-- HEAD OF THE CBA CONFIRMED BREJZA'S SURVEILLANCE - PIOTR ŻYTNICKI IN GW: “In 2022, the Brejza case was assigned to Agnieszka Kwiatkowska-Gurdak, a former police officer. It was she who ultimately questioned the credibility of the accusations by a former PiS activist. She also discovered damage to the most crucial piece of evidence in the case – a DVD with data stolen from Krzysztof Brejza's phone. When the democratic opposition won the elections and took power, Kwiatkowska-Gurdak became the head of the CBA. On Thursday, January 26th, she confirmed Krzysztof Brejza's surveillance with her testimony.” https://poznan.wyborcza.pl/poznan/7,36001,30636842,przelomowe-zeznanie-nowej-szefowej-cba-w-sprawie-szpiegowskiego.html -- AS A POLITICAL GROUP, PIS ACHIEVED A VERY GOOD ELECTION RESULT, OVER 35 PERCENT OF THE VOTE, DESPITE WHAT THEY DID, THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE EVEN ONE-FIFTH OF THOSE VOTES - ADAM MICHNIK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH IRENA GRUDZIŃSKA-GROSS IN GW: “It is very difficult to admit defeat when you are convinced that you will rule until the end of time. Now their arrogance, megalomania, and lack of imagination are coming out again. As a political group, PiS achieved a very good election result, over 35 percent of the vote, although given what they did, they should not have even one-fifth of those votes.” -- EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH THIS GOVERNMENT CAN CHANGE POLAND AND CONVINCE A PORTION OF THE PIS ELECTORATE. IN THIS SENSE, WE CAN SAY THAT THE WORST IS BEHIND US, AND THE MOST DIFFICULT IS AHEAD OF US - MICHNIK CONTINUES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH IRENA GRUDZIŃSKA-GROSS IN GW: “But the result of these elections is clear – they were shown a red card. But this is just the beginning of the ride, as they will try to rock the boat to overthrow the new government. Everything depends on how much this government can change Poland and convince a portion of the PiS electorate. In this sense, we can say that the worst is behind us, and the most difficult is ahead of us.” -- THE PARADOX IS THAT THE MORE STABLE THE SUPPORT FOR PIS, THE GREATER THE INTERNAL STABILITY OF THE GOVERNING COALITION WILL BE - MICHNIK TELLS GRUDZIŃSKA-GROSS IN GW: “There is no simple answer to the question of stability. The paradox is that the more stable the support for PiS, the greater the internal stability of the governing coalition will be. For now, the coalition is not making significant mistakes; they have understood that they are stuck with each other, that if one wants to trip the other, they will trip themselves.” -- THE POPULIST TENDENCY HAS BEEN STOPPED, BUT NOT REVERSED. THIS IS ALSO THE MOST DIFFICULT THING AHEAD OF US - MICHNIK CONTINUES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH IRENA GRUDZIŃSKA-GROSS IN GW: “Poland is divided. A new generation has arrived, the issue of women's rights has been raised sharply, which is why the turnout was so incredibly high, 13 percent higher than in previous elections. No one expected this, including PiS; they were counting on a lower turnout that would give them victory. And we must add the election result of Trzecia Droga (Third Way), a member of the ruling coalition today. I was afraid they wouldn't reach the 8 percent threshold. Then they wouldn't enter parliament, and PiS would govern. Instead, they got over 14 percent. The populist tendency has been stopped, but not reversed. This is also the most difficult thing ahead of us.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30633149,adam-michnik-duda-nie-pozwoli-mianowac-nowego-ambasadora-w.html -- POLITICIANS FROM THE RULING CAMP CONFIRM THAT TUSK HAS GIGANTIC DETERMINATION TO DE-PIS-IFY POLAND, WHICH WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY SENDING PIS SUPPORTERS TO JAIL - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN ONE: “Politicians from the ruling camp confirm that Tusk has a gigantic determination to de-PIS-ify Poland, which will be accompanied by sending PiS supporters to jail. He is pushing the Platform ministers towards harsh actions, but also tying the hands of wavering coalition partners. The hard line of settlements – the raid on TVP, the invalidation of the mandates of Kamiński and Wąsik, the investigation of irregularities in the Smoleńsk subcommittee – has cost Hołownia and Kosiniak-Kamysz the chance to flirt with the PiS electorate. Tusk further puts them in a difficult situation by announcing the liberalization of abortion law and introducing the 'morning-after' pill without a prescription, even for 15-year-olds. Today, Trzecia Droga is condemned to a coalition with the Platform more than after the elections.” -- TUSK'S POLICY HAS ONE FUNDAMENTAL, LONG-TERM ASSUMPTION: KACZYŃSKI MUST NEVER RETURN TO POWER - STANKIEWICZ CONTINUES IN ONE: “Tusk's policy has one fundamental, long-term assumption: Kaczyński must never return to power. Because if he ever did, the scale of his revenge would exceed the limits of imagination – he would surely send Tusk to prison and outlaw the Platform. Therefore, Tusk will do everything to ensure that Kaczyński never returns to power. And everything he is doing today is the implementation of a meticulously planned farewell to the party leader.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/newsweek/nowa-wladza-chce-zemsty-na-pis-by-jej-dokonac-potrzebuje-dwoch-zmian/xltrt8d,452ad802 -- ONE IS PRESIDENT NOT FOR A SELECTED TARGET. IN THIS ROLE, ONE GOES DOWN WELL IN HISTORY BY SERVING THE ENTIRE NATION. ONLY THEN. ONE CANNOT BE REMEMBERED AFFECTIONATELY SOLELY FOR RURAL WOMEN'S CLUBS - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA IN RZ: “One is president not for a selected target. In this role, one goes down well in history by serving the entire nation. Only then. One cannot – like Andrzej Duda – be remembered affectionately solely for rural women's clubs. It would be good for the presidency to be highly rated by colleagues from university, voters of all affiliations, the public, and abroad as well. Andrzej Duda does not understand this. And he cannot figure it out. Therefore, he will be remembered with his artificial grimaces and theatrical pomposity. This is where the graduate of the law faculty of the oldest Polish university stands today. Elected as president.” -- PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE THAT ANDRZEJ DUDA HAS NO PLAN. AT THE SAME TIME, HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT AFTER HIS TERM ENDS, ONLY POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TAILS WILL AWAIT HIM - CHRABOTA CONTINUES IN RZ: “So, what is the president hoping for? What is his plan? It may surprise you, but personally, I believe that Andrzej Duda has no plan. At the same time, he does not understand that after his term ends, only political and social tails will await him. He is a pariah at his alma mater. He has no chance in the wider world. On the right, he can only find himself on the fringes. He is probably only now beginning to slowly grasp this. And he is reacting with uncontrolled panic. He is trying to compensate for his lack of charisma with an inflation of menacing expressions and gestures. He theatricalizes his behavior because he is trying to play someone else than who he really is. In the process, he is strikingly lacking in self-criticism, because – as in the fairy tale about the emperor's new clothes – everyone sees the exaggeration and caricature, except for Andrzej Duda himself.” https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39744091-boguslaw-chrabota-co-kreci-andrzejem-duda -- IT IS AMAZING HOW PIS MANAGED TO CONVINCE SOCIETY OF THE MAIN LINES OF ITS POLICY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ALIENATING THEM - MAREK JUREK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH ELIZA OLCZYK IN RZ: “By the way, it is amazing how PiS managed to convince society of the main lines of its policy while simultaneously alienating them. The future of the right wing largely depends on how much PiS reflects on this history.” -- IT TURNED OUT THAT OVER A MILLION MORE VOTERS THAN PIS, KONFEDERACJA, AND THE POLSKA JEST JEDNA GROUP SUPPORTED THE MAIN LINES OF POLICY INDICATED BY THE POWER-RELINQUISHING PIS - JUREK CONTINUES IN AN INTERVIEW WITH OLCZYK IN RZ: “During the last elections, a referendum took place, the results of which we discuss too little. It turned out that over