-- A COMPROMISE BETWEEN TUSK AND DUDA IS POSSIBLE, PROVIDED THE LAW DOES NOT CONTAIN PROVISIONS ERODING THE PRESIDENT'S EXCLUSIVE, UNDISPUTED PREROGATIVE REGARDING JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS - TOMASZ PIETRYGA IN RZ: “Tusk must not make the mistake of PiS by bypassing the president in these arrangements, as he is the one who ultimately must sign this law. It seems that a compromise between the KO leader and Andrzej Duda is possible, provided the law does not contain provisions eroding the president's exclusive, undisputed prerogative concerning judicial nominations. This includes the so-called independence test, in an expanded formula, which was criticized by the president. This is where the line of confrontation lies. Tusk, if he becomes prime minister, must come to an agreement with the president, taking his remarks into account. Then both will be winners, as together they will unlock billions for Poland. Only a group of radical judges, demanding a deep verification of judges who went through the so-called neo-KRS from the new government and disregarding presidential prerogatives in their proposals, will lose in such a compromise.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-prawne/art39328301-tomasz-pietryga-kpo-kompromis-dudy-z-tuskiem-mozliwy-ale-jest-jeden-warunek -- PIS FEARS FOR ITS MPS. THERE'S BUZZ ABOUT POSSIBLE TRANSFERS THAT WOULD HELP SHUTTLE THE LEFT - JACEK GĄDEK IN GAZETA.PL: “A message would go out across Poland that PiS is falling apart, and furthermore, having a reserve of votes in the Sejm for - as everything indicates - the future Prime Minister Donald Tusk or PSL would be helpful in shuttling the Left, which wants to co-create the new government but has the fewest delegates. - Such a blow to our morale would be in the interest of the opposition and Donald Tusk himself - says a PiS politician. Moreover, rumors are reaching us from opposition circles that as many as seven MPs elected from the PiS list might join PSL or Civic Coalition. However, even unofficially, PO politicians do not want to confirm possible transfers. Yet, the mere fact that there is buzz about potential transfers from PiS is sowing unease at Nowogrodzka Street.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,53222,30344457,pis-obawia-sie-o-swoich-poslow-az-huczy-o-mozliwych-transferach.html -- EVEN MELONI WAS TIRED OF PIS - PAULIA PACUŁA IN OKO.PRESS FROM BRUSSELS: “The impression is as if everyone here breathed a sigh of relief after the elections in Poland. People were already tired of PiS, which disagreed with everything and opposed everything automatically. Meloni was also tired of this atmosphere and didn't want to be associated with what PiS represented. Morawiecki was destructive,” an EU diplomat told OKO.press.” -- AT SOME POINT, THE PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURES ON LAWS TO RELEASE THE KPO WILL BE NECESSARY - PACUŁA CONTINUES: “The European Commission will have the option to recognize that Poland has made sufficient progress and to release payments, which it can simply re-suspend if further progress is lacking. This way, it might be possible to unblock the KPO, even if the president is unwilling to cooperate in restoring the rule of law in Poland. However, such a solution will only be temporary. At some point, the president's signatures on laws restoring the rule of law will be necessary.” https://oko.press/tusk-bruksela-reakcje -- DELAYING DONALD TUSK'S APPOINTMENT AS PRIME MINISTER BENEFITS PIS. IT HELPS MAINTAIN THE ELECTORATE'S BELIEF THAT PIS WON THE ELECTIONS AND MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI WILL REMAIN PRIME MINISTER. BUT IT WILL POISON THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE WITH SPECULATIONS ABOUT WHETHER PIS REALLY INTENDS TO RELINQUISH POWER - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ. -- IF THE PRESIDENT HAD IMMEDIATELY APPOINTED DONALD TUSK, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A CLEAR SIGNAL TO THE PIS ELECTORATE THAT THEIR PARTY HAD LOST - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES IN RZ: “For Jarosław Kaczyński's party, this is an optimal scenario for many reasons that I have already written about here. It is also good for PiS in terms of image, as it helps convince the electorate that the party won the elections and Mateusz Morawiecki should remain prime minister. However, the opposition did not want to support his government in the Sejm. If the president had immediately appointed Donald Tusk, it would have been a clear signal to the PiS electorate that their party had lost.