-- POLAND HAS CHANGED, INCLUDING THE ELECTORATE'S STRUCTURE. WE MUST WIN IN A DIFFERENT POLAND. "WE DEALT WITH A SERIES OF MISTAKES" - JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI TO GAZETA POLSKA CLUBS: "Such is life, that mistakes are made, and politics is particularly burdened by the risk of errors, because it is a field where the level of uncertainty of decisions and their consequences is high. But above all, Poland has changed. The structure of the electorate has also changed, it has changed over the last few years, and this process will probably continue." -- ONE COULD SAY THAT IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING, IF THEY ARE NOT IN POWER, IT IS A DICTATORSHIP - KACZYŃSKI SAID: "Despite all these completely obvious facts, people who were against us stated that there is a dictatorship in Poland, that they are fighting for freedom. If someone didn't say that their goal was eight stars, they said it was the defense of democracy and the defense of freedom. How can one reconcile the awareness that one is freely participating in an anti-government demonstration, that one counts on winning elections, that one opens the TVN television every day, which goes wild with attacks on the authorities, and – on the other hand – being in a world of dictatorship? This does not add up at all, but the degree of stupor was such that people calmly combined these things. Of course, one could say that in their understanding, it's like this: if they are not in power, it's a dictatorship." -- PERHAPS WE WILL RETAIN THE RIGHT TO DESIGN CYCLING PATH ROUTES, BUT EVEN THAT IS NOT CERTAIN. WE WILL BE A TERRITORY MANAGED FROM OUTSIDE - KACZYŃSKI SAID: "Soon, a project of new European treaties will be presented, which was supposed to be presented before our elections, but they came to the conclusion that perhaps Poles will not tolerate this. It will boil down to what the editor rightly said on television, that maybe we will retain the right to set the routes of cycling paths, but even that is not certain. We will be a territory managed from the outside, not a state at all, although the appearances of a state, the theater of democracy, will remain, at least for some time, but it will be a theater, it will not refer to anything real." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/667653-prezes-pis-polska-sie-zmienila-takze-struktura-elektoratu -- MICHAŁ KOBOSKO ON MARSZAŁEK HOŁOWNIA - ASKED TODAY ON RMF: "Szymon Hołownia himself has often said that the role of the Sejm Marshal is one where he sees great potential for his functioning in Polish politics, but this is part of ongoing discussions." -- KOBOSKO ON NEW SOCIAL PROGRAMS: "As Trzecia Droga (Third Way), we will be reserved and cautious when any ideas regarding handouts appear on the table. Because we believe it's time to end the stage of wasteful Poland and to look at taxpayer money responsibly." https://www.rmf24.pl/tylko-w-rmf24/rozmowa/news-kobosko-nikt-z-trzeciej-drogi-nie-polakomi-sie-na-brzydkie-p,nId,7099558 -- THE PIS SUPPORTERS DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS – BUT THEY DID. THEY COULD HAVE RULED MORE WISELY, WITHOUT BREAKING THE RULES; HAD THEY CALMLY IMPLEMENTED THEIR PROGRAM INSTEAD, TO FULFILL THE GOALS DECLARED IN IT, THEY WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY CONTINUED TO RULE - ZIEMOWIT SZCZEREK IN THE NEW MAGAZINE ON CULTURE - CREATED BY ALEKSANDER HUDZIK - MINT: "PiS is a political pathology. Violent, passive-aggressive, using both law and the concept of justice not for the common good, but solely to benefit themselves and to harm those they dislike. PiS supporters didn't have to do all of this – but they did. They could have ruled more wisely, without breaking the rules, without managing the state and international relations through perpetual conflict, without using destructive rhetoric, without trying to push the extreme right, bordering on fascism, into the center of public debate. They could have refrained from prostituting and vulgarizing Polish culture in the name of party gain. Had they instead calmly implemented their program to fulfill the declared goals, they would have certainly continued to rule. Or at least they would have had coalition capabilities today. As it is – we can only laugh and watch how Marcin Wolski is wetting himself out of fear of losing power and admits that there was an awareness in his circle of conducting 'Stalinist,' in spirit, 'humiliating the nation' propaganda 'like in the PRL,' after which he urges 'kissing the ass' of Trzecia Droga. We can roll with laughter listening to how the equally frightened Minister of Education (!) Przemysław