Poland

[angelburst29]

23 Aug, 2018 - Russia allows Poland to examine wreckage of crashed president Kaczynski’s plane
Russia allows Poland to examine wreckage of crashed president Kaczynski’s plane

Debris of the Polish Air Force Tu-154 aircraft, which crashed outside Smolensk in 2010, killing all aboard, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski. © Iliya Pitalev / Sputnik

Polish investigators will arrive in Russia in early September to inspect the debris of the Tu-154M plane, which crashed near Smolensk in 2010, killing Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski and other top officials.

Warsaw’s appeal to examine the wreckage of the presidential aircraft has been satisfied, Svetlana Petrenko, Russia’s Investigative Committee spokeswoman, has said.

The “accessories, subassemblies and structural elements of the Tu-154M, stored in Smolensk,” will be additionally inspected by the Russian criminalists in the presence of the Polish representatives between September 3 and 7, she added. The results of the inquiry will then be passed on to Warsaw in accordance with the legal procedures, Petrenko added.

On April 10, 2010, a Tu-154M plane with 96 people aboard, including President Kaczynski and his wife, senior Polish military commanders and lawmakers crashed shortly before landing on an airfield in city of Smolensk, some 360 kilometers south-west of Moscow.

The high-profile delegation was traveling to attend a ceremony to commemorate the victims of 1940 Katyn Massacre, in which thousands of Polish officers were slaughtered.

Poland has carried out an investigation of the 2010 tragedy, which revealed negligence in the Polish Air Force training program and ruled that the decisions made aboard the plane led to the deadly crash.

The transcript from aboard indicated that a senior official was present in the cockpit and pressured the pilots to perform the landing on the instructions of President Kaczynski despite the dangerous weather conditions.

The 2011 report, prepared under the government of then-Prime Minister and current European Council president, Donald Tusk, stated that that aircraft collided with a tall birch tree several hundred meters short of reaching the runway as it was flying below the allowed altitude with no vision of the land due to the thick fog.

However, the rightist Law and Justice Party (PiS) of Lech Kaczynski’s twin brother, Jaroslav, was outraged with such a conclusion and blamed Tusk of colluding with Moscow. When PiS came to power in 2015, it swiftly launched its own investigation into the Smolensk crash.

Warsaw now claims that Kaczynski’s plane caught fire and started falling apart mid-air and suggests that Moscow should accept responsibility for the tragedy. However, no convincing proof of the allegations has yet been presented.


Back-dated 22 Oct, 2016 - ‘Harmful for Poland’: Tusk slams new govt conspiracy theory on presidential plane crash in Russia
‘Harmful for Poland’: Tusk slams new govt conspiracy theory on presidential plane crash in Russia

Poland’s defense minister claims a video of Donald Tusk talking with Russian officials at the site of Lech Kaczynski’s plane crash refutes the official probe and was hidden. The EC head dismissed the claim as “pathological politics.” The footage was in fact aired.

Tusk, who was Poland’s prime minister at the time of the 10 April, 2010 tragedy in Russia’s Smolensk Region, did not mince words denying the accusations by current Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz. Macierewicz claimed that the circumstances of the crash revealed during the conversation Tusk had with former Russia’s Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu and then-Russian PM Vladimir Putin on the day of the tragedy run counter to the conclusions of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) and the Tusk government commission probe.

“Everyone knows that Polish and Russian cameras were present at this meeting,” Tusk said on the sidelines of the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday. “A lot of people accompanied us. These are no longer insinuations. These are signs of a very serious case of pathological politics.”

Tusk added: “Frankly I do not want to comment on this. It’s sad, because [these claims] are really harmful to Poland.”

On Thursday, the Polish Defense Ministry posted what it said was never-published footage of a meeting between Tusk on the one side and Putin, Shoigu and other high-ranking Russian officials on the other on the day of the catastrophe.

In the video, taken on the same day President Kaczynski’s plane crashed near a Smolensk airfield, Shoigu can be seen briefing Tusk on the initial findings near the site of the crash, saying that the plane hit the trees, overturned and then crashed into the ground.

“More than a kilometer from here, where its [the plane’s] altitude was expected to be 60-80 meters, the trees are cut at the height of 8 meters. As a result, 200 meters from here the first collision with the ground occurred,” Shoigu said. He added that the plane apparently had its chassis out and turned upside down, after which the fire broke out that was contained in the first seven minutes following the crash.

