-- MINISTER OF HEALTH SUGGESTS HIGHER HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE WEALTHIER, INCLUDING FARMERS: PRIVILEGED GROUPS, WHO CURRENTLY PAY A MUCH LOWER CONTRIBUTION, ALSO REQUIRE SERIOUS DISCUSSION - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/pl/live/2026-05-13/

-- TECHNO AT THE PALACE IN WILANÓW HURT THE CIVIC COALITION - MICHAŁ WOJCZUK IN GW: "The contrast between the strict rules that apply daily in the Wilanów park and the fact that they were waived for the event also had an effect. The patron of the event was the foundation of Omena Mensah, a philanthropist, former TVN journalist, and wife of Rafał Brzoska, an entrepreneur and founder of InPost. Thus, the message that 'elites are allowed more' was reinforced. The Civic Coalition and the Tusk government are criticized for their lack of social awareness. They often react to crises with a delay that suggests decisions are made only after focus group public opinion research. This was the case recently with Senator Tomasz Lenz, who, at the request of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, was expelled from the Civic Coalition for arranging his son's medical procedure at a hospital in Aleksandrów Kujawski outside of procedures and without queuing. This matter also had the aspect of 'elites are allowed more,' which Tusk considers exceptionally harmful."
https://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,32784219,techno-w-palacu-w-wilanowie-zaszkodzilo-koalicji-obywatelskiej.html

-- THE RULING CAMP BOTCHED THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL ISSUE AT THE COST OF FOUR JUDGES - MARIUSZ JANICKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: "Such defeats are not politically without consequences, as they accumulate, are remembered by voters, and erode trust in the government's political capabilities. The Constitutional Tribunal issue should serve as a lesson to the ruling camp, point by point, on how not to conduct such operations."

-- THE ENTIRE OPERATION BY THE RULING CAMP TO SELECT JUDGES FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL – AFTER MONTHS OF DELAY – WAS ILL-CONSIDERED AND UNPREPARED - JANICKI FURTHER IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: "The entire operation by the ruling camp to select judges for the Constitutional Tribunal – after months of delay, during which the Tribunal was treated as a defunct and insignificant institution – was ill-considered and unprepared. We predicted many weeks ago how this might end, being somewhat surprised that judges with experience and prestige – despite fully understanding their noble intentions – allowed themselves to be persuaded by politicians to undertake such an action."
https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2342741,1,oboz-wladzy-koncertowo-polozyl-sprawe-tk-kosztem-czworki-sedziow-dlaczego-sobie-to-robi.read

-- PRIME MINISTER TUSK IS BECOMING A LAME DUCK A YEAR AND A HALF BEFORE THE ELECTIONS. THE AMERICANS' DECISION IS A CLEAR SIGNAL THAT ONE SHOULD ALREADY BE ORIENTING TOWARDS THE NEXT GOVERNMENT - JACEK CZAPUTOWICZ IN RZ: "Reportedly, the government is in shock, and dark clouds are gathering over the minister, though not the one responsible for relations with the USA. So, according to the principle 'the smith is blamed, but the Gypsy is hanged.' Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tusk is becoming a lame duck a year and a half before the elections. The Americans' decision is a clear signal that one should already be orienting towards the next government."
https://www.rp.pl/opinie-polityczno-spoleczne/art44355551-prof-jacek-czaputowicz-czy-premier-donald-tusk-staje-sie-kulawa-kaczka

-- THIS ESCAPE MAKES ZIOBRO A RIDICULOUS FIGURE - MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI ON THE TYGODNIK POLITYKA PORTAL: "In the USA, Ziobro is neither a martyr nor a dangerous, dark avenger who is waiting just around the corner, in Budapest, under the wing of the right-wing strongman Orbán, to return to Poland. Today, he plays the role of a politician without a future, fleeing in panic. (...) Ziobro, once the all-powerful Minister of Justice, is today increasingly resembling Mariusz Max Kolonko, who, after years at the professional peak, delivers his caricatured messages from a broom closet overseas. And it's only a matter of time before Ziobro concludes his correspondence for Republika, just like the original: 'Zbigniew Ziobro reporting, Boston, Massachusetts.'"

