily on Donald Tusk's conscience.”
https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39161451-jedrzej-bielecki-pakt-donalda-tuska-z-konfederacja-nie-musi-sie-zle-skonczyc-dla-polski

-- SCHOLZ STRENGTHENS PIS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “Because the German Chancellor's intervention is actually beneficial for PiS. It reminds us of the inconsistency of Kaczyński's party on the issue of migration, but at the same time allows them to stir up anti-German sentiments, showing voters that Berlin wants to interfere in Polish politics before the elections. And this aligns perfectly with the attack on Donald Tusk as an exponent of German interests and PiS's entire anti-German rhetoric. The Chancellor also benefits, as he has regional elections on his hands, in which the AfD is building popularity on the German public's fatigue with illegal migration.”
https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art39165381-michal-szuldrzynski-jak-kanclerz-olaf-scholz-wzmacnia-pis

-- "TUSK'S GERMAN ORDER". NEW PIS CLIP, BOCHENEK: WE ARE CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY OF SECURING THE BORDER WITH GERMANY – THIS IS A DISCUSSION AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/09/26/

-- WE ARE RETURNING TO THE PATH TO A THIRD TERM. THE VISA AFFAIR SLOWED US DOWN, WE NOTE ITS TRACE AMOUNTS IN THE POLLS, BUT OPERATION "GREEN BORDER" HELPED US - THIS IS THE VOICE OF AN IMPORTANT PIS POLITICIAN - WRITES AGATA KONDZIŃSKA IN GW: “- For a moment, we lost our breath, we were cornered and had to explain ourselves. But we bounced back from it quickly,” we hear from a politician from the PiS party headquarters at Nowogrodzka Street. (...) PiS breathes a sigh of relief because, as politicians of Jarosław Kaczyński's party claim, "Operation 'Green Border'" helped them. (...) Another recounts impressions from the Prime Minister's campaign trip to Świdnik: - He received the biggest applause when he spoke about Holland and Zelensky.”
https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,30228707,afera-wizowa-pis-stracil-oddech-ale-tylko-na-chwile-mamy.html

-- THE LOCAL ŻOLIBORZ NEWSPAPER REPORTS FROM A MEETING WITH HOLLAND THAT THE DIRECTOR SPOKE OF PRESSURE ON HER FROM THE OPPOSITION: “The director came on stage accompanied by two security guards. The meeting lasted over an hour, and the questions mainly concerned how to solve the problem of refugees at the border. What systemic changes could cause people to stop dying there. The director confirmed that the film was preceded by in-depth research and all the events shown in it were verified and confirmed. The director pointed out that Civic Platform exerted pressure on her not to release this film before the elections. They cited as an argument that they might lose the elections because of it. Agnieszka Holland noted that the film cannot be the cause of defeat, and if it happens, it certainly won't be because of the film. The meeting was very interesting and very long.”
https://gazetazoliborza.pl/2023/09/komplet-widzow-na-zielonej-granicy-agnieszki-holland-w-kinie-elektronik/

-- HOLLAND SUPPORTED DIDUSZKO: https://x.com/agatadiduszko/status/1706413800188948661?s=20

-- THE PIS GOVERNMENT HAS SECURED MORE MONEY FROM THE EU THAN THE PO-PSL GOVERNMENT. HOWEVER, IN RELATION TO GDP, EU SUPPORT IS BECOMING LESS SIGNIFICANT. THIS MAKES THE PIS'S RELUCTANCE TO TAP INTO THE RECOVERY FUND EVEN HARDER TO UNDERSTAND - ANNA CIEŚLAK-WRÓBLEWSKA IN RZ: “Despite a certain reluctance towards the European Union, European aid for Poland is flowing quite abundantly. From the beginning of 2016 to the end of July 2023, total transfers from EU funds amounted to EUR 118.6 billion. This is 15% more than during the eight years of PO-PSL coalition rule – according to our pre-election analysis.”
https://www.rp.pl/gospodarka/art39165001-czy-po-wyborach-kpo-zostanie-odblokowany

-- POLISH POLITICAL LIFE HAS DESCENDED INTO A SQUALID DEN WHERE ARGUMENTS AND LANGUAGE ARE NO LONGER USED, BUT FISTS AND SPIT - PRZEMYSŁAW SZUBARTOWICZ IN INTERIA: “Terrified by the visa affair, the authorities decided to attack a film they had not seen, and through their highest representatives – the party leader, the prime minister, the president – they slandered Agnieszka Holland, her "Green Border," and the citizens who went or will go to the cinema, and who will later assess this already widely discussed work differently. This panicked and vulgar attack on a film – invoking the slogan from the Nazi era directed at collaborators, "Only pigs sit in the cinema," is just one example – shows that Polish political life has descended into a squalid den where arguments and language are no longer used, but fists and spit.”

