-- NAWROCKI A BETTER PRESIDENT THAN DUDA - POLLSTER FOR SE: “Does Nawrocki perform his duties better than Andrzej Duda? 36 percent of respondents polled by Pollster Research Institute believe he performs them equally. In turn, 31 percent of us believe President Nawrocki is doing better than his predecessor, and only 22 percent rate Andrzej Duda higher.”
https://polityka.se.pl/wiadomosci/nawrocki-jest-lepszym-prezydentem-od-dudy-zaskakujace-opinie-polakow-aa-25vJ-v6zh-PXFM.html

-- 800+, 13th & 14th PENSIONS, AND CARE ALLOWANCE COST OVER 100 BILLION ZŁOTYCH ANNUALLY. TIME FOR DISCUSSION - ECONOMIST NIKODEM SZEWCZYK IN OKO.PRESS: “The state spends more and more, achieving less and less. 800+, the 13th and 14th pensions, and the care allowance cost over 100 billion zlotys annually. It's time for a discussion about potential changes to the 800+ program, which is already over a decade old. This sum is comparable to the state's annual spending on higher education, science, and the judiciary – combined. Such large funds are directed to programs that have a limited redistributive effect and do little to reduce income inequality.”
https://oko.press/panstwo-opiekuncze-do-zmiany-czas-na-ograniczenie-skali-transferow

-- THE LARGEST GROUP OF POLES BELIEVES THE SITUATION IN THE JUDICIARY IS NO BETTER THAN DURING THE UNITED RIGHT'S RULE - SW RESEARCH POLL FOR ONET: “The largest group of Poles, as many as 39.6 percent, believes that the situation in the judiciary is no better than during the United Right's rule. Nearly one-third (33.2 percent) of respondents assess the functioning of the judiciary as better than under the previous government. A surprise may be the considerable number of undecided individuals. Slightly over a quarter of respondents, i.e., 27.3 percent, have no opinion on the matter.”
https://www.onet.pl/informacje/onetwiadomosci/cios-dla-waldemara-zurka-tak-polacy-widza-wymiar-sprawiedliwosci-sondaz/y57m01b,79cfc278

-- KO AND PiS CURRENTLY HAVE SIMILAR CHANCES OF ELECTORAL VICTORY. HOWEVER, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE BROADER POLITICAL POWER BALANCE IN POLAND AND EUROPE – THESE CHANCES DO NOT EXTEND BEYOND THE 2027 ELECTIONS – DR PAWEŁ RUSZKOWSKI IN GW: “In the Civic Coalition (KO), older individuals (65+) constitute 35 percent of voters, while in PiS it's 40 percent, compared to the sample average of 26 percent. However, in both KO and PiS, young people (18-34) make up 11 percent of voters, exactly half the sample average (22 percent). The tendency of the key role of older individuals in both electorates is confirmed by data on the participation of pensioners: in PiS, they constitute 50 percent of voters, and in KO – 40 percent (with an average of 33 percent).”
https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,32539423,ko-i-pis-szykuja-sie-do-najblizszych-wyborow-ale-urodzeni-w.html

-- PŁACZEK: BUSINESS LOOKS AT KONFEDERACJA WITH HOPE. IT WANTS TO SUPPORT US FINANCIALLY AND EXPERTLY - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/pl/live

-- KONFEDERACJA IS NO LONGER TERRIFYING; THANKS TO BRAUN, IT HAS BECOME PART OF THE MAINSTREAM - KATARZYNA SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KULTURA LIBERALNA: “Radicals have been absorbed by Grzegorz Braun and Polish MAGA enthusiasts. This has made Sławomir Mentzen part of the mainstream. Konfederacja benefits from this. What was once brazen, scandalous, niche within it has become normal. And the proverbial entrepreneurs – irritated by restrictions on combustion engine cars, Sunday shop closures, and permanently attached bottle caps – may shift their votes from the Civic Coalition to it.”

