-- FRIGHTENED MARSHAL GUARD ALARMED HOŁOWNIA THAT BRAUN MIGHT BRING WEAPONS INTO THE SEJM - JACEK GĄDEK IN GAZETA.PL: “Our interlocutors among MPs, including within Konfederacja itself, note that Grzegorz Braun moves around the Sejm with a black briefcase. He never parts with it. This briefcase is almost legendary. Some of our interlocutors say Braun carries documents in it, while others suggest it might also contain weapons. Braun himself did not answer our questions on this matter.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,30575856,przerazona-straz-marszalkowska-zaalarmowala-holownie-ze-braun.html -- THE PRESIDENT WOULD LIKE TO RECONCILE TWO CONFLICTING ROLES – THE GUARDIAN OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE OPPOSITION LEADER WHO WILL FIGHT FOR JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI'S LEGACY. TO ACHIEVE THIS, HE MUST BECOME THE NEW ANDRZEJ DUDA - MAREK KĘSKRAWIEC AND PIOTR ŚMIŁOWICZ IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Duda might lose his current future, but it's in the fight for a different, higher stake – for a grand party. A former employee of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, now a PiS MP, admits that he is a politician with centrist views, and many younger activists of this formation would see him as a point of reference, considering that there is no one in the party today who clearly stands out as a possible successor to the chairman. The President stands slightly aside, he doesn't have to participate in the often embarrassing backstage machinations; instead, he can show his strength through specific decisions that affect the life of the state. And if he were to be a leader in the future, it would be one who doesn't impose his will, because according to our interlocutor, Duda is more a man of dialogue than domination. After the autocratic Kaczyński, this would be a breath of fresh air in the PiS environment, which could translate into its creativity, although it could also mean internal anarchy.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/czy-andrzej-duda-zostanie-liderem-polskiej-prawicy-185860 -- CZARZASTY ON WĄSIK AND KAMIŃSKI: I STAND FIRM FOR THE CONSISTENT APPLICATION OF THE LAW - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/01/10/ -- THIS IS PRIMARILY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A FINAL COURT RULING - FURTHER OSTENTATIOUS QUESTIONING OF IT BY THE FORMER HEADS OF CBA WOULD BE DEVASTATING - ARTUR BARTKIEWICZ IN RZ: “The arrest of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik by the police is primarily the implementation of a final court ruling – further ostentatious questioning of it by the former heads of the CBA would be devastating for the state.” -- THE GOVERNMENT HAS SHOWN THAT IT HAS POWER AND ALL THE TOOLS ASSOCIATED WITH IT NOT JUST ON PAPER - BARTKIEWICZ FURTHER IN RZ: “Politically, by enforcing the court's ruling, despite rather unusual circumstances and the necessity for the police to enter the Presidential Palace, the government and Donald Tusk undoubtedly gain. The government has shown that it has power and all the tools associated with it not just on paper.” -- IN THE FACE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S SURPRISING AND DECISIVE ACTION, MARSHAL SZYMON HOŁOWNIA FALLS SHORT - BARTKIEWICZ FURTHER IN RZ: “In the face of the government's surprising and decisive action, Marshal Szymon Hołownia falls short. He also possesses power, at least within the walls of the Sejm, but hesitated to reach for it decisively.” -- THE PRESIDENT'S SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL COST HAS TRULY BROUGHT NOTHING - CLAIMS BARTKIEWICZ IN RZ: “Thus, he has become involved not only verbally but also actively in questioning the final court ruling. And this significant political cost has truly brought nothing, because exactly what would have happened if, after the ceremony at the Presidential Palace at 11:00 AM, Kamiński and Wąsik had left through the main gate of the Palace, has indeed happened. The President's political opponents will thus find in these actions another proof that the President still primarily represents PiS. And supporters will find it hard not to notice that ultimately, the government triumphed in this game.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39675891-artur-bartkiewicz-zatrzymanie-macieja-wasika-i-mariusza-kaminskiego-kto-politycznie-zyskal-kto-stracil -- THE ARREST OF WĄSIK AND KAMIŃSKI IS THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF THE RULE OF LAW - ALEKSANDER KWAŚNIEWSKI IN CONVERSATION WITH PIOTR PACEWICZ IN OKO.PRESS: “Jarosław Kaczyński has mocked Civic Platform so many times for its inability to govern and claimed that only the 'good change' solved Poland's problems. Meanwhile, the October 15 Coalition has shown possibility tonight. The court's ruling has been executed, the law is working. The attempt by both gentlemen to hide under the president's wing has failed.” -- ONE COULD SAY THAT THE COURT'S DECISION WAS NOT THE MOST FORTUNATE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CURRENT POLITICS. BUT IF COURTS ARE INDEPENDENT, THEY MUST BE LISTENED TO - KWAŚNIEWSKI FURTHER IN OKO.PRESS: “But on the other hand, either we believe in the rule of law, or we don't. Of course, one can say that the court's decision was not the most fortunate from the perspective of current politics. But if courts are independent, they must be listened to, and rulings must be executed. Two concepts collide here. One says that the president pardons after a final verdict, as practice has defined it. There has been no case in Poland where someone was pardoned before a verdict, i.e., when the presumption of innocence is in effect, because that would make a pardon an obvious absurdity. And the second, in which the president and PiS stretch the institution of pardon due to political interest, in order to protect Kamiński and Wąsik.” -- IN MY OPINION, SUCH QUICK ELECTIONS WITH THE SLOGAN THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GOVERN BECAUSE PIS AND THE PRESIDENT ARE HINDERING IT, MAY BRING A MAJORITY THAT WILL PROVE CATASTROPHIC FOR THE PRESIDENT - KWAŚNIEWSKI FURTHER AT PACEWICZ: “And in my opinion, if cooperation and agreement with the president prove impossible, the parliamentary majority may propose shortening the term, requiring 307 votes, but PiS will certainly vote for it. In my opinion, such quick elections with the slogan that it is impossible to govern because PiS and the president are hindering it, may bring a majority that will prove catastrophic for the president. As I said immediately after October 15, we now have different voters. This is no longer purely a social voter, who can be bought with a 14th pension or other benefit; this is a conscious voter. Who reads, watches, writes on social media, reacts, and understands what they see. There is no doubt that from the perspective of the voters of the October 15 Coalition, decisions regarding public media, including TVP, were necessary. The occupation of the TVP building on Plac Powstańców is unacceptable to this electorate; the jailing of Wąsik and Kamiński is a court decision and should have happened. Their defense by the president is unjustified. Etc., etc.” -- WE NEED TO STOP BEING AFRAID OF IT. WE MUST NOT AGREE TO A SITUATION WHERE PIS WILL SCARE US WITH THE PRESIDENT, THE BUDGET, WĄSIK AND KAMIŃSKI, AND YET MORE VETOES, MAKING GOVERNING IMPOSSIBLE. THEN IT IS BETTER TO SHORTEN THE TERM ON OUR OWN INITIATIVE - KWAŚNIEWSKI FURTHER IN OKO.PRESS: “I think that repeated, accelerated elections will show even more how to win against populists and nationalists, even more clearly than we did on October 15. I am saying this not because it is an easy solution and because I would want it to happen. But I believe that we need to stop being afraid of it. We must not agree to a situation where PiS will scare us with the president, the budget, Wąsik and Kamiński, and yet more vetoes, making governing impossible. Then it is better to shorten the term on our own initiative; PiS will not vote against it. This is a better solution than getting bogged down in this crisis and feeding the president's political ambitions.” https://oko.press/kwasniewski-dla-oko-press-zatrzymanie-wasika-i-kaminskiego-to-posybilizm-panstwa-prawa -- AT WHOSE ORDER IS DONALD TUSK DRAGGING POLAND INTO THE HELL OF AN EVER-COOLING CIVIL WAR AGAIN? - MICHAŁ KARNOWSKI: “In the political