Czarnek, from a Catholic harasser and Taliban, is suddenly trying to transform into a farmer." -- THE RIGHT SHOULD HAVE EQUAL, FAIR ACCESS TO CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, TO PUBLIC MEDIA – I HAVE NO DOUBT. THAT INCOMPETENT PEOPLE, APPOINTED BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF MEDIOCRE BUT LOYAL – SHOULD NOT HAVE IT EITHER – I ALSO HAVE NO DOUBT - SZCZEREK WRITES: "It is certainly worth maintaining a strong presence of state funds in culture, just distributing them differently: more fairly, avoiding subsidies for obscurantism. That the right should have equal, fair access to cultural institutions, to public media – I have no doubt. That incompetent people, appointed based on the principle of mediocre but loyal, should not have it – I also have no doubt. Should populists, from the right or left, have it? That's another matter, but they are difficult to define. And finally – should the extreme right (and left) have it? Where does extremism begin?" https://mintmagazine.pl/artykuly/jak-ogarnac-kulturalna-patusiarnie -- I MYSELF WAS IRRITATED, AND IN THE END I WANTED TO SAVE THE THIRD WAY. HALF THE QUEUE AT THE POLLING STATION WAS TALKING ABOUT IT. QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAD MOST CRITICIZED IT EARLIER SUPPORTED THE THIRD WAY - SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI IN AN INTERVIEW WITH AGNIESZKA KUBLIK IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "Surveys showed that the opposition's electorate didn't believe in success for a long time, perhaps even until the end. But this time it had a motivating effect, because PiS went too far, and people voted regardless of whether there was a chance or not. Simply, one could no longer passively watch this. Tusk once again sensed well that the answer to the politics of hatred could be the politics of love, and this forced an end to disputes within the opposition. The effect was the saving of the Third Way by voters out of fear of not crossing the electoral threshold. Previously, there was great reluctance towards it among the entire opposition electorate. I myself was irritated, and in the end I wanted to save the Third Way. Half the queue at the polling station was talking about it. Quite a few people who had most criticized the Third Way earlier supported it." -- THERE WAS A BEAUTIFUL FESTIVAL-PICNIC ATMOSPHERE THERE, A COMMUNITY ATMOSPHERE, ALTHOUGH THEY COULD VOTE FOR VARIOUS OPPOSITION PARTIES, BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER - KUBLIK STATES PRZEMYSŁAW SADURA: "Until now, we said that it was PiS voters who voted collectively, and opposition voters who made individual decisions. It's PiS voters who, after mass, go to vote in groups, with families, making decisions as families or communities. However, what we saw on election day, the queues waiting for polling stations that were already closed because there were no more ballots, that was a community. It was a natural psychological experiment that showed collective voting on the side of the opposition. There was a beautiful festival-picnic atmosphere there, a community atmosphere, although they could vote for various opposition parties, but it didn't matter." -- A POPULIST PARTY, WHICH EXERCISED POWER IN A POPULIST MANNER FOR EIGHT YEARS, UNDERGOING A SLOW EVOLUTION TOWARDS AN AUTHORITARIAN REGIME, WON THESE ELECTIONS - SADURA FURTHER STATES TO KUBLIK IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "This is the moment when we rejoice in the election results, but let's not forget that, firstly, a populist party, which exercised power in a populist manner for eight years, undergoing a slow evolution towards an authoritarian regime, won these elections, achieving the best result. It lost power, but it remains a mortal threat to Polish democracy. Secondly, the opposition won in the sense that it is capable of forming a coalition that will take power, but it won by using a populist strategy, at least at the rhetorical level." -- THERE WILL BE THREE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS THAT A COALITION COMPOSED OF MANY ENTITIES MUST SURVIVE. IF THESE PARTIES RUN AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THESE ELECTIONS, THEN THE SURVIVAL OF THEIR JOINT GOVERNMENT FOR A YEAR AND A HALF IS IN QUESTION - SADURA FURTHER STATES: "We will have a new governmental setup that will struggle with a very difficult economic situation left by the predecessors, with inflated social expectations, with social promises that cannot be easily erased, with a total opposition, such that we will only see how total the opposition can be. And we are in a very difficult