-- TUSK'S GOVERNMENT SWORN IN, PRESIDENT Duda: I ASSURE YOU OF MY WILL TO COOPERATE AND I ASK YOU TO TAKE MY WORDS SERIOUSLY - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/12/13/ -- 42ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTRODUCTION OF MARTIAL LAW BY THE COMMUNIST REGIME. -- KURSKI'S MISSION IN WASHINGTON MAY END IN A YEAR - WITOLD GADOMSKI WROTE EXACTLY A YEAR AGO IN GW. -- AND DAWN HAS COME TO POLAND - ADAM MICHNIK IN GW: “These days will surely be remembered. We told ourselves for eight years that even after the longest night, dawn comes. And dawn has come to Poland. Not only has a great change occurred, but significant confrontations have also taken place. Confrontations between two faces of Poland, two visions of Polishness”. -- BUT REMEMBER, WINNERS! THE ELECTORS WHO GAVE YOU THE MANDATE WILL NOW CLOSELY WATCH YOUR ACTIONS - MICHNIK CONTINUES: “But remember, winners! The electors who gave you the mandate will now closely watch your actions. Expectations are enormous. Both material and moral ones. We know there will be no miracles. But we also know that Poland can be better.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,30500689,dzis-znowu-mamy-prawo-do-dumy.html -- APOCALYPTIC WORDS ARE A SIGN THAT TUSK KNOWS ABOUT THE WAR WAITING BEHIND THE DOOR - GRZEGORZ SROCZYŃSKI IN GAZETA.PL: “Of course, the money will eventually be found - at least this time - but for how long? And what if Trump wins in the USA, who is already announcing an absolute Armageddon and is leading in the polls? What if in a Europe tired of crisis, people elect more Wilders and tell them to deal with their own problems, not some Ukraine? Tusk's exposé – at times apocalyptic – shows that the new-old prime minister is aware of this. 'It's getting really dangerous in the world,' Tusk said in the Sejm. 'A divided, quarrelsome nation will be much more exposed to the conflicts shaking the world. If we are divided into two incompatible halves, it will be as if we were half as many, as if Poland were half as small.'” -- LET THE RECKONINGS WITH THE PIS DEMOLITION HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE AND NOT CONSUME 90% OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S TIME. WE MUST ARM, ARM, AND ARM - SROCZYŃSKI CONTINUES IN GW: “Let's perform all necessary rituals as quickly as possible after eight years of PiS, fumigate the rooms, exorcise the devil, let the emotions of accountability vent if necessary, but let it happen as quickly as possible, let these six commissions be established, if necessary – as long as they establish something within a few months, announce it, and close the matter. Because we don't have time. Let these reckonings with the PiS demolition have an expiration date and not consume 90% of the new government's time. We must arm, arm, and arm. And we also need to build a nuclear power plant, because soon we may be without electricity and our energy security will be ruined. In the situation of a potential NATO-Russia war approaching, everything else is just stage directions. Grandmother's allowance, pension indexation, raises for the public sector and teachers, 800 plus – it's important that Tusk mentioned and promised all of this in his exposé, because social peace is now also an element of state security. But in such times, we shouldn't expect this government to be perfectly principled and pure in its liberal, leftist, or any other ideology. We should demand everything from this government that works to prepare Poland for shocks.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,30499573,apokaliptyczne-slowa-to-znak-ze-tusk-wie-o-wojnie-stojacej.html -- THE MULTIPARTY GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE OPENS THE WAY TO TRULY DEMOCRATIC PLAY, LIMITING THE TEMPTATION OF AUTHORITARIANISM AND PARTY FACTIONALISM TO A MINIMUM - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA IN RZ: “However, I would not dismiss its chances of survival until the next elections outright. Firstly, because this is precisely the tradition of the Western European parliamentary-cabinet model, rather than one based on the principle of single-party rule. And secondly, the multiparty government structure opens the way to truly democratic play, limiting the temptation of authoritarianism and party factionalism to a minimum.” -- TUSK ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE, STANDING AGAINST THE LARGEST WAVE OF SYSTEMIC HATE IN THE HISTORY OF POLISH DEMOCRACY - CHRABOTA CONTINUES IN RZ: “An important value of the new arrangement is Donald Tusk himself and his irrefutable authority. He achieved the impossible, standing against the largest wave of systemic hate in the history of Polish democracy. He not only defended himself but led the federated opposition to success.