-- WE ARE LIVING IN A PRE-WAR ERA - DONALD TUSK IN AN INTERVIEW WITH GW AND OTHER EUROPEAN NEWSPAPERS (Bartosz T. Wieliński, Gloria Rodriguez-Pina, Dominik Kalus, Tonia Mastrobuoni, Patrice Senecal): “What is most worrying right now is that literally any scenario is possible. We haven't had a situation like this since 1945. I remember a photo from my childhood hanging in my family home. It showed a beach in Sopot full of laughing people. It was taken on August 31, 1939. A little over a dozen hours later, five kilometers away, World War II began. I know this will sound devastating, especially for the younger generation, but we must mentally come to terms with the advent of a new era. A pre-war era. I am not exaggerating. It is becoming more and more apparent with each passing day”. -- IT DEPENDS ON US WHETHER UKRAINE MANAGES TO AVOID PESSIMISTIC SCENARIOS - TUSK CONTINUES: “It depends on us whether Ukraine manages to avoid pessimistic scenarios. Today, its situation is much more difficult than a year ago, but also much better than at the beginning of the war, when Putin's soldiers were on the outskirts of Kyiv”. -- I AM PROBABLY THE MOST PRO-UKRAINIAN POLITICIAN IN EUROPE, BUT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY CITIZENS - SAYS TUSK: “The saddest moments of my political career are the times when I have to be tough and blunt with our Ukrainian friends. I am probably the most pro-Ukrainian politician in Europe, but I am responsible for my citizens. As the Polish Prime Minister, I have to protect Poland's fundamental interests. In this case, it's not about a narrow social group, but about half a million farmers and their families”. -- EVEN IF TRUMP WON, EUROPE WOULD STILL HAVE TO BE MORE ACTIVE IN CARING FOR TRANSATLANTIC TIES - TUSK CONTINUES: “Even if Trump won, Europe would still have to be more active in caring for transatlantic ties, because they are the only responsible way to defend against Russia and other autocracies”. -- OUR TASK IS TO NURTURE TRANSATLANTIC TIES REGARDLESS OF WHO THE US PRESIDENT IS - TUSK FURTHER STATES: “Another example of flawed thinking suggests that due to Trump's policies or anti-American sentiments in some European countries, we should loosen or even break our military alliance with the US. In my opinion, we need a strong alliance with America, and at the same time, we must be independent and self-sufficient in defense. Our task is to nurture transatlantic ties regardless of who the US president is”. -- I WILL NOT JUSTIFY SOME METHODS USED BY THE POLISH BORDER GUARD, BUT WE CANNOT BE HELPLESS AGAINST PUTIN AND LUKASHENKO - TUSK CONTINUES: “I will not justify some methods used by the Polish Border Guard, but we cannot be helpless against Putin and Lukashenko: they are not only organizing this, but also using it as a tool of pressure”. -- MOST IMPORTANTLY: DO NOT FALL INTO SYMMETRY. VERY CLEAR COMMUNICATION WITH VOTERS IS NECESSARY. IF SOMEONE IS A THIEF, YOU HAVE TO SAY THEY ARE A THIEF - CLAIMS TUSK: “Most importantly: do not fall into symmetry. Very clear communication with voters is necessary. If someone is a thief, you have to say they are a thief, and if we are dealing with corruption or violence, talk about corruption and violence. Moreover, to win against authoritarianism and populists, sometimes you have to be able to use their own arguments. It happens that Kaczyński or Orban are partially right in their diagnoses, but the remedies they propose are poisonous and bad. In response, one cannot deny people's fears and the threats they see with their own eyes, but one must find and propose a solution that is not anti-democratic and inhuman”. https://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,30839996,donald-tusk-wojna-nie-jest-juz-pojeciem-z-przeszlosci-kazdy.html -- THE CIVIC COALITION IS TEMPTING THE PEASANTS. A SURPRISING OFFER - JAKUB SZCZEPAŃSKI AND KAMILA BARANOWSKA IN INTERIA: “Civic Coalition politicians are urging the Peasants to run on a joint committee in the European elections, which would reflect the shape of the parliamentary faction in the European Parliament – Interia has learned. The Peasants are reserved about the