-- SCHETYNA ON RELATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT: AFTER JUNE, A CEASEFIRE AND FINDING A FORMULA FOR COHABITATION WILL OCCUR BY FORCE OF CIRCUMSTANCE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/01/03/ -- WORD OF THE YEAR 2023: TURNOUT - MAGDALENA NOWICKA-FRANCZAK IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Young people's turnout was discussed last year not only in the context of elections. Participation in religion classes became a matter of public reflection. The data is unequivocal – turnout is falling in all types of schools and in all regions. (...) Perhaps the separation of church and state will become the slogan of 2024, especially when Minister of Education Barbara Nowacka begins to implement the program of reducing religious education in public schools. This will not be a quick or amicable process. For now, Sejmflix, the parliamentary YouTube channel, and the brilliant Marshal Szymon Hołownia, are cashing in on high election turnout. The separation of church and state will be a test for him, for the coalition of October 15, and for the generation of October 15. And those who waited in line at the polling stations will watch and judge.” -- THE TERM 'GENERATION' IS BEST NOT TO BE USED CASUALLY. ITS PROMOTERS KNOW THIS BEST, LIKE THE PROMOTERS OF THE JOHN PAUL II GENERATION, WHICH NEVER EXISTED, BUT WAS MERELY DECREED. THIS SO-CALLED 'COMMUNITY' WILL NOT SURVIVE UNTIL THE NEXT ELECTION - NOWICKA-FRANCZAK CONTINUES IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “In his exposé, Donald Tusk christened the agreement between Civic Coalition, the Third Way, and the Left as the coalition of October 15, and the mobilized voters of the democratic parties – the movement of October 15. Earlier, on December 9, at the Poland 2050 Congress, Szymon Hołownia announced the birth of the generation of October 15. This is a collective homunculus, composed of voting citizens whom politicians helped to awaken. However, the term 'generation' is best not to be used casually. Its promoters know this best, like the promoters of the John Paul II generation, which never existed, but was merely decreed. The generation of October 15 is not united by age or social situation, but by the fact of voting for specific parties. This so-called 'community' will not survive until the next election.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/slowo-roku-2023-frekwencja-185754 -- THE PRESIDENT SETS A CONDITION - THE TERM LIMITS OF KRRiT MUST BE OBSERVED - ŁUKASZ SZPYRKA IN INTERIA: “The Presidential Palace – as Andrzej Duda himself has repeatedly declared – is to be open to changes in the media prepared by the new government. As Interia learns, the president could even agree to the Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji (National Broadcasting Council - KRRiT) returning to its key role. However, he sets one condition – the term limits of the KRRiT must be observed.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-prezydent-stawia-jeden-warunek-ws-mediow-nieoficjalny-glos-z,nId,7244721 -- POLITICIANS FROM PiS AND SUWERENNA POLSKA AGREE THAT THE DEFENSE OF TVP HAS STRONGLY UNITED THEIR POLITICAL CIRCLE, WHICH AFTER THE ELECTIONS WAS TORN BY THE DESIRE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE PROSPECT OF SPLITTING - KAMILA BARANOWSKA IN INTERIA: “- I thought PiS would explode from within after the elections. There were so many mutual grievances and divisions. And now such a unification has occurred that I don't recognize people – laughs one of the Suwerenna Polska politicians in a conversation with Interia. This is a fairly common opinion within the ranks of the current opposition. After the 2023 elections, which meant the United Right was removed from power, it seemed that the entire right-wing coalition was on the brink of a schism.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-donald-tusk-pomogl-zjednoczonej-prawicy-dokonal-cudu,nId,7244667 -- WITH ITS OPERATION TO RECLAIM PUBLIC MEDIA, THE NEW GOVERNMENT HAS UNINTENTIONALLY HELPED THE LOSER JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI RETURN TO THE GAME - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN ONET: “With its operation to reclaim public media, the new government has unintentionally helped the loser Jarosław Kaczyński return to the game. The PiS leader has made the defense of TVP his new political fuel, thanks to which he is mobilizing the party and its electorate. But our sources from the PiS leadership admit that this fuel is short-lived. On the other hand, the loss of state media may have long-term consequences: it could lead to the collapse of PiS in its current form.” -- ALL WE CAN DREAM OF IS RETAINING POWER IN 3-4 OUT OF 16 REGIONAL ASSEMBLIES — A MAJOR PiS POLITICIAN TELLS US - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES: “PiS politicians are counting on the mobilization lasting until the local government elections (April) and European Parliament elections (June), although at the same time they have no doubts that winning them will be very difficult. — Even if we do well in the local government elections at the regional assembly level, no one will want to form a coalition with us. Therefore, all we can dream of is retaining power in 3-4 out of 16 regional assemblies — a major PiS politician tells us. He doesn't even mention mayoral elections — PiS candidates