a million more voters supported the main lines of policy indicated by the power-relinquishing PiS than supported PiS, Konfederacja, and the Polska Jest Jedna group. Almost a million and a half voters of the opposition said that they want both border protection and Poland's protection from the European Union's immigrationist pressure, that they do not want to give up their pension rights, that they want the Polish state to retain control over strategic enterprises, such as Orlen. In short, that they do not want a return to all the mistakes of liberal policy.” https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39744221-marek-jurek-w-obecnej-sytuacji-panstwo-jest-rzeczapospolita-tylko-z-nazwy -- PIS CANNOT MOBILIZE THE STREETS LIKE PO DID, BECAUSE ITS ELECTORATE IS TOO OLD, DISPERSED, AND POOR TO COME TO THE CAPITAL EVERY FEW MONTHS. AND THE PRESIDENT IS WEAKER TODAY THAN EVER BEFORE - KLAUS BACHMANN IN GW: “During the premierships of Szydło and Morawiecki, the opposition quite effectively mobilized the streets and international circles – although this did not stop the construction of a police state, it delayed it. PiS cannot even do that: its electorate is too old, dispersed, and poor to come every few months and paralyze the capital with million-strong marches. To put it slightly exaggeratedly: the last eight years can be described as the reign of 30% of Poland's GDP over 70%. This was made possible by the drainage of the state budget and state-owned companies. However, Telewizja Republika is now experiencing firsthand what life is like without such drainage: you can have many viewers, but if they don't have sufficiently thick wallets, advertisers will still go elsewhere.” -- THEY HAD ALL THE TOOLS TO WIN, BUT THEY LOST ANYWAY - BACHMANN CONTINUES IN GW: “This is a rather grim prospect for Kaczyński and his circle. They brought about a situation where they had to win the elections to avoid going to prison. They had all the tools to win, but they lost anyway. Now they face a confrontation with the police state that they themselves built over eight years.” -- SOMEONE WILL SAY THIS IS ROUGH, THAT IT'S AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION. YES, IT'S DEFINITELY ROUGH. BUT IT IS EFFECTIVE AND COMPLETELY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE STATE THAT PIS ITSELF CREATED - BACHMANN CONTINUES IN GW: “Someone will say this is rough, that it's against the constitution. Yes, it's definitely rough. But it is effective and completely in accordance with the principles of the state that PiS itself created. Because in this state, it doesn't matter who is right and whose side the law is on, but only who has power, who controls the budget, the police, the prosecution, the administration, and whose orders civil servants follow. And since the pandemic, the crisis on the Belarusian border, and the Women's Strike, we know: police officers and civil servants follow any order, regardless of whether it is legal or not. They follow the orders of those who pay them and who can dismiss and punish them.” https://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/7,124059,30617050,tusk-nie-musi-sie-obawiac-ze-prezydent-przesle-budzet-do-trybunalu.html -- KACZYŃSKI IS COUNTING ON THE COALITION BEING SO FOCUSED ON "UNBLOCKING THE STATE" FROM PIS PEOPLE AND ICONOGRAPHICALLY CRUSHING THE EIGHT-YEAR RULE THAT IT WON'T HAVE THE ENERGY FOR REAL, DAILY GOVERNANCE - CEZARY MICHALSKI IN INTERIA: “You walk slower through a minefield. Kaczyński is counting on the coalition being so focused on "unblocking the state" from PiS people and iconographically crushing the eight-year rule of the United Right that it won't have the energy and attention for real, daily governance. Meanwhile, from the perspective of success, or even survival, of the coalition government, the priority is not the issue of Wąsik and Kamiński, but salary increases for teachers, the ability to present them, to dispel (only iconographic, or perhaps factual?) doubts about their size. From the perspective of centrist voters, the priority is how the government will deal with energy prices, with farmers' protests, and whether it will "deliver" the promised increase in the tax-free allowance