-- NEW HEAD OF THE STATE ASSETS MINISTRY, JAKUB JAWORSKI, IS TASKED WITH WINDING IT DOWN - AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK IN OKO.PRESS: "These are not the last changes," Prime Minister Tusk announced, with a second cabinet reshuffling already on the horizon for autumn. For now, the new head of the State Assets Ministry, Jakub Jaworski, is tasked with winding down the ministry, and Hanna Wróblewska's appointment has been well-received by the cultural sector."

-- SIEMONIAK, THOUGH NOT OFFICIALLY DEPUTY PM, WILL DE FACTO BE A SUPERMINISTER - AGATA SZCZĘŚNIAK CONTINUES: “Siemoniak, though not formally a deputy prime minister, will de facto be a superminister. Remaining in the government are the leader of the Peasants' Party, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz; Dariusz Wieczorek – a close associate of Włodzimierz Czarzasty, co-leader of New Left. Also included are Izabela Leszczyna and Jan Grabiec – from Tusk's team.”

-- POLITICALLY, WRÓBLEWSKA IS CLOSE TO REALIZING THE CONCEPT OF "BODNAR FOR CULTURE" - SZCZĘŚNIAK WRITES FURTHER: “Politically, Wróblewska is close to realizing the concept of 'Bodnar for Culture,' which we have written about. An expert minister, respected by at least a significant portion of the professional community in her field. 'She didn't hesitate for a second,' Tusk said. Wróblewska knows very well what can and should be changed in culture. And in her professional career, she has taken on difficult positions (she became the director of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum under Minister Piotr Gliński).” https://oko.press/akcja-rekonstrukcja-tusk-robi-krok-w-strone-rzadu-ekspertow-niezupelnie

-- SOME EVEN SUGGEST THE NOMINATION INDICATES THE PRIME MINISTER WAS DISAPPOINTED WITH THE NOMINATIONS SO FAR FROM THE DEPARTING MINISTER BORYS BUDKA - KAMIL DZIUBKA IN ONE.PL: “The list of potential ministers circulating among Platform politicians in recent days crumbled in a minute. A large portion of our interviewees are primarily surprised by the name of the new head of the State Assets Ministry, who will oversee state-owned companies. Some even suggest that the nomination indicates the prime minister was disappointed with the nominations thus far from the departing minister Borys Budka.”

-- IN THE CORRIDORS, THERE IS INCREASING TALK OF LIQUIDATING THE MINISTRY OF STATE ASSETS IN FAVOR OF DIRECT OVERSIGHT OF COMPANIES WITHIN THE PRIME MINISTER'S CHANCELLERY - DALE DZIUBKA: “The choice of an expert from the market may also suggest that the prime minister wants someone who is not entangled in current political dealings, which must be a nightmare in the case of a multi-party coalition, which is the current power structure. Such a nomination may also be linked to further steps. Firstly, another wave of 'sweeping the broom' in key companies is not excluded. Secondly, in the corridors, there is increasingly louder talk of liquidating the Ministry of State Assets in favor of direct oversight of companies within the Prime Minister's Chancellery. Although it is rather unlikely that such a process could be carried out before the presidential elections.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/platforma-zaskoczona-po-zmianach-w-rzadzie-donald-nikomu-sie-nie-tlumaczy/fvl11hq,79cfc278

-- PAPROCKA AS A POSSIBLE HEAD OF WARSAW PO STRUCTURES IN PLACE OF KIERWIŃSKI - MICHAŁ WOJTCZUK AND ARKADIUSZ GRUSZCZYŃSKI IN GW: “If he were to give up a party function now – for example, the reins of Warsaw PO structures – he would have to be replaced by someone who knows Warsaw's local government well and enjoys the trust of Donald Tusk. Wioletta Paprocka-Ślusarska, head of the Civic Coalition's election staffs in the 2023 parliamentary and 2024 local elections, who is the director of the cabinet of Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, meets both conditions, for example.” https://warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/7,54420,30961452,tlo-wyborow-do-parlamentu-europejskiego-szykuja-sie-wielkie.html

-- TRYING TO KILL PIS WITH ITS OWN WEAPON IS A RECIPE FOR FRIGHTENING POLES, WHO ARE MEANT TO CLUSTER AROUND POWER - PIOTR ZAREMBA IN INTERIA: “It's already evident that the hysteria surrounding 'Russian influences' is the main theme of the European Parliament election campaign from the Civic Coalition's side. Trying to kill PiS with its own weapon is a recipe for frightening Poles, who are meant to rally around the government. At the same time, it absolves Tusk from answering key questions: about the centralization of the Union, the migration pact, the Green Deal.”