-- HIS PUBLIC CAREER IN POLAND SEEMS DEFINITIVELY OVER, AS HE HAS CROSSED THE LINE OF RIDICULOUSNESS - DANIELEWSKI FURTHER: "And for now, let's focus on something else, drawing satisfaction from the fact that Ziobro has indeed faced some form of punishment: his public career in Poland seems definitively over, as he has crossed the line of ridiculousness, which can be more disqualifying in politics than breaking the law."
https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2342653,1,mowil-zbigniewziobro-boston-massachusetts-ta-ucieczka-robi-z-niego-postac-kuriozalna.read

-- PEŁCZYŃSKA-NAŁĘCZ LIKE GOWIN. THE CIVIC COALITION IS TRYING TO BUILD A MAJORITY WITHOUT HER - MICHAŁ KOLANKO IN RZ: "From "Rzeczpospolita's" conversations with representatives of parliamentary clubs and from public declarations by politicians of Poland 2050, it appears that there has already been at least one attempt to break up the Poland 2050 club and create an alternative majority in the Sejm without the Minister of Funds. This repeats the pattern known from PiS governments and the attempt (ultimately successful) to break Jarosław Gowin's circle by Jarosław Kaczyński, also against the backdrop of Gowin's resistance to the Polish Deal and the issue of the '30-fold increase.'"
https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art44343731-katarzyna-pelczynska-nalecz-jak-jaroslaw-gowin-ko-probuje-zbudowac-wiekszosc-bez-niej

-- PISF HAS DISTRIBUTED MONEY FOR FILMS. SMARZOWSKI, MAŁYSZ BIOGRAPHY, AND A SCRIPT BY TUSK'S ADVISOR - PAWEŁ FIGURSKI ON THE ZERO PORTAL: "The Polish Film Institute has announced the list of feature films receiving funding. The screenplay for one of them was written by Igor Ostachowicz, a writer and advisor to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. This project received PLN 3 million. The largest amount – PLN 7 million – was allocated to Wojciech Smarzowski's film 'Slavs. Wedding.' The Institute emphasizes that the fact that Igor Ostachowicz is the screenwriter had no impact on the project's evaluation or the decision to grant funding. The opinion-forming commission included: Urszula Antoniak, Renata Czarnkowska-Listoś, Jan Komasa, Agnieszka Kruk, and Krzysztof Terej. Little is known about the film 'Death.' – It is a full-length feature project directed by Grzegorz Mołda, addressing a socially significant theme, distinguished by the director's and cinematographer's coherent and distinct artistic vision – describes Witowski."
https://zero.pl/news/pisf-rozdal-23-mln-zl-na-filmy-7-mln-dla-smarzowskiego-i-3-mln-na-film-wg-scenariusza-doradcy-tuska

-- INSTEAD OF FRANCE, POLAND COULD BE INVOLVED IN TARIFF DECISIONS - BARTEK GODUSŁAWSKI IN BUSINESS INSIDER ON THE WORDS OF AN AMERICAN OFFICIAL REGARDING DIGITAL TAX IN POLAND: "I'll give you just one example. A week ago, the Polish Minister of Trade was in my office. A proposal to introduce a digital services tax emerged in Poland. I then took out a copy of the report concerning the French digital services tax from the first term, which led to tariffs being imposed on France, showed it to him, and said, 'I really wouldn't want to find myself in a situation where I would have to publish a report in which Poland appears instead of France' – Jamieson Greer replied during a committee hearing on April 22nd. – 'I think the message was received. We are watching this very closely. This tax has not yet come into effect,' he added."
https://businessinsider.com.pl/biznes/polska-planuje-podatek-dla-big-techow-amerykanie-groza-konsekwencjami/qkt5xnb

-- THIS IS POTENTIALLY A SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS FOR KACZYŃSKI: OVER EIGHT YEARS IN POWER, HE HAS CREATED YOUNG, BUT ALREADY EXPERIENCED IN GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, WELL-EDUCATED CADRES FOR HIS PARTY - MICHAŁ DANIELEWSKI IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: "This is potentially a significant success for Kaczyński: over eight years in power, he has created young, but already experienced in government administration, well-educated cadres for his party, which should ensure the political existence of Law and Justice for the next 30 years. Because almost everyone mentioned also has their characteristic profile; there are few colorlessly anonymous apparatchiks in this group who carry briefcases for their superiors. They either have leadership ambitions or specific specializations: diplomacy, digitalization, infrastructure, administration, political communication. The snag is that for the party leader, this abundance is becoming a problem of riches that he cannot handle."