dimension, the short-term plan seems obvious: to reduce the current opposition, the independence camp, so that they cannot watch the authorities too closely. It is also probably about provoking them into actions that would justify even greater repression and some sort of leapfrog liquidation. In the long term, it's about depriving Poland of its state elite, so that we can become a territory managed from the outside, weak, immersed in chaos and conflict, passively allowing ourselves to be disarmed, prepared for some truly dark, seventeenth-century scenarios. Much indicates that a truly difficult trial lies ahead of us.” -- FREE POLAND WILL RETURN SOONER THAN WE THINK. THIS IS HOW POLES WILL NOT BE RULED FOR LONG - KARNOWSKI FURTHER: “But free Poles will survive these repressions. Free Poland will stand with Kamiński and Wąsik during each day of their unlawful imprisonment, will take care of their families, will remain united and solidary. And it will return sooner than we think. This is how Poles will not be ruled for long. Although, unfortunately, I fear they will resort to even harsher methods along the way. They have already crossed the line beyond which power cannot be surrendered without fear of consequences.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/677713-na-czyj-rozkaz-tusk-znowu-pcha-polske-w-pieklo -- THE GOAL MAY ALSO BE TO INDUCE A SENSE OF CHAOS OR UNCERTAINTY AMONG LESS DECIDED VOTERS, WHICH WOULD IMPEDE THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S ELECTION MOBILIZATION IN THE FUTURE - TOMASZ SAWCZUK IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “By outlining a sharp division in the new situation, PiS aims to consolidate its own camp, which might otherwise face disorientation, weakening, or disintegration. Its goal may also be to induce a sense of chaos or uncertainty among less decided voters, which would impede the new government's election mobilization in the future.” -- IN PRACTICE, THIS IS QUITE A DEMANDING SLALOM, AS THE UNPRECEDENTED NATURE OF OUR INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS FAVORS CONTROVERSIES REGARDING THE CHOICE OF THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION - SAWCZUK FURTHER IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “In practice, this is quite a demanding slalom, as the intensity of the political conflict, the emotions associated with it, as well as the unprecedented nature of our institutional problems, favor controversies regarding the choice of the best course of action. They also favor substantively imprecise or linguistically blunt statements, which PiS can then use to its advantage.” -- THE RULING COALITION WOULD BENEFIT FROM BETTER COMMUNICATION ON LEGAL AND JUDICIAL MATTERS. WE HAVE SEEN RECENTLY THAT PIS SEIZES UPON EVERY CARELESS OR OUT-OF-CONTEXT SENTENCE - WRITES SAWCZUK IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “It therefore seems that the ruling coalition would benefit from better communication on legal and judicial matters. We have seen recently that PiS seizes upon every careless or out-of-context sentence, whereas sometimes there is a lack of a sufficiently clear, coherent, and well-thought-out position from the government side. PiS has zero credibility on the issue of the rule of law, and there is no point in defending oneself against accusations it makes, as they are made in bad faith. However, it cannot be ruled out that over time, various half-truths or myths will begin to circulate in public debate on their own. This can be avoided.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2024/01/09/pis-broni-ukladu-a-nie-konstytucji/ -- THE CURRENT PLOT TWIST IN THIS SOAP OPERA IS TO CONVINCE CITIZENS THAT THERE ARE TWO LEGAL ORDERS ON THE VISTULA - JAROSŁAW KUISZ IN INTERIA: “The current plot twist in this soap opera is to convince citizens that there are two legal orders on the Vistula. Thus, our polarization is to reach a premium level. Citizens will now have not just two political camps to choose from. Now they would additionally receive two legal orders.” -- A LEGAL BATTLEGROUND IS WHAT IT IS: A BATTLEGROUND AFTER MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW - KUISZ FURTHER IN INTERIA: “The fact that