-- IF ANTONI MACIEREWICZ WAS ONCE CONSIDERED A SOURCE OF CONSPIRACY THINKING, TUSK AND GIERTYCH HAVE LEFT HIM FAR BEHIND - ZAREMBA CONTINUES: “Accusing a party, which just a few years ago was described as 'Russophobic,' of ties to Putin requires audacity in formulation or in picking up the most fantastic theories. If Antoni Macierewicz was once considered a source of conspiracy thinking, Tusk and Giertych have left him far behind. Looking at social media, one can see how many Poles, even esteemed intellectuals, swallow this uncritically.” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-pis-jako-rosyjska-agentura-opowiesc-o-przekraczaniu-kolejnyc,nId,7502401

-- EASTERN INFLUENCES IN THE POLISH POLITICAL CLASS AND STATE SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND ERADICATED, BUT DOING SO THROUGH PARTY SHORTCUTS, IN THE PR RHYTHM OF ELECTION CAMPAIGNS, WILL HELP NEITHER THE STATE NOR EVEN THE PARTIES THAT DESIRE SUCH A TOOL - CEZARY MICHALSKI IN INTERIA: “Eastern influences in the Polish political class and state should be investigated and eradicated, but doing so through party shortcuts, in the PR rhythm of election campaigns, will help neither the state nor even the parties that desire such a tool to effectively use against their competitors. The slogan directed at the electorate of a rival party, 'Your representatives are Soviet or/and German agents,' yielded no political results, neither in the times of the infamous 'Olin affair' (Józef Oleksy and other historical leaders of the post-communist left), nor during the brief operation of the grotesque commission of Cenckiewicz and Zybertowicz.”

-- IN MY OPINION, WHAT WILL SECURE POWER FOR TUSK IS NOT EFFECTIVELY PORTRAYING KACZYŃSKI, DUDA, AND PIS AS "AGENTS OF THE EAST," BUT EFFECTIVELY MANAGING ENERGY PRICES - CEZARY MICHALSKI CONTINUES: “In my opinion, what will secure power for Tusk is not effectively portraying Kaczyński, Duda, and PiS as 'agents of the East,' but effectively 'delivering' EU billions, effectively mitigating or pacifying the protest of a shrinking and increasingly radicalized group of farmers, effectively controlling energy prices, and also presenting a realistic horizon for fulfilling basic election promises (e.g., raising the tax-free allowance).” https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/felietony/news-kogo-wybiora-oportunisci-kiedy-ich-partia-juz-nie-rzadzi,nId,7502178

-- AS OF NOW, THE GOVERNING COALITION PARTIES ARE HAVING TROUBLE MOBILIZING ELECTORATES. AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT - JAKUB MAJMUREK ON THE NEWSWEEK PORTAL: “In the few weeks separating us from the elections, PiS can mobilize a certain group of voters around anti-European fears. It's difficult to say that PiS will present what kind of Union it would want during the campaign, but it will certainly strongly articulate what kind it would not want. Tusk, unlike in the local elections, is focusing on maximum mobilization from the outset. He is sensitizing his electorate to the importance of these elections, warning that if PiS and its European allies win, Poland's future in the European Union will be threatened. Tusk is right to warn against PiS and the wave of anti-European populism, but the question is how much mobilization potential these warnings will have. Among commentators, researchers, and political observers, there are increasingly voices suggesting that the anti-PiS fuel alone is becoming less sufficient for the governing coalition's electorate, and that they expect concrete proposals. It would therefore be good for the Civic Coalition, in addition to its valid warnings against populism, to more clearly present its vision of Poland in Europe.”