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39558991-boguslaw-chrabota-donalda-tuska-rzad-lepszej-zmiany -- IF DONALD TUSK DISAPPOINTS THE ELECTORS OF THE OCTOBER 15 COALITION, HE WILL PAVED THE WAY TO POWER FOR POPULISTS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “But the stakes are very high. If the new coalition fails to meet the hopes placed in it, if it squanders that trust, wastes the extraordinary interest that politics has garnered in recent weeks, it could lead to a rapid disappointment that will open the way for a great wave of populism to flood Poland. And Tusk must remember this every day of his rule.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39555191-michal-szuldrzynski-jesli-donald-tusk-zawiedzie-wyborcow-koalicji-15-pazdziernika-utoruje-droge-do-wladzy-populistom -- RECORD TURNOUT IN THE RECENT ELECTIONS, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO VOTED FOR CHANGE. TUSK FACES THE CHALLENGE OF A LIFETIME - CEZARY MICHALSKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “Holding PiS accountable – effectively enough to destroy the legitimacy of this formation and prevent its return to power. And having his own vision for Poland – attractive and realistic enough to keep young people, women, and everyone who voted en masse for change on October 15th, within the democratic camp. To avoid the mistake of omission that squandered similar voter enthusiasm from 2007 within the next eight years.” -- TUSK WILL STRENGTHEN THE OFFENSIVE AND QUICKLY PROCEED TO INSTITUTIONAL UNBLOCKING OF COURTS AND OTHER AREAS OF THE STATE - MICHALSKI CONTINUES: “Tusk will strengthen the offensive and quickly proceed to the institutional unblocking of courts and other areas of the state. With strong grounds for this, both in the form of rulings from European courts and the necessity of quickly unblocking EU funds, which requires the swiftest possible interruption and reversal of the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland.” -- ONLY THE REVELATION OF TRULY SERIOUS SCANDALS, THE PRESENTATION OF UNAMBIGUOUS EVIDENCE, WILL IMPACT THE UNDECIDED, EVEN THE SYMMETRISTS - MICHALSKI CONTINUES: “Of course, the 'games' of parliamentary investigation committees will be a reward primarily for the hard-core, anti-PiS, KOD-era electorate of the former opposition. It cannot be forgotten, just as Kaczyński did not forget his hard-core electorate, serving him a cocktail of concentrated 'anti-elite' hate for eight years. Nothing will initially work on the hard-core PiS voters, however, they will not decide the fate of the accountability battle. The undecided, even the 'symmetrists,' will only be swayed by the revelation of truly serious scandals, the presentation of unambiguous evidence and documents confirming PiS's swindles, and finally, trials and arrests (if they occur).” -- THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT PIS IS WEAK, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN EIGHT YEARS, THE INITIATIVE IN POLISH POLITICS TRULY BELONGS TO THE DEMOCRATS - MICHALSKI'S CONCLUSION: “This is precisely why the greatest optimism comes from the fact that, so far, no one from the opposition is engaging in deals with PiS. From the left to the PSL, no one is seriously considering offers to share power in media or State Treasury companies in exchange for blocking or at least slowing down accountability. No one is playing with PiS, because PiS has proven to be completely unprepared for the game. Surprised by the loss of power, undermined by a lack of trust between leaders and factions, resorting to symbolic gestures, sometimes getting tangled in its own shoelaces, like Piotr Gliński, who couldn't even correctly fill out the application to the registry court intended to solidify TVP SA. This does not mean that PiS is weak, but for the first time in eight years, the initiative in Polish politics truly belongs to the democrats.