Yet, for some reason in the video published and subtitled by Poland's defense ministry, Shoigu's clear mention of a distance of "more than a kilometer" in Russian is captioned as "about 8 kilometers away [translator: more than a kilometer away]."

It's not clear where the "8 kilometer" reference comes from and why that discrepancy is there.

"This video is of course not new, it has been on YouTube for two or three years. In my opinion this is only the government's propaganda, which wants to create a new view for the Polish society that Donald Tusk had knowledge about reasons of the Polish airplane crash and he hasn't informed Polish society, and in the government's propaganda opinion it's a crime, which Donald Tusk can now be accused of," Tomasz Jankowski from the European Center of Geopolitical Analysis, and General Secretary of Poland's Zmiana party, told RT.

Contrary to the claims by Macierewicz that the meeting was kept secret by Tusk until the release of the footage by the ministry, it was in fact made public soon after the tragedy, as it was held in the presence of Polish and Russian journalists. The video was aired by Rossiya 24 channel on April 10 as it ran a report on the course of the investigation.

In an interview to Gazeta Polska, to be published Wednesday, Macierewicz said that Tusk “did not care to inform anybody” about the conversation with Putin, claiming that the “key point” is that it “demonstrates absolutely another course of the tragedy,” RIA Novosti reports.

The Polish government report prepared by the Investigative Committee, chaired by the then-Interior Minister Jerzy Miller in 2011, stated that the plane had collided with a tall birch tree several hundred meters short of reaching the runway as it was flying below the allowed altitude with no vision of the land due to poor weather conditions.

In its final report on the crash published in January 2011, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) revealed that the major reason that triggered the tragedy was the crew’s unwillingness to divert the plane to an alternative airport despite being repeatedly informed of the weather condition as well as “descending to an altitude profoundly lower than the norm with the ground cues being out of sight.” That led to the aircraft “striking obstacles and the ground.”

‘Manipulation of public opinion’
Upon winning parliamentary elections last October, Polish right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), to which its leader, twin brother of the late Polish President Kaczynski, Jaroslav, as well as Macierewicz belong, have re-launched the investigation into the tragedy and set up a new commission aiming to review the Miller report findings. The current Defense Minister, Macierewicz, had in fact been heading the alternative Parliamentary Committee created by a group of Polish MPs that claimed Russia was complicit in the tragedy and speculated on “explosions” in the plane’s hull before the crash.

On September 15, the newly-formed commission published preliminary results of its probe, with the Defense Ministry calling the official probe a result of “falsifying, manipulating, avoiding, and hiding” the truth behind the tragedy. The authors of the report argued that the plane began to fall apart mid-air some 900 meters from the site of the crash arguing that the fire erupted while the plane was still in the air. The exact seconds of the crash, they claim, are missing from the recording of the flight because they were cut out.

However, the new report has been blasted by the Polish opposition as an attempt to manipulate public opinion to serve the right-wing Law and Justice party’s agenda.

“We know your real purposes. It is first of all manipulation of public opinion by means of endless repeating lies in a bid that the larger part of society would finally believe in them. You are creating myths, repeating slogans, demonstrating pictures – they are all fakes,” Pawel Suski, MP from the liberal-conservative Polish Civic platform (PO) said on Friday, as cited by TASS.

Another MP, Marcin Kierwinski, accused Macierewicz of “misinformation which poses a real threat to the country’s security,” adding that no compelling evidence in support of the new version has been presented by the commission so far.

Previously, Macierewicz went as far as saying the crash might have been a “terror attack” by Russia “aimed at depriving Poland of the leadership”.

“After Smolensk, we can say that we were ... the first great victim of terrorism in the modern conflict, that's playing out right before our eyes,” he said in March.

The plane with 96 Polish officials, including President Kaczynski and his wife, senior military commanders and several lawmakers crashed as it was heading to a ceremony to commemorate the 1940 Katyn Massacre, in which thousands of Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police.

Published on Oct 21, 2016 (3:17 min.)

 

[Ant22]

Thanks for reporting on it @angelburst29. I must say I can't help but roll my eyes at the lack of logic behind the Polish officials' reasoning.

