-- THE PRESIDENT SNAGGED 700 THOUSAND IN BONUSES - Glapiński with a gold bar on the front page of Fakt. -- PETRU: I BELIEVE GLAPIŃSKI WILL BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE STATE TRIBUNAL, AND THIS WILL LIKELY BE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE NEW YEAR - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2023/12/18/ -- HOŁOWNIA'S POTENTIAL DECISION TO RUN IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS FOR NOVEMBER-DECEMBER NEXT YEAR - MARSHAL OF THE SEJM IN THE NEWSWEEK VIDEOCAST TITLED "WOMEN'S ELECTIONS", HOSTED BY ALEKSANDRA PAWLICKA AND ARLETA ZALEWSKA: "Yes, I would like to," Marshal Szymon Hołownia briefly answers the journalists' question from "Newsweek" about whether he would like to be president. But at the same time, he adds that he has not yet made a decision for 2025. "Decisions have not yet been made, today I am doing what I am doing." The Marshal was a guest of the "Newsweek" videocast titled "Women's Elections," hosted by Aleksandra Pawlicka and Arleta Zalewska. They spent a lot of time discussing the upcoming presidential elections. Hołownia stated that presidential elections are the most unpredictable of all. And he said that he would gladly face Rafał Trzaskowski in the second round of these elections, because both gentlemen respect each other, and "everyone would feel safe in a debate between us." Hołownia's potential decision to run in the presidential elections is for November-December next year. https://oko.press/na-zywo/dzien-na-zywo-najwazniejsze-informacje/holownia-wywiad-chce-byc-prezydentem -- LOST CHANCES FOR PIS FOR A NEW BEGINNING - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: "However, Kaczyński, in his fight for PiS's cohesion, shows a lack of ideas for the party in opposition. Hammering the government, insulting Tusk, or claiming that 'the post-communist era has returned to power,' as Piotr Gliński wrote, is pushing themselves to the margins as a party of squabblers, a total opposition, and inciting a Polish-Polish war, which Poles are tired of. Kaczyński's course will lead to a drop in PiS support to around 25% due to the hard electorate." -- KACZYŃSKI SHOULD PULL MORAWIECKI OUT OF THE CLOSET IF PIS WANTS TO WIN - CONTINUES NIZINKIEWICZ: "Kaczyński wasted the opportunity for a new beginning for PiS, which Morawiecki could have fronted. Instead, he put Przemysław Czarnek and Mariusz Błaszczak, representatives of the party's hard core, on the front lines. With them as frontmen, the leader can consolidate the party, but there is no chance of governing. Kaczyński should pull Morawiecki out of the closet if PiS wants to win." https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art39583161-jacek-nizinkiewicz-stracone-szanse-pis-na-nowe-otwarcie -- PIS STILL DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT LOST, AND THEREFORE FACES FURTHER DEFEATS - ARTUR BARTKIEWICZ IN RZ: "This gives the impression that they are not only incapable of pursuing any policy other than confrontation but also unable to accept defeat with dignity. This is a fatal prognosis for PiS before the local government elections, which will be very important for this party, as they will determine what share of power (and how many positions to fill) PiS will retain. As of today, PiS is heading for a repeat of its electoral result from October 15th – it will likely keep its electorate in suspense, but it will not give the other side a chance to demobilize." -- PIS MOBILIZED ITS ELECTORATE, BUT EVEN MORE SO IT MOBILIZED ALL ITS OPPONENTS, EVEN THOSE WHO, WITH A LOWER LEVEL OF EMOTION, PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE GONE TO THE BALLOT BOXES - CONTINUES BARTKIEWICZ IN RZ: "Tusk understood the needs of Poles better than Kaczyński. We had a bit of a repeat of 2007, when Poles, tired of the emotional rollercoaster and the very confrontational and conflict-driven politics of PiS, opted for Civic Platform. In 2023, the difference was that voters opted less for Civic Platform and more voted against PiS, distributing their votes among all parties that promised to cooperate against PiS after the elections. This is precisely the measure of how misguided the electoral campaign by PiS was – the party mobilized its electorate, but it mobilized all its opponents even more, even those who, with a lower level of emotion, probably would not have gone to the ballot boxes." https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39581301-artur-bartkiewicz-pis-wciaz-nie-rozumie-dlaczego-przegral-i-dlatego-groza-mu-kolejne-porazki -- POLITICIANS OF THE RULING COALITION WILL HAVE TO OVERCOME HUNDREDS OF REEFS, AND EVERY DAY PIS, WITH THE LARGEST CLUB IN THE SEJM, WILL REMIND THEM THAT THINGS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BETTER, BUT ARE WORSE OR THE SAME AS THEY WERE - WITOLD GADOMSKI IN GW: "In other words – politicians of the ruling coalition will have to overcome hundreds of reefs, and every day PiS, with the largest club in the Sejm, will remind them that things were supposed to be better, but are worse or the same as they were. This is enough that, under unfavorable economic conditions for Donald Tusk's government, PiS will win the elections in four years. It may then be better prepared to seize power and maintain it for a long time by