-- THE DIRECTOR HERSELF HAS OFTEN PROVEN HER INTELLECTUAL COURAGE, SOMETHING HER CURRENT ADVERSARIES CANNOT RESPOND TO IN A CULTURAL MANNER, SO THEY CHOOSE UNINTELLIGENT INSULTS - SZUBARTOWICZ FURTHER IN INTERIA: “I do not want to become a saint weeping for standards, but I want to remind you that the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border – and any situation – does not have to be discussed using the cheapest propaganda and insults, because words, arguments, relations, state interests, as well as art seeking a humanistic perspective on contemporary events, are still available. I also do not want to defend Agnieszka Holland's cinematic craftsmanship, as I am not a great admirer of her artistic style, although I consider "Provincial Actors" to be an outstanding work, and the director herself has often shown intellectual courage, something her current adversaries cannot respond to in a cultural manner, so they choose unintelligent insults.”

-- THE LEGION OF EMIGRANTS DISCOURAGED BY POLITICS IS GROWING DAY BY DAY AND WILL ONE DAY BECOME THE MAIN CHALLENGE FOR AN AS YET UNKNOWN POLITICAL CLASS - SZUBARTOWICZ'S CONCLUSION IN INTERIA: “Hopes for a decent debate, a dispute within the bounds of civilized speech, respect for the autonomy of even the most critical artists, and a return to the unwritten rules of elementary decency and political elegance must today be met with the same nostalgic refrain of ambiguous connotation. Meanwhile, the legion of emigrants discouraged by politics is growing day by day and will one day become the main challenge for an as yet unknown political class.”
https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-zadnych-mrzonek,nId,7048333

-- TUSK WILL TAKE AWAY - REPORT BY PIOTR WITWICKI FROM THE PIS BASTION IN INTERIA: “Voters in Przytuły admit that they trust both PiS and party leader Jarosław Kaczyński. - He is an honest man who promises and delivers. They will vote for him. They should do it – says one of the farmers. The residents have clearly stated which side of the political dispute they stand on. - Tusk can take away everything that Law and Justice has given. He will take it away – we hear.”
https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/raport-wybory-parlamentarne-2023/news-kraj-wybiera-fenomen-w-skali-calej-polski-pis-nie-ma-tu-konk,nId,7043180

-- KACZYŃSKI IS CURRENTLY AT MOST A TINY TYRANT - MAREK BEYLIN IN GW: “For now, PiS's violence is mainly expressed in rhetoric. However, the path from rhetorical violence to physical violence is short. This is how even Putin's regime evolved. Of course, compared to his spiritual patron, Jarosław Kaczyński is currently at most a tiny tyrant. He does not have the same capabilities, but he is following a similar path.”

-- IF PIS RETAINS POWER, IT WILL TURN US INTO VASSALS OF A TEAM OF THUGS, WHICH IT HAS BECOME BEFORE OUR EYES - BEYLIN FURTHER IN GW: “This entire state-sponsored industry of hatred, working at full capacity, makes one view the authorities as one large gang, a modern imitation of past fascist or Bolshevik regimes. Therefore, if PiS retains power, it will turn us into vassals of a team of thugs, which it has become before our eyes. This is what the election campaign reveals.”
https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,30226224,przekaz-pis-morda-w-kubel.html

-- POLAND IS 6TH AHEAD OF JAPAN, SWITZERLAND, AND CHINA IN A RANKING BY MIT ON CYBERSECURITY, NASK: THE ACTIONS OF INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS NASK CONTRIBUTE TO BUILDING POLAND'S IMAGE AS A STRONG STATE: “MIT Technology Review” is a bimonthly magazine, founded in 1899, owned by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
https://300polityka.pl/biznes/2023/09/26/polska-na-6-miejscu-przed-japonia-szwajcaria-i-chinami-w-rankingu-mit-dotyczacym-cyberbezpieczenstwa-nask-dzialania-takich-instytucji-jak-nask-przyczyniaja-sie-do-budowania-wizerunku-polski-jako-p/

-- BIRTHDAYS: Barbara Toruńczyk, Krzysztof Michałkiewicz.