Warsaw now claims that Kaczynski’s plane caught fire and started falling apart mid-air and suggests that Moscow should accept responsibility for the tragedy. However, no convincing proof of the allegations has yet been presented.

Just why on Earth would Moscow accept responsibility for it when the plane took off from Poland? Makes as much sense as: It's going to rain today becuase my shoes are brown. If something did happen on board of the plane it would have been Poland's fault.

Whenever this topic pops up in conversations, my first question always is: If Moscow did it, wha was the motive? That's how the police go about finding a killer: who had a motive? Who benefitted from it?

Well, no one did, especially not Moscow.

One of my favourite answers to the above questions is "They did it becuase they hate Poland". No, that's how American psychos act, should I mention the NATO presence in Poland again? It is a tad self-important to think that Putin actually cares that much, given his activity on the global geopolitical and economic scene. But wait, the said activity is either hardly reported, or it is twisted to match the Western narrative on Russia.

“We know your real purposes. It is first of all manipulation of public opinion by means of endless repeating lies in a bid that the larger part of society would finally believe in them. You are creating myths, repeating slogans, demonstrating pictures – they are all fakes,” Pawel Suski, MP from the liberal-conservative Polish Civic platform (PO) said on Friday, as cited by TASS.

They're not only creating myths, it's almost bordering on the level of a cult. Here's a bunch of photos pf a tacky memorial built after the plane crash. Heck, apparently they used soil from Smolensk, where the plane crashed (this is fro 2012):

Odsłonięto pomnik katastrofy smoleńskiej w Kałkowie-Godowie


In July this year Poland talked about showing Russia its "good intentions" to improve the Polish Russian relationship. Given the revived investigation, the good old saying that "hell is paved with good intentions" may prove to be accurate.

In the article below the discrepancies between the Polish officials' words and actions are pointed out:

Good Intentions: What Warsaw's Talk of Friendship With Russia is Really About

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski has said that Warsaw is hoping to convince Moscow of Poland's "good intentions" in improving bilateral relations. Russian-Ukrainian journalist and RIA Novosti contributor Rostislav Ishchenko ponders the foreign minister's remarks, and what they really mean for Russia.
In an interview for Austria's Der Standard last week, Waszczykowski said that Poland sees opportunities for improving relations with Russia.

"We are neighbors with a huge market and a major supplier of raw materials…We are hopeful that we can convince Russia of our good intentions. NATO and the European Union do not [want] to provoke Russia, but respond to Moscow's provocative behavior," the minister said.

Commenting on the foreign minister's remarks, international affairs commentator Rostislav Ishchenko quipped that considering Waszczykowski's statementfrom earlier this month that Ukraine "will not join Europe with [Stephan] Bandera" (the Nazi collaborator glorified by Kiev's authorities), perhaps it's time "to throw our caps into the air, pour the champagne and light the fireworks."

After all, the observer noted, "if the traditionally Russophobic Poland has turned its back on Ukraine (a project that Poland created and fostered more persistently than all other European countries) and declaring its desire to patch things up with Russia, what more could [Moscow] wish for?"

In reality, things aren't so simple, Ishchenko wrote. "Politics is a not a zero-sum game, and Kiev's obvious loss is not an obvious victory for Russia. There is only one thing that's obvious: Poland aspires to win."

"Has Poland become Russia's ally? No. Perhaps it has rejected its alliance with our adversaries? Again, no. Has Poland changed its attitude toward our recent history? No – on the contrary, Warsaw is preparing the demolition of Soviet monuments."

"So what did the Polish foreign minister mean?" the observer asked. "Is he deliberately trying to mislead us? Very doubtful. Diplomats are not bloggers. They value their reputation and do not lie openly…But they can speak only part of the truth. If one does not want to be deceived in one's hopes, it's necessary to pay attention not to what diplomats are saying, but what they are silent about."

And so, Ishchenko recalled, Poland, according to Waszczykowski, sees Russia as a major and promising trading partner, would like to convince Moscow of its good intentions, and to establish a constructive dialogue.

"The first part of this statement indicates that Poland would like to return its apples, and other goods which fell under Russian countersanctions, to the Russian market. Furthermore, Warsaw would be happy to take up the niches left by its EU counterparts." In this, they are not alone, with German, French, and American companies also looking to get back into the Russian market, sanctions or no sanctions.