moment, because within a year and a half there will be three election campaigns that a coalition composed of many entities must survive. If these parties run against each other in these elections, then the survival of their joint government for a year and a half is in question. And if they succeed, they will last until the end of the term. On Monday, after the elections, we had to rejoice and celebrate, but today we must start thinking about the challenges we will face." -- DUDA REMAINS SOMEONE LIKE A COOPERATING WITNESS AND DOES NOT FACE THE TRIBUNAL OF STATE, THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE SOME KIND OF COMPROMISE - SIERAKOWSKI STATES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KUBLIK: "If there were to be some unwritten agreement with Duda, that he would not obstruct the restoration of the rule of law, he remains someone like a cooperating witness and does not face the Tribunal of State, it seems to me that this would be some kind of compromise. Ultimately, he will disappear from Polish politics anyway, so we need to think about an effective and as rapid as possible return to the normal functioning of a democratic state." https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30321443,sierakowski-i-sadura-jesli-duda-zostanie-swiadkiem-koronnym.html -- MILLIONS OF POLES UNDERRATED THE DECIDEDLY BEST GOVERNMENT OF THE THIRD INDEPENDENCE. AND THIS WILL QUICKLY RESONATE. THE CONTRAST WILL BE CLEAR. AND PAINFUL - JACEK KARNOWSKI: "The second factor is also important: Poland's economic success. It is this that has led to the fact that although almost everyone talked about the economy during the campaign, in reality, comical factors and stimuli played a marginal role in it. The success of recent years, on the one hand, has 'numbed' Poles on this issue, undermining some of PiS's foundations, and on the other hand, has driven social expectations to absurdity. Grotesque situations occurred: fears arose that the countryside would turn away from Law and Justice because the price of corn would be lower this year, or because raspberry growers were dissatisfied. After all that the United Right governments did for the countryside! It gave the impression of some madness in which basic criteria for evaluating power, for evaluating reality, were lost. It is a fact that large social groups voted against their basic interests. It is a fact that millions of Poles decidedly underestimated the best government of our third independence. And all of this will soon resonate. The contrast will be very clear. Unfortunately, also very painful." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/667680-miliony-nie-docenily-najlepszego-rzadu-iii-rp-i-to-wybrzmi -- KACZYŃSKI LACKED POLITICAL IMAGINATION. FOR THE REVOLUTION HE EMBARKED UPON, HAVING ONLY A MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT AND A BAG OF PUBLIC MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH - PROF. ANTONI DUDEK STATES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHAŁ PŁOCIŃSKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "He lacked political imagination. For the revolution he embarked upon, having only a majority in parliament and a bag of public money is not enough. One also needs the ability to attract capable people with diverse views, who would accept, in the name of higher goals, certain obvious weaknesses of PiS governments. Another thing is that such people were practically no longer in the orbit of this party even in 2015, because Kaczyński had already managed to alienate almost all of them before then. I cannot point to any significant figure in intellectual, mental, or cultural life in Poland with their own, significant achievements, who was not previously associated with PiS and would have been attracted by Kaczyński after 2015 to the so-called camp of good change." -- PIS WILL REMAIN A VERY IMPORTANT PLAYER ON THIS STAGE, AND EVEN WHEN PRESIDENT KACZYŃSKI IS NO LONGER HERE – ALTHOUGH I BELIEVE HE WILL BE WITH US FOR A LONG TIME – HIS PARTY WILL REMAIN STRONG - DUDEK FURTHER STATES TO PŁOCIŃSKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "This must be clearly stated: everyone who thinks that Jarosław Kaczyński's party will disappear from the Polish political scene in a few years is deeply mistaken. PiS will remain a very important player on this stage, and even when President Kaczyński is no longer here – although I believe he will be with us for a long time – his party will remain strong. Of course, it will be extremely difficult for them to repeat the political dominance they had in recent years. Especially in the first term, because in the second term cracks already