-- POLITICAL PLAN FOR FRIDAY: TUSK AT A WEIMAR TRIANGLE MEETING IN BERLIN, KACZYŃSKI BEFORE THE PEGASUS INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE, TD LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONVENTION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/03/15/ -- DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES INDICATE THAT DURING THE WEIMAR TRIANGLE SUMMIT IN BERLIN, POLAND IS TO PLAY THE ROLE OF MEDIATOR BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY - BARTOSZ T. WIELIŃSKI IN GW: “– The Weimar Triangle is now the EU in a nutshell. It combines different stances towards Russian aggression in Ukraine. If we manage to reach a consensus, it will be for the entire European Union – says our source.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,30795727,niespodziewany-szczyt-trojkata-weimarskiego-wiemy-dlaczego.html -- IT SEEMS THAT AFTER THE DISPLAY OF UNITY IN WASHINGTON, TUSK'S GOVERNMENT NEEDS A CONFLICT WITH THE PRESIDENT TO PREVENT THE NEW MAJORITY COALITION'S VOTERS FROM BEING LULLED BY IMAGES FROM THE WHITE HOUSE - ARTUR BARTKIEWICZ IN RZ: “The ink has not yet dried on the commentaries praising Donald Tusk and Andrzej Duda for speaking with one voice on security and foreign policy matters, and the guns have thundered again on the Polish-Polish war front. The sudden eruption of a dispute over ambassadors shows that the government needs a conflict with the president. (...) It seems that after the display of unity in Washington, Tusk's government needs a conflict with the president for domestic political purposes. The aim is to prevent the voters of the new ruling coalition majority from being lulled by images from the White House suggesting that perhaps Andrzej Duda (one of the faces of PiS, after all) is not so terrible. And perhaps there is no longer a need to mobilize as much as on October 15th.” -- THE PARADOX OF THIS SITUATION IS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS THE ONE INCITING THE CONFLICT, YET PIŚ GIVES THE IMPRESSION OF BEING THE AGGRESSOR BECAUSE IT REACTS AS IT ACCUSTOMED US TO OVER EIGHT YEARS - BARTKIEWICZ FURTHER: “The paradox of this situation is that the government is the one inciting the conflict, but it does so with a velvet glove, invoking procedures. And yet, PiS gives the impression of being the aggressive party because it reacts as it accustomed us to during its eight years in power, eagerly engaging in confrontations with sharp words and gestures.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39993191-artur-bartkiewicz-klotnia-o-ambasadorow-dlaczego-rzad-tuska-potrzebuje-konfliktu-z-prezydentem -- THE FUTURE OF PIS DEPENDS ON JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI'S SPEECH. THE PARTY IS AFRAID FOR ITS LEADER - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “PiS is aware of the leader's weakness and fears that the leader will falter. It doesn't take much for Kaczyński to lose his temper and for the anger to surface, which would show him as someone out of control, unpredictable, and perhaps even dangerous.” -- I WOULDN'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH REGARDING THE COMMISSION. THEY WILL FACE THE TOUGHEST OF THE TOUGH OPPONENTS - NIZINKIEWICZ FURTHER IN RZ: “In a situation where a "gang" attacks one person, that one person might gain public sympathy. I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch regarding the commission. They will face the toughest of the tough opponents. And it's not a given that he will back down.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art39994311-jacek-nizinkiewicz-od-tego-wystapienia-jaroslawa-kaczynskiego-zalezy-przyszlosc-pis-partia-boi-sie-o-prezesa -- DEPUTIES STILL DO NOT FEEL SUBSTANTIALLY WELL-PREPARED FOR THE HEARINGS, AS THEY HAVE RECEIVED FEW DOCUMENTS FROM THE SERVICES SO FAR - INTERLOCUTOR OF GRZEGORZ RZECZKOWSKI ON THE NEWSWEEKS PORTAL: “Our interlocutor admits that he has many questions written down on over 20 pages, but has little hope of receiving answers. Especially since the deputies still do not feel substantially well-prepared for the hearings, as they have received few documents from the services so far. – This, unfortunately, gives an advantage to Kaczyński and other PiS politicians whom we will be questioning. They know what is in those papers – we hear.” https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/polityka/poslowie-nie-czuja-sie-merytorycznie-przygotowani-to-daje-przewage-kaczynskiemu/jdrj813 -- TUSK CLEARLY WANTS TO POSITION THE PLATFORM AND MOBILIZE HIS OWN VOTERS - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “However, by writing on X to voters not to vote for Trzecia Droga, Tusk clearly wants to position Platforma and mobilize his own voters. Politically, this is understandable and may prove effective. Especially as the 100-day mark of the new government approaches, and some voters will start asking about the fulfillment of promises.” -- THE BETTER THE RESULT OF TRZECIA DROGA IN THE REGIONAL ELECTIONS, THE WORSE THE RATINGS OF KOALICJA OBYWATELSKA WILL BE - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI FURTHER: “However, the challenge facing PO is also the result of individual parties forming the coalition. To put it plainly: the better the result of Trzecia Droga in the regional elections, the worse the ratings of Koalicja Obywatelska will be. There are unlikely to be transfers between PiS and the October 15th coalition (although some moderately conservative voters might vote for Trzecia Droga candidates in the local elections). Therefore, if Donald Tusk wants to win the regional elections, he must mobilize his voters and demobilize Szymon Hołownia's sympathizers.