"And what is Warsaw offering in return?" the analyst asked. "Perhaps the Poles have reconsidered their negative evaluation of the Nord Stream 2, which they worked to torpedo more actively than all other EU states combined? No. During Donald Trump's recent visit to Warsaw, the Polish side expressed its unequivocal support for the US plan to replace Russian pipeline gas with US LNG gas on the European market…In other words, on this issue, of fundamental importance to Moscow, Poland has remained Russia's opponent, and a faithful ally to the US."

Moreover, in the course of its negotiations with US officials last week, Warsaw promoted their 'Intermarium', a project Ishchenko described as "the creation of an informal hegemony for Poland in the space between the Black and Baltic Seas (and perhaps the Mediterranean). However, the traditional geopolitical purpose for this project, and the only reason justifying its creation, is the construction of a cordon sanitaire between Russia and Western Europe."

The benefits to Warsaw are obvious, the observer wrote. They include a role for Poland as the 'project manager' in the mission to unite Eastern Europe against Russia. "At the same time, the hopes of some Polish politicians go so far as to expect to enter the G20 – after securing the right and duty to represent Eastern Europe's interests there."

In reality, Ishchenko noted, the implementation of the Intermarium plan would lead to a new split in the EU. "'Old' (Western) Europe would remain on its own, while Poland, as the leader of the 'New' (Eastern) Europe, relying on US support, would become an effective instrument blocking an EU rapprochement with Russia." In other words, in their essence, Poland's long-term plans contradict the interests of both Moscow and the EU.

And this is something Warsaw understands, the observer added, pointing to the other idea voiced by Polish officials during Trump's visit – on the creation of a new, informal military-political coalition between the US, the UK and Poland. This, he noted, indicates that Poland may try to build its ties with the US as an exclusive partnership – both in the NATO framework, and in the EU (where it will promote US interests).

In this sense, "the Intermarium project becomes an umbrella structure, bringing together efforts and projects implemented under US patronage, and aimed at blocking Russian economic and political ties with Western Europe." Accordingly, Ishchenko noted that in this context, "it's no wonder that Poland's efforts to convince Russia of its 'good intentions' do not meeting with understanding from Moscow. Warsaw's intentions may be good (from the Polish point of view) but they run counter to Russia's long-term strategic interests."

Finally, the analyst noted, there is the third part of the foreign minister's statement – that Poland would like to establish a constructive dialogue with Moscow. "But what can this dialogue be about, if the long-term strategic plans of Poland and Russia diverge more than they did in 1939? What justifies Waszczykowski's good natured comments? What is it that he has to offer in return?"

According to Ishchenko, this 'constructive dialogue' may very well be about Ukraine. Warsaw, he noted, is fully aware that the West may soon abandon its 'Ukrainian project', and may thus be trying to bargain for the consideration of their own political and perhaps even territorial interests.

"After all, it must be understood that Moscow can wait for years for the right state of affairs to emerge in Ukraine…Poland, in case of a rapid negative development of events in Ukraine, will turn out to be a country which almost instantly (within the space of one or two years) receives five to six million 'European-oriented' refugees, mainly from the Bandera-supporting regions of western and central Ukraine."
"For Poland, where about one and a half million Ukrainian guest workers are already working, and where social tensions are growing on the basis of Poles' anti-Banderite sentiments, five million is a heavy load," the observer noted. "It's worth noting that Germany, which in two years has taken in a little more than a million refugees from Asia and Africa, is now bursting at the seams…"

"So the Polish foreign minister is telling the plain truth," Ishchenko stressed. "Warsaw really does have a desire to establish dialogue with Moscow. Poland really would like to convince Russia that its Eastern European initiatives, including the Intermarium, are guided by 'good intentions'. But is all this something Russia really needs?"

 

[Hi_Henry]

Well, no one did, especially not Moscow.

I agree with the last part. Moscow had absolutely nothing to gain in causing this plane crash. But the West did have something to gain. This incident fits nicely into the geopolitical theatrical play ---->"Putin is the Evil KGB Agent". Later on in the Play we have the Malaysian plane being shot down ..... and on and on ..... and finally the "Putin elected Trump" crescendo with Wagner played in the background. It sure looks to me like it is all about Putin and nothing else. To sacrifice some sheep would never stand in the way of those in the shadows.

The delegation's plane started in Poland so they had full control of what is in it and how it would be flown. