-- KATARZYNA WŁODKOWSKA RECEIVED THE JAROSŁAW ZIĘTARA AWARD FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM FOR A SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS ON VIOLENCE IN THE EDITORIAL OFFICE OF "PRESS" MAGAZINE: https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114883,30950904,rozdano-nagrody-press-club-polska-laureatka-wlodkowska-za.html -- THE PROCESS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT WEARING OFF IS CERTAINLY NOTICEABLE, AND GIVEN THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT'S MEDIA ADVANTAGE, THIS PROCESS IS PROCEEDING VERY QUICKLY - JAROSŁAW KACZYŃSKI FOR WPOLITYCE.PL: "The process of the new government wearing off is certainly noticeable, and given the current government's media advantage, this process is proceeding very quickly. But on the other hand, the scale of protests is not large. In Georgia, where a law on disclosing information on foreign funding of NGOs is coming into force, which I consider a good solution in the Polish context as well, sharp, numerous protests are taking place. Here, there was a raid on TVP of a frankly criminal nature, and the protests were limited to a smaller number of people." -- THE OTHER SIDE HAS NO IDEA FOR POLAND'S DEVELOPMENT. TUSK IS TRYING TO WRIGGLE OUT OF HIS PROMISES - KACZYŃSKI CONTINUES: "Certainly, the other side has no idea for Poland's development. Tusk is trying to wriggle out of his promises. It is enough to recall the promise to raise the tax-free allowance to PLN 60,000, which many, many voters of the current government counted on. However, it turns out that the current government does not even have plans to implement such a solution. This was also the case with other electoral commitments." -- WE ARE FIGHTING TO WIN FOR THE 10TH TIME IN A ROW - STILL THE CHAIRMAN OF PiS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH WPOLITYCE.PL: "The expectations before the local elections were high, and they were met. Our result is a Polish record. As for the European Parliament elections, we are fighting to win for the 10th time in a row. Our lists are strong, internally competitive, which is unavoidable with this electoral system. Today they say: we will win, but we also formulate such expectations." https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/691022-jaroslaw-kaczynski-o-procesie-zuzywania-sie-nowej-wladzy -- IT IS NOT EXCLUDED THAT "GRANDMA'S BENEFITS" LACK THE SUPPORT OF CIVIC PLATFORM COALITION PARTNERS; IT MAY FIND IT IN PiS - GAZETA.PL: https://next.gazeta.pl/next/7,151003,30951210,babciowe-dzieli-koalicje-polska-2050-ma-zastrzezenia-pomoze.html -- POLES ARE RECEIVING "LETTERS OF DREAD" FROM GAS SUPPLIERS. "I DIDN'T VOTE FOR PIS, BUT NOW I REGRET IT. THAT GOVERNMENT HAD GESTURE. NOW THEY WILL THROW ALMS TO PEOPLE AND SAY THAT THE STATE CANNOT AFFORD MORE" - IN TOMASZ MATEUSIAK'S ARTICLE IN ONET: "The man treats the energy voucher offer as a joke. - I live with my wife, so they will give us a total of PLN 400. And this is supposed to cover the higher bills for both electricity and gas? Laughable! I didn't vote for PiS, but now I regret it. That government had a gesture. Two years ago, during the coal crisis, they gave people with central heating systems PLN 3,000. Later, there was also government coal at a maximum of PLN 2,000. It was real help, and there was no talk of the government not having money. Now they will throw alms to people and say that the state cannot afford more," adds the man from Zakopane, while his wife just shakes her head. - This reminds me of something. During the first Tusk government, there was also supposedly "no money for helping Poles and never would be" - the woman jokes ironically, recalling the famous statement by former finance minister Jacek Rostowski." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/krakow/polacy-dostaja-listy-grozy-od-dostawcow-doslownie-sie-rozplakalam/ -- CBOS POLL. TUSK'S GOVERNMENT HAS MORE OPPONENTS THAN SUPPORTERS - RZ: "Donald Tusk's government has more opponents than supporters, and the majority of respondents are dissatisfied that Tusk is at the head of the government - according to a CBOS poll. Compared to the previous poll by the Center for Public Opinion Research, the April survey saw a decrease in both the number of supporters of Tusk's government (by 2 percentage points) and opponents (by 1 point). The number of indifferent people towards the government increased by 3 points." https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art40308891-sondaz-cbos-rzad-donalda-tuska-ma-wiecej-przeciwnikow-niz-zwolennikow -- HOŁOWNIA DOES NOT EXPECT MAJOR GOVERNMENT CHANGES, MORAWIECKI APPEALS FOR KEY STATE INVESTMENTS TO BE EXCLUDED FROM PARTY DISPUTES - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2024/05/08/ -- THE CASE OF JUDGE SZMYDT MAY HELP TUSK BEFORE THE ELECTIONS, BUT IT ALSO CARRIES RISK - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: "It could backfire on Tusk himself. If on Tuesday the prime minister shared information from the services that Tomasz Szmydt had long-standing contacts with Belarusian services, then why did the services, for which the ruling party has been solely responsible for half a year, do nothing with this knowledge? Of course, it implicates PiS much more, which controlled the state until December 13, 2023, but since that day, responsibility for the state has rested with