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39328451-michal-szuldrzynski-duda-tusk-i-morawiecki-czy-prezydent-gra-na-czas -- THE INFLUENCE OF "FOREIGNERS" ON DEMOCRATIC VOTING IN POLAND WAS UNPRECEDENTED IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE THIRD REPUBLIC - RAFAŁ WOŚ IN INTERIA: “All this is happening just a few days after the parliamentary elections on the Vistula. Elections in which the liberal euro-establishment and the media elites supporting it were by no means passive observers. None of them even tried to hide that they were rooting for Donald Tusk and his coalition partners. But it didn't end with just 'rooting'? By 'arresting' the funds due to Poland from the Recovery Fund and a series of minor threats and interventions, the influence of 'foreigners' on democratic voting in Poland was unprecedented in the entire history of the Third Republic. 'Welcome back, Donald!' - cheered the pan-European (but controlled by the German Springer concern) portal 'Politico' after the announcement of the opposition's electoral success, not even trying to hide its enthusiasm for the events in Warsaw.” -- AFTER RECLAIMING POWER FROM PIS, A LIBERAL OFFENSIVE IN BRUSSELS SHOULD BE EXPECTED - WOŚ CONTINUES: “After reclaiming power from PiS, a liberal offensive should be expected. The ongoing attempt in the European Parliament to quietly push through treaty changes will be one of them. If the proposed innovations come into effect, a repeat of PiS in any other EU country will become impossible. Or at least very difficult. And even if it happens, taking away further competencies from national governments and transferring them to Brussels will make such a change irrelevant. And that's exactly what this is all about.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-euroestabliszment-wykuwa-lex-pis,nId,7111194 -- THE LEFT SHOULD FIGHT FOR SUCH A MINISTERIAL DISTRIBUTION THAT DOES NOT THROW IT INTO THE TRAP OF GIVING FACE TO UNDERFUNDED AND NON-FUNCTIONING PUBLIC POLITICIANS, BUT ALLOWS IT TO MARK ITS EFFECTIVENESS FROM BOTH THE SOCIAL AND PROGRESSIVE SIDE - JAKUB MAJMUREK IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “On the fringes of the leftist discussion, there are even voices saying that perhaps it is not worth entering into a government coalition. However, Lewica voters voted with the assumption that their formation would take co-responsibility for the future government, and switching to opposition positions at the very beginning of the new arrangement would be incomprehensible to the majority of the electorate. Secondly, the Left truly needs to show Poles that it can govern and deliver concrete solutions from a position of power – not just talk about them and 'bear witness' to its values. It is better to enter the government now, try to influence its operation, and only if that fails, in the worst-case scenario, leave it in a politically advantageous way than to throw in the towel at the beginning.” -- WITHOUT MONEY, THE NEW MINISTER OF HEALTH WILL PRIMARILY HAVE TO MANAGE A CONSTANT IMAGE CRISIS - MAJMUREK CONTINUES IN KP: “Let's take, for example, the Ministry of Health – one of the departments that theoretically should be high on the list of priorities for any leftist formation. Without money, the new head of this department will primarily have to manage a constant image crisis, caused by patient frustrations, irritated by the fact that despite the change of government, queues for specialists have not shortened at all, staffing shortages, continuously low salaries for many medical professions, and the collapse of entire areas, such as child psychiatry, which will require not only investment but also time to get back on their feet. Politicians are aware of all this, and leaks from the Sejm suggesting that no one is eager to take over the Ministry of Health sound very credible.” -- A LEFTIST MINISTER HEADING THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE WOULD ALLOW THE LEFT TO SHOW THAT IT IS CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING TWO OF ITS KEY GOALS IN GOVERNMENT - MAJMUREK CLAIMS: “A leftist minister at the helm of MEiN would allow the Left to show that it is capable of achieving two of its key goals in government. Firstly, to genuinely influence public policies to finally take into account the sensitivity of an increasingly