idea, although they are not saying "no." – It is no secret that we are bound by many years of cooperation with PO within a common group in the European Parliament – Krzysztof Paszyk from PSL tells us. (...) – Our colleagues are convinced that by running together, our committee would have a delegation comparable to the Germans or Spaniards, which would give us more room for maneuver in negotiating positions in the European Parliament – one of the PSL politicians reveals to us”. https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/raport-wybory-do-parlamentu-europejskiego-2024/news-koalicja-obywatelska-kusi-ludowcow-zaskakujaca-oferta,nId,7418034 -- IF THE THIRD WAY HAD NOT BEEN FORMED, THERE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE VICTORY OF THE COALITION ON OCTOBER 15 AND THE REMOVAL OF PIS FROM POWER - SZYMON HOŁOWNIA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH AGATON KOZIŃSKI ON THE I.PL PORTAL: “Even the presidential elections in 2020. There was a real chance then that I would win against Duda in the second round, but I didn't make it to the second round. However, if things had been different, I would not have founded Poland 2050. In turn, if Poland 2050 had not existed, the Third Way would not have been formed. And if the Third Way had not been formed, there would not have been the victory of the Coalition on October 15 and the removal of PiS from power. It is clear that this victory would not have happened without the participation of one of the partners, and ours, a significant, element of the puzzle was necessary for the scale to finally tip the other way. But first, there was August 2020. After the loss, I was left with six people, and we had to decide together: do we go back to our own worlds, or do we try to move forward. Everyone then bet that we wouldn't last half a year, a year, literally no one believed we would reach the elections. I am truly full of admiration for the courage of my colleagues, with whom we said to ourselves then: let's go”. -- YESTERDAY'S WAVE CARRIED YOU, TODAY'S TRIES TO DROWN YOU, TOMORROW'S WILL CARRY YOU AGAIN. IT'S NOT WORTH FIGHTING THE WAVES, ONLY WHETHER YOU REACH THE FINISH LINE MATTERS - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES WITH KOZIŃSKI: “I have been in the ‘spotlight’ long enough to know that so-called popularity is always a sinusoid. Yesterday's wave carried you, today's tries to drown you, tomorrow's will carry you again. It's not worth fighting the waves, only whether you reach the finish line matters. What happened around me after November 13, when I became Speaker of the Sejm, did not fundamentally concern me. For a month, due to PiS's embarrassing machinations, I was the only official from the new coalition, a visible symbol of change. The symbolic period has ended. This is the natural order of things”. -- WE HAVE SUFFERED LOSSES AFTER A FRONT-ON, ABSURD ATTACK FROM THE LEFT, WHICH WE WILL RECOVER - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES WITH KOZIŃSKI: “In our polls, we currently see values around 10-12%. We have suffered losses after a frontal, absurd attack from the Left, which we will recover. The upcoming elections are not elections for political parties, but for candidates. And we have many of them, tested and strong. These are not elections about leaders' fights, but about the neighborhood, about an idea for a community center, about the road to school, about a new street. I've heard so many times that 'this is the end of Hołownia, the end of Poland 2050' that I've stopped paying attention. I heard it four years ago, during the presidential elections, and a year ago before the parliamentary elections. It's becoming a kind of secular tradition, a pleasant pre-election custom (laughter)”. -- THE THIRD WAY DID NOT MAKE 100 PROMISES FOR 100 DAYS, BUT 12 GUARANTEES FOR THE ENTIRE TERM, FOR FOUR YEARS - HOŁOWNIA STATES: “The Third Way did not make 100 promises for 100 days, but 12 guarantees for the entire term, for four years. We have already managed to fulfill almost half of them. This was possible precisely because we are part of this coalition government, that's why we joined