-- IF THE RESULT WERE CLOSER TO THE OPINIA24 SURVEY, AND THE THIRD WAY DID NOT TAKE THIRD PLACE, IT WOULD BE AN ALARM BELL FOR THIS FORMATION, CALLING INTO QUESTION HOŁOWNIA'S PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS - MAJMUREK CONTINUES IN NEWSWEEK: “The Third Way currently has no clear idea for itself in the European campaign. It is impossible to say what kind of Poland in Europe the coalition of Poland 2050 and the PSL wants, or how the views of such clearly pro-European politicians running on this platform, like Róża Thun, fit into this vision. The IBRiS and Opini24 polls show the greatest differences precisely in the support for the Third Way. In the former, the Third Way takes third place with 12.1% support – which is far from sensational, but a decent result. In the Opini24 survey, the Poland 2050 and PSL coalition is only in fifth place – behind the Left and Confederation – with a mere 7.7% support. Pers's forecasts predict support for this formation at 12.3-12.5%, assuming, as before the 2023 elections, it might be underestimated in polls. However, if the result were closer to the Opini24 survey, and the Third Way did not take third place, it would be an alarm bell for this formation, calling into question Hołownia's presidential ambitions.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/newsweek/kto-wygra-wybory-do-europarlamentu-to-moze-byc-finisz-na-zyletki/747r6ek,452ad802

-- ARITHMETICALLY THEY WON THE LOCAL ELECTIONS AND CAN WIN THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS. IT'S NOT THE CASE THAT PIS IS DISAPPEARING - SAID ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ IN THE Onet "PROGRAM WIECZORNY": “The Onet journalist stated that PiS's biggest problem is the lack of a coalition partner. Additionally, events such as the takeover of TVP or the arrest of Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik have mobilized the ranks of PiS. 'In the autumn, it was hard to gather ten people at party meetings,' Stankiewicz noted. 'PiS, through its own stupidity, is losing power in Podlasie, and having a complete majority in the regional assembly in Małopolska, the Szydło faction is fighting with the Morawiecki faction. Deprived of TVP and quiet funding from state-owned companies, PiS remains very strong,' admitted the deputy editor-in-chief of Onet.” https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/to-nie-jest-tak-ze-pis-znika-andrzej-stankiewicz-z-prognoza-na-eurowybory/0el9vgx,79cfc278

-- HANNA WRÓBLEWSKA IS THE NEW MINISTER OF CULTURE. PARADOXICALLY, SHE FINDS HERSELF IN A MORE DIFFICULT SITUATION THAN HER PREDECESSOR - PIOTR KOSIEWSKI IN TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY: “Over the years, Wróblewska has shown that she can work in a team, cooperating with people from very different, including ideologically, backgrounds. She also understands what public institutions are and that their proper functioning is in the state's interest. From now on, she will have to reconcile various expectations and make decisions that are not necessarily in line with the wishes of people in culture, who greeted her nomination with such enthusiasm.” https://www.tygodnikpowszechny.pl/hanna-wroblewska-nowa-ministra-kultury-paradoksalnie-znajduje-sie-w-trudniejszej-sytuacji-niz-jej

-- THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH WILL ADDRESS WOMEN'S SAFETY, BUT WITHOUT ABORTION ACTIVISTS. "PIS AT LEAST DIDN'T PRETEND" - PAULINA NODZYŃSKA IN GW: “In the opinion of activists, the new Ministry of Health differs little from the previous one, led by PiS. Back then, too, when after Dorota's death in a hospital in Nowy Targ, they requested to join the team developing guidelines on abortion, they were refused. The then head of the health ministry, Adam Niedzielski, reportedly told them that 'this should be substantive work, not a happening.' They are therefore looking with increasing critical eyes at the actions of the current government: restricting access to 'day after' pills, allowing Kaja Godek to participate in the parliamentary committee on abortion, organizing public hearings on abortion projects, which opens the door to pro-life activists.” https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,30959767,ministerstwo-zdrowia-zajmie-sie-bezpieczenstwem-kobiet-ale.html

-- EXACTLY FIVE YEARS AGO, the premiere of the Sekielski brothers' film about pedophilia in the Catholic Church shocked public opinion.

-- 34 YEARS AGO (on Sunday), the Centre Agreement was formed.

-- BIRTHDAYS: Ludgarda Buzek turns 89! Patryk Jaki turns 39, and his daughter Ola – four. Also celebrating birthdays are: Anna Streżyńska, Jan Ołdakowski, Zbigniew Benbenek, Joanna Górska. SUNDAY: Witold Koziński, Marcin Makowski.