always get thrashed there.” -- THE PiS CHAIRMAN WANTS TO WIN THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS AT ALL COSTS — EVEN IF MINIMALLY - STANKIEWICZ WRITES: “The PiS chairman – as we hear – does not have much faith in PiS's good performance in the local government elections. But he wants to win the European elections at all costs – even if minimally. This would be a signal that he can still win against Tusk, which would protect him from rebellion within the party.” -- I HAVE NO ILLUSIONS THAT PiS IN ITS CURRENT FORM, WITH 74-YEAR-OLD KACZYŃSKI AT THE HELM, WILL NO LONGER RETURN TO POWER - ONE OF THE LEADING PiS POLITICIANS TELLS ONET: “Therefore, our PiS sources, while rejoicing at the increased energy within the party and among voters caused by the war over TVP, predict that the real challenge for Kaczyński is still looming on the horizon. It is maintaining party unity and mobilizing it for the coming years in opposition – and this in a situation lacking the propaganda support of state media. — I have no illusions that PiS in its current form, with 74-year-old Kaczyński at the helm, will no longer return to power. Many people at the top of PiS believe this, apart from those blindly loyal to the chairman. The right must change if it wants to win elections again — one of the leading politicians of Law and Justice tells Onet.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/kraj/rzad-dostarczyl-paliwa-kaczynskiemu-czy-wojna-o-tvp-uratuje-pis-analiza/pj4x7fs -- IT QUICKLY BECAME APPARENT THAT NOWACKA PREFERS TO GO HER OWN WAY. THESE PATHS HAVE LED HER TO THE POSITION OF MINISTER OF EDUCATION - MALWINA DZIEDZIC IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “It has been 10 years since Barbara Nowacka decided to enter mainstream politics. In this debut of the then 38-year-old feminist activist, the left saw a chance to rebuild support. It quickly became apparent that Nowacka prefers to go her own way. These paths have led her to the position of Minister of Education.” -- A LESSON FROM HER FIRST ELECTORAL EXPERIENCES: RUNNING IN THE 2014 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS ON THE LISTS OF JANUSZ PALIKOT'S YOUR MOVEMENT, AND THE MEMORABLE ZLEW, OR THE UNITED LEFT - DZIEDZIC CONTINUES: “Nowacka, on the other hand, focuses on effectiveness, and only by being in power can one act effectively. It is not worth risking compromising oneself for a lost cause. This is also a lesson from her first electoral experiences: running in the 2014 European elections on the lists of Janusz Palikot's Your Movement, and the memorable ZLew, or the United Left – a hastily assembled electoral coalition of TR and SLD, which in 2015 was just half a percentage point short of crossing the threshold and getting into the Sejm. Nowacka (then co-chairwoman of TR) along with Krzysztof Gawkowski (now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitization) was the face of that campaign, although in reality, both only fronted the political mistakes of Janusz Palikot and Leszek Miller.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2239839,1,barbara-nowacka-ma-wyprowadzic-szkole-z-mroku-po-czarnku-episkopat-juz-sie-denerwuje.read -- THE THIRD WAY MUST DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF FROM CIVIC COALITION AND THE LEFT IF IT WANTS TO ATTRACT DISILLUSIONED PiS VOTERS - ALEKSANDER HALL IN RZ: “In the current ruling coalition, there is only one force that can attract not only disillusioned PiS voters but also people with centrist and conservative views. This is the Third Way, or more precisely, the PSL and other circles oriented towards Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The obvious condition for this to happen is political will and a clear ideological differentiation from Civic Coalition and the Left, while maintaining the governing coalition, which has no alternative in the current Sejm.” https://www.rp.pl/publicystyka/art39648161-aleksander-hall-co-dalej-po-odsunieciu-pis-od-wladzy -- WILL WE GET TVPO INSTEAD OF TVPiS? - PIOTR WÓJCIK IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “There is no doubt that the new public media will be better than the PiS ones. On the liberal side, the scope of freedom and independence of journalists is significantly broader than on the PiS side. PiS creates purely party media, while liberals create only biased ones. But it wasn't probably just about the new TVP being less bad. The personnel who have appeared in the reclaimed TVP clearly indicate that TVPO may emerge in place of TVPiS.” -- THE WITHDRAWAL OF MATERIALS FROM THE VOD SERVICE IS COMPLETELY SCANDALOUS. FOR INSTANCE, THE CONVERSATIONS CYWILIZACJA PLUS AND THE CONTROVERSIAL SERIES RESET HAVE DISAPPEARED. THE LATTER WAS UNDOUBTEDLY BIASED, BUT NO MORE SO THAN MANY ENGAGED POLITICAL DOCUMENTS FROM OTHER STATIONS - WÓJCIK CONTINUES IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “In terms of personnel, we have a restoration of public media from 2015. True, they were better than the PiS ones, but they were certainly not good. And the personnel are not the most controversial aspect here. The withdrawal of materials from the VOD service is completely scandalous. For instance, the conversations Cywilizacja plus and the controversial series Reset have disappeared. The latter was undoubtedly biased, but no more so than many engaged political documents from other stations. Incidentally, it showed the undoubted naivety of politics towards Russia during the PO-PSL governments. Only its discussion on TVP Info – debates where Karnowski and Sakiewicz 'clashed', or the constant rehashing of certain threads in the program Jedziemy – was radically unobjective. The new government arrived and immediately after the forceful takeover of public media, removed a material that was critical of it, which was financed with public funds. On what basis? If it is unreliable, then its theses should simply be debated. Currently, there is no such possibility. PiS will build its own legend on this, and PO has only seemingly gotten rid of problematic content.