Tusk." https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40308891-michal-szuldrzynski-sprawa-sedziego-szmydta-moze-pomoc-tuskowi-przed-wyborami-ale-niesie-i-ryzyko -- TUSK IRRITATED BY THE START OF THE CAMPAIGN - DOMINIKA DŁUGOSZ IN NEWSWEEK: "- We don't need this at all at the start of the campaign. We are here talking about Europe, about values, about security, and they are talking about whether Kierwa was drinking or not. Come on. You can't fight this - a PO politician running in another district throws up his hands. This reportedly irritated Donald Tusk the most, because the prime minister believes in Kierwiński's sobriety without much discussion. - Maybe not even because Marcin showed those printouts and vehemently defended himself, but simply because Tusk doesn't consider him a complete idiot. Maybe a bit of a klutz, maybe an opportunist, but not an idiot - one of his party colleagues assures us." https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/polityka/tusk-zirytowany-poczatkiem-kampanii-bloto-juz-sie-przykleilo-kulisy/0kv2qrq -- ANTI-PIS - EVEN IF IT WAS STILL HEATED UNTIL NOW - IS BURNING OUT. THE FANATICAL SUPPORTERS OF CIVIC PLATFORM - AS THE LOCAL ELECTIONS PROVED - ARE NOT ENOUGH TO DEFEAT PiS - KATARZYNA PRZYBORSKA IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: "Anti-PiS - even if it was still heated until now - is burning out. The fanatical supporters of Civic Platform - as the local elections proved - are not enough to defeat PiS. An attractive vision of the future could strengthen the mobilization of democrats. However, this vision, if we listen to the exposé of Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, seems fundamentally correct, although cautious, moderate, still looking over its shoulder, preempting absurd accusations (e.g., those about taking away Polishness from those who want further integration with the Union) and explaining them away when they should be laughed at or ignored." https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/antypis-trzyma-rzad-na-smyczy/ -- THE DESIRE FOR REVENGE FOR THE EU'S NEGATION OF PiS'S "REFORMS" IS MUCH STRONGER IN PiS THAN THAT GLORIOUS, OFTEN AS PRINCIPLED AS IT IS PRACTICALLY ASYMPTOMATIC ANTI-RUSSIANISM - MARIUSZ JANICKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: "One can ask what is behind these absurd contradictions. It is that right-wing emotions and ideological obsessions, hatred of 'leftist elites,' of the 'rotten West,' the desire for revenge for the EU's negation of PiS's 'reforms,' are much stronger in PiS than that glorious, often as principled as it is practically asymptomatic anti-Russianism. 'We are Poles and we have Polish duties' - Jarosław Kaczyński said at the convention before the European elections. 'We want to drive what we like, travel by cheap airlines, eat what we like, live according to the model we know. (...) also to stop 'crazy immigration projects'' - continued the PiS leader. All under the slogan of a 'normal Europe,' as Beata Szydło called it at the inauguration of the PiS campaign. Kaczyński declared that the new ruling team 'acts brazenly against Poland's interests,' did not say a single good, or even neutral, word about the Union, and sent its MEP candidates like soldiers to war." -- IT WOULD BE A STRANGE SIGNAL FOR EUROPE IF, IN A COUNTRY THAT RECENTLY "DEFEATED POPULISM," POPULISTS WON AGAIN - CONTINUES MARIUSZ JANICKI: "It would be a strange signal for Europe if, in a country that recently 'defeated populism,' populists won again. That is why the Platform leader is mobilizing the electorate so much, and furthermore, PiS itself is exposing its intentions by aligning not with eurosceptics, but with euro-enemies. The question is whether the ruling coalition will manage to wake voters from the lethargy they largely fell into after the October 15 elections. The importance of the upcoming elections is beyond doubt; they have global, European, and Polish dimensions. It is true that over the years, politicians have accustomed voters to the fact that an MEP seat is more of a well-paid sinecure with a guaranteed pension than real political influence. However, the stakes of this game are much higher than who will be number one in Podlasie and who in Mazovia. It is being decided which direction the Union will take and what power Europe will possess. The question is whether this can be explained to voters before June 9. https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2255129,1,towarzysze-broni.read -- DONALD TUSK AND URSULA VON DER LEYEN'S NEW AGENDA: TOWARDS INCREASING THE SECURITY OF EU NATIONS - BOGUSŁAW CHRABOTA IN RZ: "Among the priorities mentioned by Tusk, it is worth noting the protection of European businesses against unfair competition from outside the EU and emphasizing the importance of Europe's civilizational heritage, which distinguishes us so much and so positively from other parts of the world. In summary, the new agenda of von der Leyen and Tusk is a clear course from the necessary, albeit somewhat idealistic, 'making the planet happy' towards focusing attention on the physical security of nations. On defense, which should become the number one topic in the Community." https://www.rp.pl/komentarze/art40307111-boguslaw-chrabota-donald-tusk-i-ursula-von-der-leyen-wskazuja-nowy-priorytet-ue -- BIRTHDAYS: Andrzej Leder, Bogdan Klich, Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, Andrzej Sośnierz, Izabela Kloc, Witold Mrozek, Danuta Pietraszewska, Jacek Pilch.