by Tusk during the campaign.” -- IF THE GOVERNMENT AND COALITION BREAK THROUGH THE BLOCKADE AND CHAOS, DONALD TUSK WILL WIN - CEZARY MICHALSKI CONTINUES: "If the government and coalition break through the blockade and chaos, Donald Tusk will win. Andrzej Duda will lose every time and will pay dearly for the defeat. In the first case, he will be at the mercy of Kaczyński, who knows perfectly well who wanted to "send him into retirement" at the moment of trial. In the second case, he will become public enemy number one for the entire government and the entire coalition (including Hołownia and Kosiniak-Kamysz, whose strategy Kaczyński is bringing closer to Tusk more effectively than any agreement), as well as for the entire triumphant anti-PiS part of public opinion.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-dryf-prezydentury,nId,7293310 -- TUSK IS CREATING MORE LEGAL AND POLITICAL CONFRONTATIONS PRECISELY IN THE HOPE OF REDUCING THE OPPOSITION TO THE ROLE OF CLUMSY, STRUGGLING PROVOCATEURS - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN INTERIA: “Although, upon reflection, I must admit that there are reasons here too why the opposition should fear its own excessive vehemence of reaction. Donald Tusk is creating more legal and political confrontations precisely in the hope of reducing the opposition to the role of clumsy, struggling dissidents, revealing their powerlessness. It is possible that this would be the realization of this scenario, which bodes ill for the upcoming double elections in a few months.” -- THE SPECIAL SERVICES CHOSE, IN MY OPINION, THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE, BUT I EXPECT HARD EVIDENCE FROM THE CURRENT COALITION - ZAREMBA CONTINUES IN INTERIA: “Of course, Kamiński and Wąsik will return – if only as witnesses in investigative committees and perhaps targets of further prosecutorial investigations. Will they manage to defend the legality of their subsequent decisions, even in the context of surveilling the opposition? I don't know, the special services chose, in my opinion, the path of least resistance, but I expect hard evidence from the current coalition.” -- BODNAR DEFENDED AN OBVIOUS MURDERER BECAUSE THE POLICE DRAGGED HIM OUT OF HIS APARTMENT IN HIS UNDERWEAR, WHICH WAS MEANT TO STRIP HIM OF HIS DIGNITY. TODAY HE PATRONIZES THE STRIPPING OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS OF THEIR DIGNITY - ZAREMBA WRITES FURTHER IN INTERIA: “A few years ago, Adam Bodnar defended an obvious murderer because the police dragged him out of his apartment in his underwear, which was meant to strip him of his dignity. Today, he patronizes the stripping of political opponents of their dignity. This evokes no reflection. One would have to de-mystify the very concept of "criminal," but it cannot be done. No one will read the files of their trial. Marshal Hołownia accused them of "creating an affair" that never happened. Meanwhile, the so-called police provocation is inscribed in Polish criminal procedures, and some of the heroes of the "land affair" were later convicted of real crimes. The subject of two subsequent convictions for Kamiński and Wąsik were alleged official shortcomings, for example, the fact that documents were falsified (which is used in police provocations) without proper ministerial authorization. These same people sit down to watch crime dramas and recoil at subsequent images of police hands being tied by procedural loopholes. But when they encounter such a story, they cry out loudly: "Convict!" Because it concerns political opponents.” -- ALL LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL CORRECTNESS LOSES ALL SIGNIFICANCE IN THIS COUNTRY. JAN ROKITA WRITES ABOUT A "LIMITED STATE OF EMERGENCY." IT IS HARD NOT TO AGREE WITH HIM... - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION IN INTERIA: “Finally, a riddle. Even from the statements of the Marshal of the Sejm, it was evident that the Chamber of Labour and Social Insurance of the Supreme Court, due to a procedural entanglement, recognized the expiry of Kamiński's mandate, but not Wąsik's. So why are both treated the same? Because all legal and procedural correctness is losing all significance in this country. Jan