progressive society, to stop being – as they have been not only in the last eight years – a hostage of a traditionalist minority. Secondly, the Left could here show that it is capable of taking responsibility for an important area of public services and delivering results – both for service recipients and the employees who provide them – better than the competition. Moreover, the Left has an ideal candidate for this position in the person of Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/majmurek-ministerialna-pulapka-o-jakie-resorty-powinna-zabiegac-lewica/ -- IN THE LONGER TERM, COMPETING FOR POPULARITY WITH TRZASKOWSKI'S CIVIC COALITION MAY END TRAGICALLY FOR THE LEFT - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “Should it focus on slow credibility-building as a social anchor or present itself as a lifestyle left? It might seem that the latter is more appealing, as it yields some votes. However, in the longer term, competing for popularity with Trzaskowski's Civic Coalition may end tragically for the Left. After all, if this progressive electorate has already left once, it might leave again. And chasing after it will increasingly bring the Left closer to the position of Barbara Nowacka or the Greens, who, even if they get some gig, are already financially and organizationally doomed to be the older brother Donald Tusk.” -- IT TURNED OUT THAT, AFTER ALL, IT IS TOO SOCIAL DEMANDS (BY POLISH STANDARDS) THAT DETER SOME VOTERS - MAJOR CONTINUES: “Let's emphasize: by talking about building communal housing and shorter working hours, the Left first lost the presidential elections, and in the last parliamentary elections, it lost nearly half a million voters and almost half its seats. In both cases, the same progressive electorate fled to Civic Coalition and Trzaskowski, and recently to Hołownia's Third Way. It turned out that it is, after all, too social demands (by Polish standards) that deter some voters.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/czy-i-jak-wchodzic-w-koalicje-z-libkami/ -- POLES WHO WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS PEACEFULLY, HAD ENOUGH AND WIDELY REACHED FOR THE STILL AVAILABLE TOOL, WHICH IS THE BALLOT PAPERS - KATARZYNA PRZYBORSKA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “Perhaps he lost because everything became politics; we see it even in mushrooms, in doctor's offices, in ideological schools, and of course in church. Poles who want to be able to go about their business peacefully, had enough and widely reached for the still available tool, which is the ballot papers. Or perhaps the opposite, perhaps Poles, who for quite a long time had an aversion to politics, have now learned a lesson? I have already heard such voices that Kaczyński awakened civil society, that the threat to democracy, in which, as it turned out, we still place hope, has shaken us. In a word, that Ubu was needed for us.” -- PEOPLE ARE REALLY AFRAID OF TUSK'S RETURN BECAUSE THEY REMEMBER THAT CONTEMPT - PRZYBORSKA CONTINUES IN KRYTYKA: “People are really afraid of Tusk's return because they remember that contempt. Half of Poland is afraid of Tusk because they were terrorized by him for eight years. And perhaps it is not fair that people are more afraid of Tusk than of King Ubu Kaczyński. But will appointing individuals associated with arrogance and contempt to the government help bridge divides? Did the era of Ubu prove to us that we must agree to Bieńkowska? Because those who have now seen that they are needed by democracy, defended themselves, will soon be pacified by housing, electricity, and food prices, and an arrogant minister will laugh at them.” -- I FEAR THAT PIS WILL RETURN, UNLESS THE LEFT MOVES HEAVEN AND EARTH TO SHOW THAT DIGNITY IS NOT A CARROT - CONCLUDES PRZYBORSKA IN KRYTYKA: “I fear that PiS will return, unless the Left moves heaven and earth and shows that dignity is not a carrot that politicians hang before a donkey on a string; that a strong state does not necessarily have to be based on manipulating voters' emotions. And in four years, it, not PiS, will dominate the new government.