appeared, symbolized by the Senate being taken over by the opposition. Furthermore, the Americans also showed PiS the red card several times, which proved to be a more significant external limitation for Kaczyński's revolution than the pressure from the European Commission." https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39297541-antoni-dudek-koniec-prawicowej-rewolucji-jaroslawowi-kaczynskiemu-zabraklo-politycznej-wyobrazni -- EDUCATED, CULTIVATED PEOPLE REPEATED THESE LIES. UNDOUBTEDLY, THE AURA OF DREAD WAS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE CAMPAIGN - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "PiS undermined democracy in various ways, helping itself with elbows in various situations. However, many of its charges ended in retreat, to recall the failure of the so-called lex TVN. The courts, allegedly terrorized by the 'politicized' National Council of the Judiciary, supported the opposition in almost all rulings in electoral proceedings. Yet, educated, cultivated people repeated these lies. Undoubtedly, the aura of dread was an important component of the campaign. In a state supposedly already semi-authoritarian, important circles rushed to the polls to 'prevent dictatorship.'" -- IT IS CERTAIN THAT VOTERS ARE IN AN ARITHMETICALLY CLEAR MAJORITY FOR CHANGE. BUT LET ME REMIND YOU OF ONE THING: THE FACT THAT AFTER TWO TERMS, PIS WAS ABLE TO TAKE FIRST PLACE IS A PHENOMENON - ZAREMBA FURTHER STATES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "It is certain that voters are in an arithmetically clear majority for change. But let me remind you of one thing: the fact that after two terms PiS was able to take first place is a phenomenon. This has never happened in the history of the Third Republic. Sometimes, after their second term in government, formations would even fall apart (like AWS or SLD), ending up below the threshold or with minimal parliamentary representation. This is not the case here." -- IN THE PERSONS OF KOSINIAK AND HOŁOWNIA, HE WILL HAVE PARTNERS EQUALLY INFLATED BY UNEXPECTED SUCCESS - WRITES ZAREMBA IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "Readiness is palpable, especially from Trzecia Droga, to oppose Tusk even on program issues. I am not sure whether, for example, the KO leader will manage to force Kosiniak to include abortion on demand in the coalition agreement. At the same time, the unremarkable result of Lewica shows that it is better to approach worldview issues with at least caution. It is possible that Tusk will be more accommodating than his pre-rally triumphs might suggest. Especially since in the persons of Kosiniak and Hołownia, he will have partners equally inflated by unexpected success." -- ALL MAJOR MEDIA WILL AGAIN REPORT MORE OR LESS THE SAME INFORMATION AND PRESENT SIMILAR OPINIONS. THE RIGHT MAY BE PUSHED BACK INTO NICHES - ZAREMBA FURTHER STATES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "After the election of the KO candidate (or perhaps the entire coalition) for president, the arrangement would be complete. We will see elements of this completion earlier, for example, when all major media again report more or less the same information and present similar opinions. The right may be pushed back into niches. As a result of its own arrogance, or only due to objective social processes? Let everyone judge for themselves." https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39297581-po-wyborach-tworzymy-mity-a-powinnismy-zderzyc-sie-z-rzeczywistoscia -- THE LAST EIGHT YEARS WERE AN EXPANSION OF SELF-DESTRUCTIVE RIGHT-WINGNESS. NOTHING PROVES THIS FACT BETTER THAN HOW LITTLE WILL REMAIN AFTER THESE GOVERNMENTS - JAN MACIEJEWSKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "Although Law and Justice was by no means 'my party,' I perceive its defeat as a personal failure. For I can do nothing about the fact that as the only significant political force, it serves my – to use Oakeshott's words – mental dispositions. And perhaps even more than the fact that it is losing power, it pains me that nothing better has been able to replace PiS in this role. That the last eight years were an expansion of self-destructive right-wingness. Nothing proves this fact better than how little will remain after these governments." -- HOW MUCH MUST ONE DESPISE ONE'S OWN NATION TO SERVE IT PUBLIC TELEVISION IN THE STYLE OF JACEK KURSKI? - MACIEJEWSKI FURTHER STATES IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "Because how much must one despise one's own nation to serve it public television in the style of Jacek Kurskki? Flattering the lowest tastes of the 'folk' by serving them patriotism to the