Rokita writes about a "limited state of emergency." It is hard not to agree with him…” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-sprawa-kaminskiego-i-wasika-mamy-ograniczony-stan-wyjatkowy,nId,7293507 -- THIS IS A DIRECTION UNFAVORABLE TO EQUALITY, AS IT GIVES GREATER CHANCES TO CHILDREN OF WEALTHIER PEOPLE WITH GREATER CULTURAL CAPITAL - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN RZ: “The ban on homework, the reduction of school programs by one-fifth, the abolition of curatoria are a chaotic idea for education dictated by populist coquetting. It is harder to notice that this is a direction unfavorable to equality, as it gives greater chances to children of wealthier people with greater cultural capital.” https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art39744031-uczniowie-gorszego-sortu -- WE CAN THEREFORE ASSUME THAT AT LEAST 229 MPS WILL VOTE AGAINST THE LIBERALIZATION OF ABORTION UP TO THE 12TH WEEK - JULIA THEUS IN OKO.PRESS: “Szymon Hołownia himself is certainly against, who has softened somewhat, but probably not enough to support abortion up to the 12th week. These will also include Paweł Zalewski (always declares himself an opponent of abortion), Norbert Pietrykowski (supports the abortion compromise), Agnieszka Buczyńska (“I would be against the liberalization of abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy”). There are also MPs from Trzecia Droga, but from other parties: Radosław Lubczyk from Centrum dla Polski (it is almost certain they will vote against). “I will not support the legalization of abortion up to the 12th week,” Ireneusz Raś tells OKO.press. This means that 17 MPs from Trzecia Droga are decidedly “against.” They are thus joining the 212 mandates held jointly by PiS and Konfederacja. We can therefore assume that at least 229 MPs (assuming all are present in the Sejm) will vote against. Meanwhile, 205 people declare themselves “for.” If the remaining 25 MPs from Trzecia Droga were to support the legalization of abortion, it would have a chance to gain a majority in the Sejm.” https://oko.press/trzecia-droga-to-klucz-do-legalnej-aborcji-w-sejmie-kto-ja-poprze-na-szali-jest-glos-mlodych-polek -- DO YOU WANT TO DEFEAT PIS? START FIGHTING POVERTY - PIOTR IKONOWICZ IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “There is a lot of talk now about finishing off PiS. Investigative committees, actions by the Minister of Justice, and many other initiatives reported by journalists eager to participate in this hunt serve this purpose. It even gives the impression that the elimination of Kaczyński's party from public life has become the main goal of the new government. While it is true that PiS politicians broke the law and abused power, concentrating efforts on settling accounts with the previous administration will not yield the expected results. PiS cannot be "finished off." As long as the "poor province" exists, poverty and the narrow horizons associated with it, PiS or something like PiS will persist. The fact that 38% of respondents believe in the Smoleńsk "attack" is not only a result of television propaganda but also of the low cultural capital of "free Poles.” -- THE NEW GOVERNMENT NEEDS A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS. THIS COULD BE OVERCOMING THE HOUSING CRISIS, WHICH PARTICULARLY AFFECTS THE YOUNG GENERATION - IKONOWICZ CONTINUES IN KRYTYKA: “The new government needs a spectacular success. This could be overcoming the housing crisis, which particularly affects the young generation. However, this would require opposing not only the exceptionally strong lobby of developers and banks in our country, but also all those who bought apartments as investments and do not want cheap rental apartments to appear on the market en masse, as this would reduce the value of their investments.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/walczac-z-bieda-pokonasz-pis-ikonowicz/ -- 14TH ANNIVERSARY OF TUSK'S WORDS ABOUT THE CHANDELIER: Tusk announced that he would not run in the 2010 presidential elections. “Tusk made a mistake, because the presidency is not just a chandelier,” Tadeusz Mazowiecki said then on Radio ZET. -- BIRTHDAYS: Urszula Pasławska, Magdalena Kochan.