-- 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF WŁADYSŁAW BARTOSZEWSKI. -- WEDNESDAY'S POLITICAL AGENDA: PO'S MANAGEMENT BOARD AND NATIONAL COUNCIL, PARLIAMENT ON THE SCALE OF PEGASUS USE AND THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL PACKAGE, CONFERENCE OF MORAWIECKI AND BUDY: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/04/24/polityczny-plan-srody-zarzad-i-rada-krajowa-po-sejm-o-skali-stosowania-pegasusa-i-pakiecie-dot-tk-konferencja-morawieckiego-i-budy/ -- DESPITE CLOSER TIES WITH GERMANY AND FRANCE, POLAND DOES NOT HESITATE TO SIDE WITH THOSE MOST DETERMINED AND LEAST DELUDED ABOUT RUSSIA - JERZY HASZCZYŃSKI IN RZ: “On Tuesday, it was evident that Poland, despite closer ties with Germany and France, does not hesitate to side with those most determined and least deluded about Russia. Apart from the British and Scandinavians, the Baltics, Czechs, and Romanians also belong to this group.” https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40227661-jerzy-haszczynski-zdeterminowani-obroncy-ukrainy -- THE EUROPEAN UNION WITH AN INCOME OF 15 TRILLION EUROS SHOULD NOT BE DEFENSELESS - RADOSŁAW SIKORSKI IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MAREK OSTROWSKI AND ŁUKASZ WÓJCIK IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “In light of research and facing the war in Ukraine, this is what Europeans expect. Because they fear both Vladimir Putin and the outcome of the November elections in the United States. They believe, rightly in my opinion, that the European Union with an income of 15 trillion euros should not be defenseless.” -- BUT DO WE WANT AN EFFECTIVE POWER CAPABLE OF ACTING? BECAUSE IF WE EXPECT RESULTS, THE UNION MUST BE GIVEN THE RIGHT TOOLS - SIKORSKI CONTINUES IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “We must decide whether we want a ‘Europe of Fatherlands’ or a free trade zone, which after all do not wage wars, do not have defense budgets, or command structures. Or do we want an effective power that is capable of acting? Because if we expect results, the Union must be given the appropriate tools. This is important because soon – in an expanding Union – achieving unanimity will become increasingly difficult.” -- SIKORSKI ON WHETHER HE SUPPORTS LIMITING THE PRINCIPLE OF UNANIMITY IN THE EU: “I will ask a simple question: is it a good situation when one EU country slows down or blocks the imposition of sanctions on Russia?” -- SIKORSKI ON WHICH AREAS SHOULD REQUIRE UNANIMITY: “I believe that unanimity should apply for eternity in votes concerning enlargement and in matters concerning national identity – for example, abortion, history teaching, religion, or moral issues. These are all things that should belong to the national level, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.” -- THE SEEDED DISTRUST OF THE EU WILL BE PILL'S LONGEST-LASTING LEGACY - SIKORSKI CONTINUES: “I believe this will be PiS’s longest legacy. Through these eight years of hateful, false propaganda about the European Union, they have sown the monster of Euroscepticism. The kind I know from Great Britain in the 80s and 90s, which led to Brexit. By repeating lies, they convinced some Poles of a distorted image of the Union. While Great Britain was a net payer, and we are a net beneficiary, the vilification of the Union in Poland is thus more foolish and more reprehensible. PiS managed to instill in many Poles the conviction that the European Union is some external body from which we must defend ourselves. Absurd!” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/swiat/2253587,1,radoslaw-sikorski-dla-polityki-powinnismy-miec-wplyw-na-kierunek-w-ktorym-unia-podaza.read -- I WOULD SUGGEST SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT FOR THE POLITICAL CALENDAR: AFTER THE MAY LONG WEEKEND, MOBILIZATION FOR THE JUNE ELECTIONS – MORE EFFECTIVE THAN FOR THE APRIL ONES – AND IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS, A GOVERNMENT RECONSTRUCTION, REFRESHMENT OF THE COALITION ALLIANCE, AND A NEW PERSONNEL AND PROGRAMMATIC OPENING - JERZY BACZYŃSKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: “Our civic engagement ebbs and flows: we have moments of mobilization and enthusiasm, like in the EU referendum twenty years ago or the record October 2023, but also periods of democratic apathy, indifference, and absenteeism, as now, when – to quote Prof. Przemysław Sadura – 'the coalition of the grill and the couch has won' (unfortunately, this applies also among democratic politicians who clearly slacked off in the local government campaign). Therefore, I would suggest the following arrangement for the political calendar: after the May long weekend, mobilization for the June elections – more effective than for the April ones – and immediately thereafter, a government reconstruction, refreshment of the coalition alliance, and a new personnel and programmatic opening. Politics did not end on October 15th. Supporters of a democratic, self-governing, modern, European Poland truly have something to defend. And still have someone to defend it against.” https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2253947,1,uklad-kalendarza.read -- JOŃSKI AT THE HEAD OF KO'S LIST? - DZIENNIK ŁÓDZKI'S