someone ran a red light does not create an alternative legal order. The violation of the law by politicians is an age-old phenomenon. The Augean stable is not order. A legal battleground is what it is: a battleground after multiple violations of the law.” -- IT IS FROM CONFUSION THAT SOME POLITICIANS WANT TO BENEFIT - WRITES KUISZ: “So many violations of the rule of law have been committed in recent years that the temptation to 'rubber stamp' them has emerged. Arguments? Because 'life goes on,' because 'it's unclear what's going on anymore,' because 'everyone is implicated.' It is precisely from this confusion that some politicians want to benefit. (...) All the more reason to remember that legal disorder is disorder. Legal order is order. It is worth understanding this. It is not worth tolerating.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-w-polsce-nie-ma-dwoch-porzadkow-prawnych,nId,7258528 -- WE ARE TO BE AFRAID. POLES ARE TO BE AFRAID. THEY ARE TO BOW THEIR HEADS. THEY ARE TO RETREAT INTO PRIVACY - JACEK KARNOWSKI: “They were arrested to intimidate the entire nation. We are to be afraid. Poles are to be afraid. They are to bow their heads. They are to retreat into privacy. And then the authorities will put more PiS politicians, social activists, and perhaps journalists in prison. They will stop at nothing. The Polish patriotic camp is to be destroyed; this is the goal of this government. So that it will never raise its head again. But this will not succeed. The authorities have sown poisonous seed into the ground. They have made a great mistake.” https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/677698-w-polsce-znow-sa-wiezniowie-polityczni-narodzil-sie-rezim -- HOWEVER, THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AND SERVICES MUST NOT BE USED TO ACHIEVE POLITICAL GOALS. BOTH ANDRZEJ DUDA AND PIS WITH JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI SHOULD FINALLY UNDERSTAND THIS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “In essence, they were convicted of breaking the law and exceeding their authority during preparations for a provocation aimed at a then-coalition partner. And this is the core of the entire dispute. And this is what connects it to the Gowin case, who – another similarity – was also a Deputy Prime Minister in a coalition government with PiS. The prosecutor's office and special services were established to prosecute crimes, not to conduct operational activities aimed at forcing a politician to change their mind about the legality of elections. And it's not that the state should not fight corruption. The state should eradicate it. However, the prosecutor's office and services must not be used to achieve political goals. Both Andrzej Duda and PiS with Jarosław Kaczyński should finally understand this.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39673511-michal-szuldrzynski-co-laczy-zeznania-jaroslawa-gowina-z-wyrokiem-mariusza-kaminskiego-i-macieja-wasika -- LET US NOT ALLOW THE CREATION OF AN ANTI-PHILOSOPHY OF LAW, CREATING ANTI-LAW, WHICH IS A TOOL FOR PARALYZING THE RULE OF LAW THROUGH DEFORMED LEGAL ARGUMENTATION - MAREK SAFJAN IN GW: “Constantly referring to the existence of a group of lawyers who think differently, and therefore a matter cannot be considered settled, even though a certain claim has prevailed in court and has been confirmed by a final judgment, is a manifestation of such an attitude. Another example is the dispute surrounding the pardon of former ministers by the president, which was deemed legally ineffective by a final ruling of the Supreme Court. Of course, there will remain lawyers who disagree with this, but in a state of law, the resolution lies with the courts, not with even the wisest lawyers. Let us not allow the creation of an anti-philosophy of law, creating anti-law, which is a tool for paralyzing the rule of law through deformed legal argumentation. Let us not open a field of conflict where there is none.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,30578208,nie-ma-alternatywnej-rzeczywistosci-prawnej-sytuacja-kaminskiego.html -- BIRTHDAYS: Janina Kraus, Jan Polkowski, Grzegorz Wysocki, Jan Zaborowski, Jan Ordyński, Jarosław Pucek, Michał Owczarczak.