it”. -- EVERYONE MUST ADMIT THAT THE FREEZER HAS REALLY LEFT THE SEJM WITH A BANG AND FOR GOOD. AND THAT SOMETIMES SOME CLUB HAS TO WAIT A WHILE FOR ITS PROJECT TO BE INCLUDED IN THE AGENDA? YES, SOMETIMES IT HAS TO - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES: “Forgive me, but anyone who remembers the Sejm under Speaker Kuchciński or Speaker Witek must admit that the freezer has really left the Sejm with a bang and for good. And that sometimes some club has to wait a while for its project to be included in the agenda? Yes, sometimes it has to. For two simple reasons. First: Sejm sessions are not made of rubber. Second: we have introduced additional quality controls for projects, an obligation to publicly present an assessment of their effects. The Sejm is not a racetrack for laws, it should be a factory of good law. I am determined to civilize the legislative diarrhea of previous terms”. -- THERE ARE STILL OVER A DOZEN MONTHS UNTIL THE ELECTIONS, THERE WILL BE AT LEAST SEVERAL BIG TURNS, NEW BIG DEBATES, AND THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE TAUGHT US THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS EXPECT UNEXPECTED EVENTS - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES WITH KOZIŃSKI: “But I am not at all sure that it will be as much as President Duda. He is much more conservative on this matter than I am. There are still over a dozen months until the elections, there will be at least several more big turns, new big debates, and the last few years have also taught us that we should always expect unexpected events. These will indeed be very important elections. They will either seal the change that occurred on October 15, or they will not. I assume that in the final round of the presidential race, liberal and centrist candidates will meet”. -- THE ERA OF 40% PARTIES IS OVER IN POLAND FOR GOOD - HOŁOWNIA CONTINUES: “We have been managing for several years through our own actions, regardless of whether we are given support or not. You will certainly not hear a signal from us: 'Don't like them anymore, like us', because people read such signals directly: 'Oh, they're already arguing.' We must fight for things that are important to voters, not fight with voters. They clearly indicated: the era of 40% parties is over in Poland for good”. https://i.pl/holownia-jesli-trzeba-bedzie-zaglosowac-przeciw-tak-zrobimy/ar/c15-18420963 -- I BELIEVE MY MISSION SHOULD END AS SOON AS THE DANGER OF THE PRESIDENT'S VETO PASSES - ADAM BODNAR IN AN INTERVIEW WITH JOLANTA OJCZYK IN BUSINESS INSIDER: “I believe my mission should end at the earliest when the danger of the president's veto passes, i.e., at the end of 2025. Only then will I be able to feel that all the legislative changes I plan to implement will be achievable, that all systemic changes will be able to be completed”. -- I HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG - BODNAR CONTINUES WITH OJCZYK IN BUSINESS INSIDER: “Reports of abuses in the Justice Fund had been reaching us for years, including NIK (Supreme Audit Office) already raising the alarm. However, this did not lead to the proper reaction of the prosecutor's office. The current proceedings are intended to secure evidence. And we are talking about very large public funds. The annual budget of the fund is PLN 400 million, and there has been a lot of information in the public space that these funds were not exclusively directed to victims of crimes. There are allegations, for example, that these funds were used for election campaigns. This needs to be clarified. I have the impression that what is happening today is just the tip of the iceberg”. -- IF, FOR EXAMPLE, PROF. MARCIN MATCZAK BECAME THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL, HE WOULD BE SUCH A RENEWER - SAYS BODNAR IN BUSINESS INSIDER: “If there is an agreement among political forces, a joint search for a new composition, if the best lawyers are chosen, we can quickly rebuild the authority of the Constitutional Tribunal. If, for example, Prof. Marcin Matczak became the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, he would be such a