— THE CURRENT SITUATION IS THAT THE POLISH STATE, GOVERNED BY A LEFT-WING GOVERNMENT, SHYMON HOŁOWNIA, THE PSL, AND PLATFORMA, IS A GOOD PARTNER FOR GERMANY BECAUSE IT DOES WHAT GERMANY WANTS. PARTICULARLY IN MIGRATION POLICY – KRZYSZTOF BOSAK ON TV WPOLSCE24: “They don’t want to admit it officially. But if you ask them a specific question, they don’t deny it. Yesterday, I witnessed a public discussion with Minister Siemoniak, who is responsible for these matters… and when asked directly, he replied: yes, that is international law, the Dublin Convention. If someone entered Germany illegally from Poland, and Germany establishes this, they have the right to return them to Poland because they have reinstated border controls. Minister Siemoniak said: We don’t like it, but that’s the law.”
https://wpolityce.pl/polityka/723912-tylko-u-nas-bosak-przedstawia-szokujace-ustalenia

— WILL DUDA BECOME PRIME MINISTER? – MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON INTERIA PODCAST: “I’ve even heard that among his associates, in closed meetings, he says that he will not uphold the tradition of retiring. There is only one scenario on the table to which Andrzej Duda does not say a firm ‘no’. This is one in which he could be a candidate for Prime Minister, possibly becoming Prime Minister, after the 2027 elections – said Marcin Fijołek. This plan could come to fruition if the future government were formed by PiS, Konfederacja, and ‘perhaps a part of the PSL’. – Andrzej Duda once spoke of a ‘coalition of Polish affairs’. This would be an area to which he could then return, as someone who would be acceptable – though not the first choice – to PiS, Konfederacja, and maybe even the PSL – he listed.”
https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/kraj/news-andrzej-duda-w-miejsce-donalda-tuska-prezydent-nie-mowi-nie,nId,7931088

— HOŁOWNIA. THE PHENOMENON OF A COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY CANDIDATE – PIOTR ZAREMBA ON INTERIA: “It is difficult for me to point to another politician who has so brilliantly wasted his chance, because he did not know how to conduct subject-oriented politics. Trzecia Droga was a cleverly conceived project. People who were fed up with PiS, but distanced from Tusk, voted for it. Only thanks to it could Tusk gain an arithmetic majority for his government. But this maneuver probably cannot be repeated again. Because Polska 2050 cannot convince Poles that they need it for anything.”

— HE BEHAVED AS IF HE WAS ON THE PHONE – DONALD TUSK’S – ZAREMBA CONTINUES ON INTERIA: “I have the impression that Hołownia hasn’t grasped this yet: from the beginning of his career as Marshal and one of the leaders of the new coalition, he behaved as if he was on the phone – Donald Tusk’s. Most amusingly, this phone might not have even rung. He simply did not find any formula to differentiate himself from the main coalition partner. Will he find one now? I doubt it. And even if he came up with something, it’s probably too late. The impression has solidified.”
https://wydarzenia.interia.pl/wybory/prezydenckie/news-szymon-holownia-fenomen-calkiem-zbednego-kandydata,nId,7931062

— DESPITE EVERYTHING, FOR NOW, THE LEAD OF THE COLORLESS TRZASKOWSKI, WHO SAYS NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL, SEEMS TO BE STABILIZING – PIOTR ZAREMBA ON RZ: “Despite everything, for now, the lead of the colorless Trzaskowski, who says nothing substantial, seems to be stabilizing – if we are to believe the polls, in which the right-wing side usually sees manipulation. The KO candidate generally has about 10 percentage points lead over Nawrocki. And wins the second round. Recently, CBOS gave Trzaskowski 34%, Nawrocki – 25%, Sławomir Mentzen from Konfederacja – 17%. Even at the beginning of January, the balance of power was more favorable for the PiS candidate – 35% to 31% with 12.5% for Mentzen.”

— THE FEELING THAT NAWROCKI’S CAMPAIGN IS STAGNATING HAS BECOME A REASON FOR FERMENT IN PiS – ZAREMBA CONTINUES ON RZ: “The feeling that Nawrocki’s campaign is stagnating has become a reason for ferment in PiS. – He travels around Poland, repeats the same thing everywhere, and nothing comes of it – this is how the accusations could be summarized. The candidate’s campaign team is a coalition of all PiS factions, headed by Paweł Szefernaker, a man of Joachim Brudziński.”

— MENTZEN IS CONDUCTING HIS CAMPAIGN ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLY – ZAREMBA WRITES IN RZ: “Mentzen is conducting his campaign almost imperceptibly. Media on both sides of the polarization do not report on his election travels. But his own staff also rarely posts his speeches online. Are Poles judging him solely by his generally known views? Tactically, he is skillful. Being more anti-Ukrainian than PiS, he simultaneously avoids bowing to America, even Trump’s America.”
https://www.rp.pl/plus-minus/art41923031-piotr-zaremba-nienormalna-kampania-prezydencka

— THREE YEARS AGO, MORAWIECKI, KACZYŃSKI, FIALA, AND JANSA WENT BY TRAIN TO WARTIME KYIV.

— BIRTHDAYS: Katarzyna Hall, Janusz Piechociński, Joanna Tomaszewska, Aleksandra Jakubowska, Jerzy Wilk. SUNDAY: Wanda Buk.