-- GRZEGORZ BRAUN HAS TAKEN OVER THE EXTREME NICHE, WHICH ALSO BENEFITS KONFEDERACJA - CONTINUED SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KL: “Grzegorz Braun has taken over the extreme niche, which also benefits Konfederacja. Because he has taken on the strangeness, embarrassment, ridiculousness, theatricality, and unreality in phobias. Anti-Semitism, anachronistic patriotism, militant Catholicism – there is a demand for all of this, as evidenced by the 10 percent support for Konfederacja Korony Polskiej in polls. By attracting such voters, Braun takes them away from Mentzen.”

-- PIS IS NO LONGER THE SAME - CONTINUED SKRZYDŁOWSKA-KALUKIN IN KL: “And PiS, weakening in the polls, mired in factional fights and with clearly weaker leadership than usual, is unable to push Konfederacja to the margins, taking what is good for itself from it, and invalidating or demonizing the rest. PiS is no longer the obvious better choice for a decent right-winger. It has to compete for voters with Braun.”
https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2026/01/29/skrzydlowska-kalukin-konfederacja-juz-nie-przeraza-nie-te-czasy/

-- 18 MATERNITY WARDS WERE CLOSED IN FOUR WEEKS OF THE NEW YEAR - DOMINIKA PIETRZYK IN RZ: “At the end of 2025, there were 284 gynecological and obstetrical wards in Poland. Currently, 266 are operating, managed by 259 hospitals (one entity may have several wards of the same profile). In less than four weeks of the new year, 18 hospitals have ceased operating maternity wards.”
https://www.rp.pl/zdrowie/art43713861-w-cztery-tygodnie-nowego-roku-zlikwidowano-18-porodowek-ustalila-rzeczpospolita-zastapia-je-pokoje-narodzin

-- THE COALITION PASSES A BUDGET WITH A 23 BILLION DEFICIT FOR THE NATIONAL HEALTH FUND (NFZ), SO THE COALITION POLITICIANS IN POWER ARE PARTICIPATING IN AN ANNUAL PRIVATE FUNDRAISER AIMED AT PATCHING HOLES IN NFZ FINANCING. WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? - WOJTEK ŻUBR BOLIŃSKI IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “When a president who has been closing hospital wards in Rybnik in recent years warms up his image within the framework of WOŚP (Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity), it is not much less outrageous than a prime minister auctioning off his famous golden bottle caps (which only became famous now – because he auctioned them for WOŚP).”

-- THE PROJECT ASSUMES FINANCIAL GRATIFICATIONS FOR... CLOSING WARDS - CONTINUED BOLIŃSKI IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “Since last year, the Ministry of Health has been working on a draft regulation encouraging Polish hospitals to restructure. As reported recently by the Rynekzdrowia.pl portal, the project assumes financial gratifications for… closing wards. Individual hospitals are to retain a portion of the lump-sum payment for a closed ward for two years. If the regulation comes into force in its current form, it will mean that the Polish state is paying public hospitals to stop treating people. As a reminder, access to free healthcare is a right derived directly from the Polish Constitution.”

-- PART OF HOLDING POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE SHOULD BE CONDEMNING THEM EVERY TIME THEY WARM UP THEIR IMAGE THROUGH ANNUAL PARTICIPATION IN A PRIVATE FOUNDATION CAMPAIGN SUPPORTING THE SYSTEM FOR WHOSE STARVATION THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE - FURTHER BOLIŃSKI IN KRYTYKA POLITYCZNA: “We must begin holding politicians accountable for its lack. Part of this accountability should be condemning them every time they warm up their image through annual participation in a private foundation campaign supporting the system for whose starvation they are responsible. Let's stop accepting this ghastly dance on the graves of people who cannot afford healthcare other than public and whose lives have been shortened by the state of public healthcare.”
https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/wosp-charity-washing-politycy-nfz-zamykanie-szpitali/

-- BIRTHDAYS: Maria Zajączkowska turns 86, Maciej Samcik, Anna Skowrońska-Łuczyńska.