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2238348,1,co-teraz-musi-donald-tusk-przed-nim-zadanie-zycia-przed-rzadem-dwa-duze-wyzwania.read -- ONE THING MUST BE SAID ABOUT DONALD TUSK'S EXPOSÉ: IT WAS EXTREMELY DISHONEST. AND AT TIMES UTTERLY DECEITFUL - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “It wasn't an exposé – it was a compilation of editorials from 'Wyborcza'. It wasn't an exposé, it was another election rally. Overall, a collection of banalities, with an incredibly shallow diagnosis, and helplessness in the sphere of deeper concepts. Overall, we are certain: it will be as it was in the years 2007-2015, only more so.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/674298-expose-tuska-bylo-skrajnie-nieuczciwe-do-cna-zaklamane -- PIS WILL BE A TOTAL OPPOSITION BECAUSE... OTHERWISE IT WILL FALL APART - JAROSŁAW KUISZ IN INTERIA: “PiS will be a total opposition because... otherwise it will fall apart. The right-wing electorate in Poland is fragmenting. Some want to remain more moderate, others demand radicalism. In theory, the demands may be the same. In practice, voter temperaments diverge. The process of leaving PiS in opposition will strengthen these tendencies. The sweet fruits that united them so much have disappeared.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-jaroslaw-kaczynski-wciaz-szuka-agentow-i-nostalgiczne-expose,nId,7205350 -- SHOPPING SUNDAYS HAVE NOT RETURNED YET, AND CASHIERS ARE ALREADY THREATENING TO LEAVE - ALICJA ZBOIŃSKA IN GW: “Dear sirs and madams, I advise you to quickly make friends with self-checkout machines – ironizes one of the cashiers in Łódź. A storm in the shops regarding the possibility of returning shopping Sundays. Although an official decision on changing the current regulations has not yet been made, cashiers and sales assistants are already wondering what they will do if it happens. And comments like: I hope this doesn't pass, are among the milder ones.” https://lodz.wyborcza.pl/lodz/7,35136,30498090,bedzie-hardkor-niedziele-handlowe-jeszcze-nie-wrocily-a.html -- BY EXTINGUISHING – HE WANTS TO SET FIRE, JUST AS BY SHOUTING, HE WANTED TO DROWN OUT. IT DEPENDS SOLELY ON HIS VOTERS WHETHER HE SUCCEEDS - KONSTANTY GEBERT IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “With his gesture, MP Braun has completed his spiritual evolution. In it, he managed to shout at Poles helping Jews or seeking to understand the evil that caused other Poles to murder them, at Poles helping Ukrainians, and at Poles defending themselves against contagion. Now he has simply sided with attempts to extinguish hope. Even a stupid switch like Osim wouldn't come up with such an idea. By extinguishing – he wants to set fire, just as by shouting, he wanted to drown out. It depends solely on his voters whether he succeeds.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2023/12/12/grzegorz-braun-piroman-z-gasnica-w-reku/ -- WAS THIS ACT OF ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE NOT A COLD, CALCULATED ACTION INTENDED TO CAUSE SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES - WITOLD GŁOWACKI IN OKO.PRESS: “A parliamentarian of a European country attacking a group of religious Jews with a fire extinguisher in the parliament building during one of the most important Jewish rituals is a topic that every world medium will pick up. What's more, it's a topic that can easily 'overshadow' the change of government in Warsaw, especially since, despite everything, Israel and the Gaza Strip attract much more focused attention from the world today than the Polish-Polish war. It is in this way that in the eyes of some global media recipients, Poland may, as if by a magic wand, for a moment cease to be a completely serious leader of the European region, and instead become some post-Soviet Krakozia or Mordovia, where mad antisemitic parliamentarians stage scenes straight out of movies about Borat. For Kremlin propaganda, this is an ideal outcome. For those political factions in the West that would like to forget about the prolonged war at the EU's borders – also.” -- HIS POLITICAL ACTIVITY ALIGNS 100 PERCENT WITH THE KREMLIN'S POLITICAL INTEREST - GŁOWACKI CONTINUES IN OKO: “Braun was removed from the session for the scandal he caused and will also bid farewell to half of his parliamentary salary for a long time. However, he