FRONT-PAGER. -- ŻUKOWSKA ASKED IF CIMOSZEWICZ AND BELKA'S RUN FOR MEP FROM THE LEFT'S LIST IS SETTLED: I THINK SO - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/04/24/ -- UNOFFICIAL INFORMATION SUGGESTS THAT SEVERAL IMPORTANT MINISTERS MAY GO TO BRUSSELS, AND THE GOVERNMENT RECONSTRUCTION MAY BE DEEPER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. ONE VERSION EVEN SOUNDS SENSATIONAL - KAMIL DZIUBKA IN ONET: “For several days now, increasingly unofficial signals have been emanating from government circles, indicating that some of the names of KO list leaders may be surprising. - This could be an earthquake — one informant told Onet. From several sources within the ruling camp, we have learned that the option of the Minister of Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, running for the European Parliament is being seriously considered. This sounds quite sensational, as his name has not typically appeared in the list of potential candidates so far. Kierwiński is also the Secretary-General of PO, who oversees the party's structures. Our sources claim that the politician could be the 'number one' candidate in Warsaw.” -- OUR INFORMATION INDICATES THAT DURING HIS EVENING SPEECH IN OŻARÓW, DONALD TUSK TOLD PO PARLIAMENTARIANS THAT PIŚ CANNOT WIN THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS BECAUSE IT WILL GIVE THE PARTY OXYGEN - DZIUBKA CONTINUES IN ONET: “According to our information, during his evening speech in Ożarów, Donald Tusk told PO parliamentarians that PiS cannot win the European elections because it will give the party oxygen and it will begin to rebuild. This is a reference to the regional assembly elections. Although the Law and Justice party lost control of several voivodeships, it garnered the most votes nationwide.” -- NO MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS FROM THE LEFT WILL RUN FOR A MANDATE - DZIUBKA CONTINUES IN ONET: “It is unknown whether constitutional ministers who are put on the lists will be able to remain in their positions until the elections. As we hear, some considered running, but not being certain of obtaining a mandate, they preferred to withdraw. No member of the Council of Ministers from the Left will run for a mandate. This applies to Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski and Minister of Science Dariusz Wieczorek.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/trzesienie-ziemi-w-rzadzie-sensacyjne-doniesienia-o-listach/b90db92,79cfc278 -- KACZYŃSKI DECIDED THAT MP ŁUKASZ KMITA, FORMER PiS CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF KRAKÓW AND AN MP FROM MORAWIECKI'S FACTION, SHOULD BECOME MARSHAL OF MAŁOPOLSKA - JACEK GĄDEK IN GAZETA.PL: “PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has decided that MP Łukasz Kmita, former PiS candidate for Mayor of Kraków and an MP from former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's faction, should become Marshal of Małopolska. (...) Beata Szydło's faction, as we hear from PiS ranks, is however opposing Kmita, wanting to block him from becoming the provincial marshal. In the regional assembly, Szydło's faction is strong among PiS councilors. Hence, our interlocutors from this party indicate that pushing Kmita's candidacy may not go easily. The question is whether PiS councilors in Małopolska, as well as Beata Szydło, who is influential in the region, and the head of the party's regional structures, Andrzej Adamczyk, will subordinate themselves to Jarosław Kaczyński's decision, or at what price.” https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,30912703,kaczynski-podjal-decyzje-ws-wladzy-w-malopolsce-w-krakowie.html -- WINNING THE EP ELECTIONS IS A STATE INTEREST FOR THE CIVIC COALITION AND A STRENGTHENING OF ITS GOVERNING LEGITIMACY, WHICH HAS BEEN TARNISHED BY THE FIRST MONTHS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT - ZUZANNA DĄBROWSKA IN RZ: “Tusk must once again mobilize Jagodno. That is, to achieve what completely failed in the race for local government. Winning the EP elections is a state interest for the Civic Coalition and a strengthening of its governing legitimacy, which has been tarnished by the first months of the new government and the internal skirmishes of the October 15th coalition. – PiS simply disappeared in many places – said the KO leader, summarizing the local elections. In the upcoming ones, however, it may turn out that Kaczyński's party still exists, it has just tactically hidden in the hat of a Eurosceptic magician.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art40226251-zuzanna-dabrowska-wybory-do-pe-pis-w-cylindrze-eurosceptycznego-magika -- NOTHING IN OUR LIVES DEPENDS ON THE RESULT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER PIŚ, KO, OR THIRD WAY WINS. IT IS AN ELECTION THAT HAS NO SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE LIVES OF CITIZENS - MAREK MIGALSKI IN RZ. -- EVERYTHING THEREFORE SEEMS CLEAR – BOTH THE EXPECTED LOW TURNOUT IN THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS AND THE MOST LIKELY WIN FOR PIŚ - MIGALSKI CONTINUES: “Everything therefore seems clear – both the expected low turnout in the European elections and the most likely win for PiS. But even more predictable are the laments of the Polish commentary over the first phenomenon, over the low participation in the elections. Once again, therefore, it will turn out that ordinary people understand politics better than those who live by describing it.” https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art40226111-marek-migalski-waga-niewaznych-wyborow -- FOR YEARS, THE CIVIC COALITION CRITICIZED PIŚ FOR TRANSFERRING MONEY OUTSIDE OF POLAND'S BUDGET. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS CURRENTLY NOTHING TO INDICATE THAT ANYTHING WILL CHANGE IN THIS REGARD. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ARE SHIFTING THE PROBLEM. - "I AM DEVASTATED" - SAYS SŁAWOMIR DUDEK, PRESIDENT OF THE PUBLIC FINANCE INSTITUTE, TO WIRTUALNA POLSKA. -- "THIS IS SCANDALOUS AND I AM DEVASTATED. BECAUSE THIS DE FACTO MEANS THAT BGK, ALONG WITH THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE, WILL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A PARALLEL BUDGET, THEY WILL VIOLATE ARTICLE 219 OF THE CONSTITUTION" - DUDEK CONTINUES IN WP: “In short, nobody knows anything. - If this position of BGK is agreed with the Ministry of Finance and this is the official line of the new government, then it is scandalous and I am devastated. Because it de facto means that BGK, along with the Ministry of Finance, will continue to maintain a parallel budget, they will violate Article 219 of the Constitution, and we can forget about the rule of law in public finances – says Sławomir Dudek, president of the Public Finance Institute, in an interview with money.pl.” https://www.money.pl/fundusze/rzad-tuska-robi-to-samo-za-co-krytykowal-pis-jestem-zdruzgotany-7019975638281120a.html -- A REFERENDUM SHOULD BE HELD ON THE ISSUE OF DEPLOYING NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN POLAND - IT SHOULD BE OUR COMMON DECISION, PRECEDED BY A DISCUSSION OF ALL ARGUMENTS - JAROSŁAW KUISZ IN INTERIA: “No one is discussing the potential consequences of such a momentous decision regarding defense with us. It was not a leading or even a secondary topic during the election campaign. Our politicians clearly believe that the sovereign can be disregarded. Meanwhile, a referendum should be held on the deployment of nuclear weapons in Poland – it should be our common decision, preceded by a discussion of all arguments for and against. What is worth discussing and deciding together, if not matters of existential importance to the country?” -- IT SHOULD BE A DEADLY SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BEST, BUT ALSO THE WORST CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH A DECISION - KUISZ CONTINUES IN INTERIA: “Perhaps it is worth doing so and taking the risk to more effectively deter Russia from further aggression in the region. Such a step should probably be taken together with other countries neighboring Russia. Nevertheless, it should not be a decision left in the hands of one or two politicians. To our horror, thrown around in half-words in the tabloid press. It should be a deadly serious conversation about the best, but also the worst consequences of such a decision. This concerns the future of current and future generations. And this is not pathos, but a fact.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-czy-chcemy-rozlokowania-broni-nuklearnej-w-polsce,nId,7468895 -- A PRESIDENT WHO KNOWS THAT AFTER A MAXIMUM OF TWO TERMS, THEY MUST SAY GOODBYE TO OFFICE, MAY BE LESS INCLINED TO OFFEND THEIR PARTY - JAKUB MAJMUREK IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “However, looking at the results in other larger cities in the country, we can wonder if we are not witnessing the beginning of a process of politicization of power in presidential cities. The term limit will favor this process. A president who knows that after a maximum of two terms, they must say goodbye to office, may be less inclined to quarrel with their party. Even if they win re-election without its support, the question arises 'what will I do after the second term?' Local politicians who do not wish to withdraw from politics will need the party's support for their future careers. This was probably one of the reasons why Kaczyński introduced the limit – we know that the leader dislikes individuals in his political environment who are too independent of his whims.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/nadchodzi-czas-partyjnych-prezydentow/ -- THE LEFT AS A WHOLE LOST, LEGITIMIZING IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER A COMPROMISED POLITICIAN WHO DESERVED NO CREDIT OF TRUST - PAWEŁ PAPROTA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “The Left as a whole lost, legitimizing in one way or another a compromised politician who deserved no credit of trust. (...) It seems justified to state that in Wrocław, the nationwide Nowa Lewica lost to the interests of its local structures, Razem lost by de facto not participating in the elections, and the Left as a whole lost, legitimizing in one way or another a compromised politician who deserved no credit of trust.” https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/wygrani-i-przegrani-wyborow-o-prezydenture-wroclawia/ -- BIRTHDAYS: Stanisław Huskowski, Monika Rosa, Mirosław Styczeń, Mieczysław Golba.