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/za-ubu-podziekujemy-ale-czy-w-zamian-musimy-dostac-bienkowska/ -- I WOULD PREFER THAT THE ICON OF THE LEFT IN POLAND NOT BE A CONFIDENT PHILANTHROPIST DRIVING A WHITE BMW AND SCARING HIS FANS, BUT A SUBSTANTIAL SPECTACLED WOMAN TRAVELING BY TRAIN - KAJETAN WOŹNIKOWSKI IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA ON THE CAMPAIGN OF THE FAMOUS ŁUKASZ LITEWKA IN SOSNOWIEC: “His campaign reminded me of the election of a high school student council president. There, too, the program plays a tertiary role, and candidates boast about the volunteer actions they participated in. Popularity and appearance matter. However, I would prefer that the icon of the Left in Poland not be a confident philanthropist driving a white BMW and scaring his fans, but a substantive spectacled woman traveling by train. Because I know that she will present ideas and projects in the Sejm to improve the lives of Poles, not a list of dogs for adoption in Sosnowiec.” -- WOŹNIKOWSKI ON ONE OF THE FUNDRAISERS CONDUCTED BY LITEWKA: “In 2022, Litewka described the story of an 87-year-old visually impaired woman who regularly came to the Galeria Katowicka and sat on a chair, asking passersby for money. He decided to organize a fundraiser for her. Over PLN 17,000 was donated. However, Litewka decided to give the old woman only PLN 500, as a test. And when she did not comply with the conditions he set, i.e., she did not stop coming to the gallery, he stated that he would not give her the rest, because it was not a place for an elderly lady. Here lies the classic dilemma: give a fishing rod or a fish? In this case, the state gives nothing, and people are at the mercy of fishermen who give fish or not.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/wydziarany-pan-od-pieskow-i-zbiorek-nowa-ikona-lewicy/ -- ELŻBIETA WITEK SHOULD NO LONGER SIT IN THE SEJM PRESIDIUM - BARTOSZ T. WIELIŃSKI IN GW: “Marshal Elżbieta Witek symbolizes the downfall of the parliamentary idea in Poland and the decline in the quality of laws enacted by parliament. Such a person cannot sit in the Sejm presidium anymore. Therefore, I believe that when a vote on this matter takes place at the first Sejm session, the MPs of the democratic opposition should vote against her candidacy. If PiS wants to have a Deputy Marshal of the Sejm, let them present a candidate without stains on their biography.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,30344216,elzbieta-witek-nie-powinna-juz-zasiadac-w-prezydium-sejmu.html -- I AM CONCERNED BY THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE NUMEROUS RETURN TO KEY OFFICES OF PERSONS WHO WERE AT THE TOP OF POWER BEFORE PIS, AND THE MARGINALIZATION OF THOSE WHO GREW OUT OF SOCIETY UNDER THE PIS YOKE AND BECAME ITS VOICE - JACEK ŻAKOWSKI IN GW. -- NEW ORDER, WITHOUT WHICH POLISH DEMOCRACY WILL NOT SURVIVE, WILL ONLY BE CREATED BY THOSE WHO ARE NOT IMPREGNATED WITH THE OLD - ŻAKOWSKI CONTINUES: “Experience in politics is important – it should not be wasted. Experienced advisors will always be invaluable. Every government benefits from combining freshness with experience. But new orders, without which Polish democracy will not survive, will only be created by those who are not imbued with the old ways. The challenge is too serious to ignore this fact in the name of any merits or loyalty.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,30344255,teraz-mamy-szanse-zbudowac-dobra-demokracje-nie-zmarnujmy-tego.html -- PEKAO ANALYSTS: LITTLE FISCAL SPACE REMAINS FOR ELECTORAL PROMISES https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/10/26/analitycy-pekao-przestrzeni-fiskalnej-na-obietnice-wyborcze-zostalo-niewiele/ -- BGK PRESIDENT: THE ROLE OF DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THESE DIFFICULT AND UNCERTAIN TIMES IS INVALUABLE - WRITES BEATA DASZYŃSKA-MUZYCZKA IN DGP: “Thanks to our special role and presence in the most important financial markets, we have attractive space for financing the bank's tasks. Regardless of whether they are own tasks or commissioned ones. In this way, we can better support the sustainable socio-economic development of Poland. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen recently said, 'Development banks have unique, expert knowledge of the priorities and needs of the regions they serve.' And I agree with her words. The role of development banks is vital today for the condition of national economies and the well-being of societies. The role of BGK has been and is vital for the Polish economy and the well-being of Poles for 100 years.” https://forsal.pl/biznes/bankowosc/artykuly/9332741,prezes-bgk-rola-instytucji-rozwoju-w-tych-trudnych-i-niepewnych-czasa.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Janusz Korwin-Mikke (81), Grzegorz Hajdarowicz (58), Tomasz Kamiński.