will still have parliamentary immunity, which will facilitate his undertaking actions similar to today's attack. The question is, therefore, whether this immunity will continue to be accompanied by a somewhat mysterious umbrella that ensures Braun's inviolability even when his political activity aligns 100 percent with the Kremlin's political interests.” https://oko.press/co-tak-naprawde-zrobil-w-sejmie-braun -- IF BRAUN REMAINS IN KONFEDERACJA, IT WILL BE THE END OF BOSAK AND MENTZEN - MICHAŁ PŁOCIŃSKI IN RZ: “Moreover, now that Bosak, Mentzen, and Wipler have managed to curry favor with some liberal media, since they are suddenly no longer perceived by them as PiS allies and have been given space in their pages, screens, and airwaves, this also poses a new threat to them. These media will remind them of their party collaboration with Grzegorz Braun for a long time; they won't let it go this time. Sławomir Mentzen will quickly cease to be seen as a 'cool buddy' and will begin to be viewed as 'Grzegorz Braun's buddy.'” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39558701-michal-plocinski-jesli-braun-zostanie-w-konfederacji-bedzie-to-koniec-bosaka-i-mentzena -- THE IMAGES OF A POLITICIAN MAD WITH HATRED THROWING FIRE EXTINGUISHER LIQUID AT A MENORAH REMIND TOO MUCH OF HISTORICAL ACTS OF ANTISEMITISM TO GO UNNOTICED - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “At the same time, it is extremely damaging to Poland. The images of a politician, driven mad by hatred, throwing fire extinguisher liquid at a menorah are too reminiscent of historical acts of antisemitism to go unnoticed. In a city destroyed by Nazi Germany, which before the war was the second-largest Jewish city in the world, and finally in the Sejm, which had many Jewish deputies before the war, Braun's behavior deserves condemnation.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39556851-michal-szuldrzynski-grzegorz-braun-atakujac-menore-bardzo-szkodzi-polsce -- THERE IS NO CERTAINTY THAT THE CHARGES AGAINST ADAM GLAPIŃSKI WILL HOLD UP IN TRIBUNAL - RYSZARD BUGAJ IN RZ: “In Poland, in the past, presidents (without exception) even held the most important political positions (e.g., prime minister). The constitution does not even require a cooling-off period (Balcerowicz became president of the NBP the 'day after' resigning as 'head' of a major party). It is also difficult to forget the conversation recorded in the Sowa i Przyjaciele restaurant between Messrs. Sienkiewicz and Belka. Unfortunately, Marek Belka (then president of the NBP) did not react principially to the suggestions of the former. Of course, I do not rule out that Adam Glapiński got involved in inappropriate contacts with the world of politics. But is it more so than his predecessors?” https://www.rp.pl/publicystyka/art39559061-ryszard-bugaj-jaka-kara-dla-prezesa-nbp-adama-glapinskiego -- ALONG WITH TOMCZYK, REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER PARTIES WILL BE DEPUTY MINISTERS IN THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE - THESE ARE PAWEŁ BEJDA FROM PSL, PAWEŁ ZALEWSKI FROM POLSKA 2050, AND STANISŁAW WZIĄTEK FROM LEWICA - ŁUKASZ SZPYRKA IN INTERIA: https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-blyskawiczne-decyzje-w-kluczowych-resortach,nId,7206773 -- PERHAPS AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY, DANIEL OBAJTEK, CALLED "A MAN OF MISSION" BY PIS CHAIRMAN JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI, WILL LOSE HIS POSITION AS PRESIDENT OF ORLEN. AND THE ABW HAS CAUSED PROBLEMS FOR OBAJTEK WITH HIS SEVERANCE PACKAGE - ANDRZEJ KUBLIK IN GW: “This can be done immediately, as Wyborcza.biz has already indicated. Because last year, then-Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin appointed Obajtek as the state's representative to the Orlen management board, based on special powers granted in the company's statute to the minister overseeing state treasury companies. This means that the new minister of state assets can appoint his new representative to the Orlen management board at any time, having previously revoked Obajtek's credentials.” https://wyborcza.biz/biznes/7,179190,30499697,kolekcjoner-tytulow-na-wylocie-z-orlenu-koniec-misji-daniela.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Stanisław Żmijan, Jarosław Marciniak, Zuza Piechowicz.