renewer”. https://businessinsider.com.pl/prawo/opinie/minister-adam-bodnar-o-przeszukaniach-u-ziobry-to-tylko-wierzcholek-gory-lodowej/qr2cyg8 -- ZANDBERG: WE WILL SUBMIT A BILL ON CHANGES TO THE TAX ON CIVIL LAW TRANSACTIONS. IF SOMEONE BUYS AN APARTMENT ON MONDAY AND SELLS IT ON WEDNESDAY, THEY SHOULD PAY A HIGHER RATE - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/03/29 -- AFTER THE DEBATE, RAFAŁ TRZASKOWSKI REMAINS THE FAVORITE, BUT BIJAT'S GOOD PERFORMANCE SHOULD GIVE HIM FOOD FOR THOUGHT - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: “Therefore, if this debate changed anything before the first round of local elections, it showed that Magdalena Biejat is a serious politician with her own vision for Warsaw, while Tobiasz Bocheński, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, and Przemysław Wipler were playing a completely different game, more focused on national politics. After the debate, Rafał Trzaskowski remains the favorite, but Biejat's good performance should give him food for thought. Even if he didn't eat the cricket Korwin-Mikke offered him, the battle for the progressive electorate between Trzaskowski and Biejat has not yet been decided”. https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40077851-michal-szuldrzynski-dlaczego-rafal-trzaskowski-nie-zjadl-swierszcza-czyli-kto-zyskal-na-warszawskiej-debacie -- THE SURPRISE WAS THE WEAK PERFORMANCE OF THE PIS CANDIDATE. MAGDALENA BIEJAT AND PRZEMYSŁAW WIPLER PERFORMED WELL - JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “Magdalena Biejat was most credible on topics of ecology, aid to women, and rental housing construction. She was fresh, brilliant, and energetic. As the only woman among the debaters, she also presented herself as someone who cares about the problems of the capital. But it's hard to exhaust important topics in a minute. It is certain that the Deputy Speaker of the Senate has a future ahead of her, and I wouldn't be surprised if she someday became the deputy mayor or even the mayor of the city”. -- TOBIASZ BOCHEŃSKI, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PIS'S NEW ANDRZEJ DUDA, WAS DISAPPOINTING - NIZINKIEWICZ CONTINUES IN RZ: “Tobiasz Bocheński, who was supposed to be PiS's new Andrzej Duda, disappointed. The debate did not open the way to the hearts and votes of new voters for him. He was subdued, lacking energy, correct, but shone in nothing. He spoke of banalities, such as the lack of traffic jams or construction investments in the capital. He wasted a question to Rafał Trzaskowski, asking what books he reads on the metro. The question was meant to be maliciously brilliant, but it turned out to be a lost opportunity to raise an important issue and point out the president's flaws”. https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art40075061-trzaskowski-na-debacie-warszawskiej-jak-zwyciezca-wiarygodni-wipler-i-biejat -- JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ ON WIOLETTA PAPROCKA AS A POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR TO TRZASKOWSKI FROM KO: “Another name presented to us from within PO, considered if Trzaskowski became President of Poland – Wioletta Paprocka-Ślusarska – is more probable. She knows the Warsaw City Hall perfectly, she collaborated with Trzaskowski. And she knows PO even better, enjoying the trust of even Donald Tusk, and for years she was also a trusted person of Grzegorz Schetyna. She is running for the Mazovian Voivodeship Sejmik. She works as the deputy director of the Warsaw City Marketing Office, and she started as a press spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior and Administration, under Schetyna. Her standing in the party has grown over the years, and she is well-liked and trusted within it, and as a task-oriented person, she has never played for herself”. https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art40079681-zaskakujacy-kandydaci-z-po-na-prezydenta-warszawy-po-rafale-trzaskowskim -- HOLDING ZBIGNIEW ZIOBRO ACCOUNTABLE IS A MATTER OF DECENCY - KATARZYNA SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Proving the guilt of PiS politicians and those associated with them in appropriating