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art39994531-michal-szuldrzynski-tusk-i-biedron-uderzaja-w-partie-holowni-kto-wiecej-zyska-na-tej-przepychance -- EVEN IF PIS CHANGES ITS LANGUAGE TO ONE THAT ALLOWS THE PARTY TO EVEN CONSIDER TALKING TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN ITS SHRINKING HARDCORE ELECTORATE, KACZYŃSKI AT THE HELM WILL UNDERCUT THE CREDIBILITY OF THAT CHANGE - JAKUB MAJMUREK IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA. -- PIS WOULD NOT HAVE MADE KEY MISTAKES COSTING THEM POWER IF THEY HAD CARRIED OUT A SUCCESSION EARLIER - MAJMUREK FURTHER IN KRYTYKA: “PiS would not have made key mistakes costing them power if they had carried out a succession earlier, or if Kaczyński's leadership style within the party had not been so absolute, if party politics had not been shaped by the leader's personal obsessions and eccentricities.” -- HAS THE PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL LUCK RUN OUT AROUND THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS? - MAJMUREK'S CONCLUSION: “President Kaczyński built PiS from scratch, created one of the most effective parties of the last quarter-century, gave it eight years of sole power unprecedented in the history of the Third Polish Republic, but at the same time led to a situation where the grouping can no longer effectively fight for power under his leadership, and at the same time can afford even less to change leaders. The situation seems dire, but it must be remembered that the end of PiS has been announced many times, and Kaczyński has repeatedly proven to be a king of political comebacks. The only question is whether the president's limit of political luck has not been exhausted around the 2020 presidential elections.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/pis-pyta-socjologow-o-przyczyny-swojej-porazki-co-przeoczyli/ -- DANIEL OBAJTEK HAD A LISTENING DEVICE INSTALLED IN HIS OFFICE SHORTLY AFTER BECOMING HEAD OF ORLEN IN FEBRUARY 2018. ONET SOURCES CLAIM THE BUG WAS PART OF AN INFORMAL CBA OPERATION - JACEK HARŁUKOWICZ IN ONE T: “Daniel Obajtek had a listening device installed in his office shortly after becoming head of Orlen in February 2018. Onet sources claim the bug was part of an informal CBA operation aimed at gathering intelligence on Obajtek. Among those recorded in his office was right-wing journalist Piotr Nisztor. He asked Obajtek for a job for his wife and father, and also revealed that he had information damaging to PiS about the GetBack scandal. Onet has recordings of their conversation, fragments of which are included below in the article.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/szokujace-nagrania-u-daniela-obajtka-gwiazdor-prawicowych-mediow-zalatwial-prace-dla/ch7lnpx,79cfc278 -- WE DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE WHEN POLITICS REFORMATTED ITSELF FROM BEING BORING AND FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC MATTERS TO ONE SHAPED BY THE FUNDAMENTAL EXISTENCE OF THE SYSTEM AND SECURITY - KATARZYNA SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “A characteristic of the 'pre-war era' which coexists with the era of returning to democracy is that information on this topic is highlighted as the most important news of the day, alongside reports from America, where the prime minister and president visited, and those from investigative committees, where the highly emotional issue of Pegasus, and thus the violation of civil rights, is being addressed. This indicates that media creators have recognized its importance, and also that they expect significant audience interest. We didn't even notice when politics reformatted itself from being boring and focused on economic matters to one shaped by the fundamental existence of the system and security. An example of this is the draft amendment to the building law, which allows for the construction of private shelters without a permit.” https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2024/03/14/skrzydlowska-kalukin-epoka-wojny-i-przywracania-demokracji-jednoczesnie/ -- TWO YEARS AGO, MORAWIECKI, KACZYŃSKI, FIALA, AND JANSA TRAVELED BY TRAIN TO WARTIME KYIV. -- BIRTHDAYS: Katarzyna Hall, Janusz Piechociński, Joanna Tomaszewska, Aleksandra Jakubowska, Jerzy Wilk.