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/bardzo-drogie-alibi-czy-zamiast-tvpis-dostaniemy-tvpo/ -- I WOULD RATHER NOT PROSECUTE PIETRZAK LEGALLY FOR HIS WORDS. JUST AS IF JAN PIETRZAK MOMENTARILY LOST UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CONCENTRATION CAMPS WERE - JAROSŁAW KUISZ IN INTERIA: “I would rather not prosecute Pietrzak legally for his words. I consider them reprehensible. Against the backdrop of the tragic history that has unfolded on our lands, they should not have been uttered at all. Just as if Jan Pietrzak momentarily lost understanding of what concentration camps were and in what context they functioned. Let him therefore cool down from partisan zeal and return to reading the stories of Tadeusz Borowski. Perhaps a visit to one of the camps on Polish lands would cool his polemical passions. For now, it can be said that he uttered a foolishness more than regrettable, because a harmful foolishness – by relativizing human tragedies.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-zarty-jana-pietrzaka,nId,7244694 -- TODAY, THERE IS NO CLEAR HOPE VISIBLE ON THE HORIZON. BUT IT IS ALREADY CLEAR THAT THE NEW GOVERNMENT HAS MADE DECISIONS THAT WILL GREATLY ACCELERATE ITS WEAR AND TEAR PROCESS - JACEK KARNOWSKI ON WPOLITYCE.PL: “Laws do not matter, the current entry in the National Court Register does not count. This is an important dividing line in our history. In the systemic sense, this December 2023 has the weight of December 13, 1981, or May 1926. The constitution has been overthrown, and at its very foundations. The liquidation of the hierarchy of legal sources, and brutal actions based on resolutions contrary to clear laws, constitute an anti-constitutional coup. A coup that, unfortunately, was successful. Today, there is no clear hope visible on the horizon. But it is already clear that the new government has made decisions that will greatly accelerate its wear and tear process. It has sown poisoned seeds. To its own ruin. It will fall under the weight of what is already germinating.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/676630-nowa-wladza-rzucila-w-ziemie-zatrute-ziarno-na-wlasna-zgube -- BYZANTIUM IN THE INSTITUTE: 36 THOUSAND ZŁOTYS FOR A FOUR-PAGE DOCUMENT - JEDYNKA RZ: “36,000 PLN – this is how much the De Republica Institute, subordinate to former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, spent on preparing a four-page document of general content. This is just one of many irregularities at the institute, which lost its supervisory board on December 30. It was dismissed by the new Prime Minister Donald Tusk, along with the boards of other government institutes: Strategic Defence, Central Europe, Generation, and Western.” https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art39648581-bizancjum-w-instytucie-podleglym-morawieckiemu-36-tys-zl-za-dokument-liczacy-cztery-strony -- ALL OF THIS NEEDS TO BE VERIFIED TODAY. ASSESS ITS USEFULNESS. THE NEW GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONDUCT THIS PROCESS THOUGHTFULLY - TOMASZ KRZYŻAK IN RZ: “During their rule, PiS established several institutes. They were equipped with considerable funds and granted competences – often overlapping with the competences of ministries or other institutions operating in a given area. New, costly jobs were created. All of this needs to be verified today. Assess its usefulness. The new government should conduct this process thoughtfully. It is unacceptable to think that just because something was created by PiS, it is completely useless. That would be petty and irresponsible. The new government should not, after all, dismiss PiS appointees just because it needs space for its own people.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39648501-tomasz-krzyzak-stworzone-za-rzadow-pis-u-instytucje-musza-zostac-zweryfikowane -- JUDGMENTS ISSUED WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF DEPUTIES HAVE NO GENERALLY BINDING FORCE AND ARE NOT FINAL - RESULTING FROM A RULING OF AN ENLARGED PANEL OF THE CRIMINAL CHAMBER - ŁUKASZ WOŹNICKI IN GW: “The resolution was issued by a seven-judge panel of the Criminal Chamber, presided over by its former president Michał Laskowski and with Judge Tomasz Artymiuk as rapporteur. This occurred in a case initiated by the Ombudsman. Ombudsman Marcin Wiącek submitted a legal question to the Supreme Court regarding the effects of the Constitutional Tribunal's ruling from December 2022.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,30555311,sn-podwazyl-moc-wyrokow-trybunalu-przylebskiej-to-nie-tk.html -- Iwona Śledzińska-Katarasińska would have turned 83 today. -- BIRTHDAYS: Alicja Pacewicz, Arleta Zalewska (turning 40).