-- WHILE KACZYŃSKI HAS A HEADACHE FROM AN EXCESS OF OPTIONS, DONALD TUSK'S THOUGHTS MUST BE MOST OCCUPIED BY THE ISSUE OF HIRING A TEAM FOR A SEARCH MISSION TO FIND ANYONE - DANIELEWSKI FURTHER: "While Kaczyński has a headache from an abundance of options, Donald Tusk's thoughts must be most occupied by the issue of hiring a team for a search mission to find anyone who could conceivably take over the reins of the party from him. This is, by the way, a perverse feature of the Polish political scene, that the conservative right constantly discovers new, promising politicians, while on the liberal-left, it's harder to age than in Hollywood, where 40-year-old actors play 20-year-olds in films."

-- PERHAPS IT WAS PRECISELY THESE 432 THOUSAND VOTES, WHICH TRZASKOWSKI LACKED TO WIN THEN, THAT BROKE THE SPINE OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF PLATFORM POLITICIANS - DANIELEWSKI AGAIN IN TYGODNIK POLITYKA: "And perhaps it was precisely these 432 thousand votes, which Trzaskowski lacked to win then, that broke the spine of an entire generation of Civic Platform politicians. Because it was a bold, not obvious campaign with an element of strongly signaling the need for generational change, including the iconoclastic demand to send Kaczyński and Tusk into retirement."

-- TODAY, THE YOUNGER RANKS OF THE CIVIC COALITION ARE MOSTLY QUITE GREY AND COLORLESS - DANIELEWSKI AGAIN IN POLITYKA: "However, this does not change the fact that today, the younger ranks of the Civic Coalition are mostly quite grey and colorless. Younger male and female politicians on the left side of the political scene, on the other hand, must be given credit for wanting something. But they – astonishingly – don't know how to achieve it."

-- HOWEVER UNPLEASANT IT MAY SOUND TO LIBERAL EARS, THE RIGHT, IN ITS VARIOUS SHADES, SEEMS BETTER PREPARED PERSONALLY TODAY FOR TIMES WHEN THE POLITICAL SCENE WILL NO LONGER BE SHAPED BY LEADERS FROM THE GENERATION THAT HAD THE CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ROUND TABLE TALKS - CLAIMS DANIELEWSKI: "However unpleasant it may sound to liberal ears, the right, in its various shades, seems better prepared personally today for times when the political scene will no longer be shaped by leaders from the generation that had the chance to participate in the Round Table talks. This is because, in addition to the opposition right, we must also count the government right, led by the less than 45-year-old Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the most experienced politician of his generation. If the PSL survives the next elections, it will be the leader of the Peasants' Party who will be the natural leader to whom more moderate young right-wing politicians will soon orient themselves."

-- THE RIGHT SIDE CAN WAIT FOR POLITICAL CHANGE WITH GREATER HOPE TODAY; IT IS FROM THE RIGHT-WING "SCHOOLS" THAT THE MOST WELL-PREPARED LEADERS FOR CONTEMPORARY, SOCIAL POLITICS EMERGE TODAY - DANIELEWSKI'S CONCLUSION: "And liberals and the left are left to wait. For a change in the political climate, for someone new to emerge from the grey magma, or for someone already more experienced to suddenly catch a tailwind. After all, there is still some time left for a change of guard, and it's never so bad that it can't get better; the vacated position eventually gets filled. But it is the right side that can today wait for political change with greater hope; it is from the right-wing "schools" that the leaders best prepared for contemporary, social politics emerge today. On the other hand, there is a lot of self-satisfaction on the other side, but less political potential."
https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/2342567,1,kto-po-kaczynskim-i-tusku-w-pis-delfin-delfinowi-wilkiem-w-ko-szara-magma.read

-- BIRTHDAYS: Justyna Kopińska, Hanna Foltyn-Kubicka, Grzegorz Sztolcman, Marek Wikiński, Małgorzata Okońska-Zaremba, Adam Hofman.