the state and public funds is politically beneficial for the current government, especially before the elections. However, holding the funds from the Justice Fund accountable also serves ordinary decency and good state practices”. -- TRUST IN THE STATE AND ITS RULERS IS SOMETHING VERY MUCH NEEDED IN 'PRE-WAR' TIMES WHEN AN EFFICIENT STATE STRENGTHENS THE SENSE OF SECURITY - SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN CONTINUES IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Furthermore, trust in the state and its rulers is something very much needed in 'pre-war' times when an efficient state strengthens the sense of security. Therefore, the necessity of holding politicians who have usurped the state accountable is obvious, and from this perspective, entering Zbigniew Ziobro's house takes on a completely different meaning”. https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2024/03/28/skrzydlowska-kalukin-rozliczenie-zbigniewa-ziobry-to-kwestia-przyzwoitosci/ -- DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING YOU ACCUSED THEM OF - RAFAŁ WOŚ IN INTERIA: “Since December, Polish liberals have been implementing a plan for a perfect political crime. It consists of two elements. First, announce to the world that your adversaries want to abolish democracy, break free from the chains of civilized rules, and allow violence as a way of resolving disputes. Then... do exactly the same thing you accused them of”. https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-sto-dni-sto-stosow-i-sto-czarownic,nId,7418033 -- IT'S HARD NOT TO SMILE LOOKING AT THE SQUAWKING OF THE ZIOBRISTS, WHO SUDDENLY HAD THEIR HOMES SEARCHED BY THE POLICE. AFTER ALL, NOT SO LONG AGO, THEY WERE THE ONES ORDERING SUCH SEARCHES - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR ON THE BLOG: “It's hard not to smile looking at the squawking of the Ziobryści, whose homes were suddenly searched by the police. After all, not so long ago, they were the ones ordering such searches. It was their prosecutor's office, despite the pleas of the victims' families from Smolensk, that opened coffins for political orders. It was their prosecutor's office that denied Sławomir Nowak visits and contact with loved ones for 7 months of detention. Now the roles have reversed. Now someone else has the prosecutor's office, even though the witness at Ziobro's wedding was supposed to have it until the end. The case, in which the Ziobryści are allegedly involved, is a case that perhaps best reflects the greed and avarice of this camp. Here are the funds that were supposed to go to victims (and their families) of rape, murder, and other crimes. Ordinary Kowalskis, who were struck by tragedy and trauma from which they often cannot recover for years, were deprived of these funds by a greedy camarilla that attached itself to them like a leech to a coin”. -- PERHAPS NOW THOSE WHO PUT SŁWEK NOWAK IN DETENTION WITHOUT VISITS WILL BE ASKING FOR VISITS FOR SŁWEK NOWAK'S FRIENDS - GALOPUJĄCY MAJOR CONTINUES ON THE BLOG: “Here is a priest, whose only 'merit' was expelling the demons of veganism with salceson, receiving, no less, 100 million to build a phantom center. If this priest cracks, which is quite possible, it may turn out that suddenly a few politicians will face charges (although I don't believe Ziobro will be implicated). Meanwhile, Duda, as is known, has had his preventive pardons revoked, as Mr. Wąsik and Kamiński found out on a prison mattress. Perhaps now those who put Sławek Nowak in detention without visits will be asking for visits for Sławek Nowak's friends”. https://galopujacymajor.wordpress.com/ -- If someone was born when Paweł Piskorski became president of Warsaw, they will turn 25 on Saturday… -- Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of KTT's death. -- Sunday is the 1st anniversary of the death of Paweł Śpiewak, and the third of Izabella Sierakowska. -- BIRTHDAYS are celebrated today by Renata Grochal. BIRTHDAYS ON SATURDAY: Mieczysław Kasprzak, Hanna Bakuła. BIRTHDAYS ON SUNDAY: Alojzy Pietrzyk, Tomasz Poręba, Anna Paluch, Elżbieta Jaworowicz. ON MONDAY: Wojciech Jasiński, Katarzyna Zawada.