rhythm of disco polo was just another variant, the reverse side of the contempt for the 'Polish peasant,' which is fed upon equally by the 'young, educated, from big cities' and soy lattes. And finally, what else than the gene of self-destruction guided Polish foreign policy, motivated it to all that hopeless saber-rattling, squandering 'moral capital' (counted, apparently, in a currency not recognized anywhere outside Poland), a sensitive listening to the rustle of hussar wings, which they even forgot to attach to their backs." -- TO BUILD AFFIRMATIVE – CONSERVATISM THAT WANTS TO BE, DESIRES BEING, RATHER THAN HIDING FROM IT IN KITSCH AND FOLK ART OUT OF FEAR - MACIEJEWSKI IN RZECZPOSPOLITA: "PiS is alien to me in every respect, but its defeat is close to me. Because only by taking it as one's own, by drinking it to the dregs, can one try to break free from the vicious circle of self-destruction. To build affirmative – conservatism that wants to be, desires being, rather than hiding from it in kitsch and folk art out of fear. So that one day, when at some other occasion Żeromski again asks: 'who here does not curse the name of the fatherland, who here lives by it?', a sufficient number of hands will be raised in response." https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39297861-jan-maciejewski-porazka-pis-u-jest-mi-bliska-choc-on-sam-jest-mi-obcy -- THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE METHODICAL BUILDING OF AN AUTHORITARIAN STATE HAS BEEN STOPPED - ALEKSANDER HALL IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MIROSŁAW MACIOROWSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "Yes, although there is never complete satisfaction. I would prefer PiS's result to be lower, and Trzecia Droga's higher. But the most important thing is that the methodical building of an authoritarian state has been stopped. This danger – in my opinion – has disappeared." -- PART OF PO SUPPORTERS SIMPLY CONSIDERED IT AN INSULT TO MAJESTY THAT SOMEONE WHO, IN THEIR OPINION, SHOULD BE WITH DONALD TUSK, IS GOING A DIFFERENT WAY - HALL STATES TO MACIOROWSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "I don't know Hołownia that well. But he is a man who founded two foundations helping poor people in various regions of the world. He quit a very attractive job, giving up the role of a well-paid media star, to get involved in public activity. This earns my deep respect. He had weaker moments in this campaign, but he was also attacked a lot. Part of PO supporters simply considered it an insult to majesty that someone who, in their opinion, should be with Donald Tusk, is going a different way. There was no shortage of hate. He sometimes took it badly, reacted nervously, but the end of the campaign was... chapeau bas! He was undoubtedly excellent in the debate." -- I REMEMBER WITH DISGUST THE YEAR 2020 AND THE STATEMENTS OF ADRIAN ZANDBERG, ROBERT BIEDROŃ, WŁODZIMIERZ CZARZASTY, WHO REPEATED FILTHY THINGS ABOUT POST-WAR PARTISANS TAKEN STRAIGHT FROM PROPAGANDA OF THE STALINIST ERA - HALL FURTHER STATES TO MACIOROWSKI: "For me, tangible proof is the celebrations of the National Remembrance Day of the 'Cursed Soldiers.' I don't like its name, but I believe the holiday itself is needed. Lech Kaczyński initiated it, and after his death, Bronisław Komorowski implemented the idea. I remember with disgust the year 2020 and the speeches of Adrian Zandberg, Robert Biedroń, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who repeated disgusting things about post-war partisans taken directly from Stalinist-era propaganda, because no one dared to repeat such nonsense in the Gomułka or Gierek eras." -- I WAS AFRAID OF CZARNEK'S SCHOOL, BUT I WILL HONESTLY SAY THAT I WOULD ALSO BE AFRAID OF THE SCHOOL IF MRS. SCHEURING-WIELGUS WERE AT THE HEAD OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION - HALL FURTHER STATES TO MACIOROWSKI IN GAZETA WYBORCZA: "Ms. Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus achieved an excellent election result, but I remember her various statements in a similar vein to those of Biedroń or Zandberg. I was afraid of Czarnek's school, but I will honestly say that I would also be afraid of the school if Ms. Scheuring-Wielgus were at the head of the Ministry of Education." https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30316420,hall-to-schylek-kariery-kaczynskiego-jestem-za-jego-rozliczeniem.html -- 16 YEARS AGO, PO WON EARLY ELECTIONS. -- 13 YEARS OF PIOTR DUDA AT THE HEAD OF SOLIDARITY. -- BIRTHDAYS: Jacek Nizinkiewicz, Marcin Ociepa. SUNDAY: Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, Anna Plakwicz, Marek Krząkała, Michał Rachoń.