dismantling the balancing and control institutions." -- THERE IS A RISK THAT THE EFFECTS OF ACCOUNTABILITY WILL BE DISAPPOINTING DUE TO THE INEFFICIENCY OF THE STATE APPARATUS AND DIFFICULTIES IN GATHERING EVIDENCE OF CRIMES - GADOMSKI FURTHER WRITES IN GW: "There is also a risk that the effects of accountability will be disappointing due to the inefficiency of the state apparatus and difficulties in gathering evidence of crimes. PiS will therefore be consolidated by the fear of accountability, and at the same time, no important politician of this party will suffer. This would be a situation analogous to Donald Trump, whose popularity grows as more prosecutors and judges try to punish him for quite evident crimes, but fail to eliminate the former president from the game or discourage millions of his fans." -- PIS SHOULD BE TARGETED FOR DISINTEGRATION, NOT FOR ITS MEMBERS TO RETREAT INTO A BESIEGED FORTRESS - ARGUES GADOMSKI: "Some PiS politicians rationally assess their chances of returning to power with an increasingly eccentric and clearly weakening leader. The parties of the ruling coalition should reach out to them with an offer of cooperation, even within this term, especially if the next two elections – local government and European Parliament elections – end in relative defeats for PiS. They should aim to disintegrate this party, not for its members to retreat into a besieged fortress." -- THE COALITION OF OCTOBER 15TH HAS NO CHANCE TO "KILL PIS." IT SHOULD START TO CIVILIZE IT - GADOMSKI'S CONCLUSION: "The situation would change if they had two parties to choose from – PiS speaking in Kaczyński's language of German agents ruling Poland, and a rational PiS. The latter would certainly be conservative, Catholic, perhaps even with nationalist undertones, but most importantly, its activists would rationally assess Poland's capabilities and needs and reject the Manichean vision – on one side is pure good, on the other pure evil. In such a situation, they would have a chance to become part of a center-right coalition that could come to power in some years. (...) The coalition of October 15th has no chance to 'kill PiS.' It should start to civilize it." https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,30514558,jak-wyhodowac-na-prawicy-demokratyczna-opozycje.html -- THE BRUTALITY OF TUSK'S TEAM IS UNPRECEDENTED IN THE RECENT HISTORY OF POLAND - JACEK KARNOWSKI: "In the sphere of 'rule of law,' we have blatant violations of the constitution by the Minister of Justice. Public media are being intimidated; a way is being sought to seize them without changing the law, hence illegally. In the ideological sphere, there is no longer any doubt that the left has taken everything important, especially in the sphere of relations with tradition, the Church, and youth education. Neo-Bolshevism will want to take full control of the upbringing of children and youth. In the economy, the course is also visible: the resignation from CPK (Central Transport Hub) seems settled, both under German pressure and traditional hatred of everything that Law and Justice invented and implemented." -- THERE IS ALSO NO DOUBT THAT WE WILL FACE AN ATTEMPT TO DISINTEGRATE PIS. THERE ARE ALREADY THE FIRST PRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING THIS MATTER - CONTINUES KARNOWSKI: "There is also no doubt that we will face an attempt to disintegrate PiS. There are already the first press announcements regarding this matter. The goal is to weaken independence-minded circles, vassalize the psychologically weaker, and permanently avert the threat to the de facto single party that has regained power and intends to never risk defeat again." -- HOPES THAT WITHIN A WEEK OR A MONTH PIS WILL FIND AN EFFECTIVE FORMULA FOR OPPOSITION ARE ILLUSORY TODAY. THIS WILL TAKE MUCH LONGER - WRITES JACEK KARNOWSKI FURTHER: "Hopes that within a week or a month PiS will find an effective formula for opposition are illusory today. This will take much longer. For now, the focus must be on the most important thing: defending the substance, structures, unity, and institutions. Only then will there be a chance for future victories. For victories that will truly change something." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/674922-brutalnosc-tej-ekipy-nie-ma-precedensu-w-najnowszej-historii -- IF TVP HAS TO CHANGE, THEN IT IS WORTH THOROUGHLY CONSIDERING THE DIRECTION OF THIS CHANGE - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA IN RZ: "Certainly not in the direction suggested by commentator Jacek Żakowski; one channel for some, another for others. Television, like all public media, should be reformed and modernized. At the same time, it should be instilled in their DNA, regardless of party colors, a code of decency and professionalism. Paradoxically, this is not that difficult. And also change their structural foundation and adapt them to technological modernity. The current statutory model of TVP from the early 1990s will not cope with this. We must rethink public media anew and return them to society." https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39583881-boguslaw-chrabota-skoro-tvp-musi-sie-zmienic-to-warto-dobrze-przemyslec-kierunek-tej-zmiany -- BIRTHDAYS: Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Jacek Kozłowski, Magdalena Szefernaker.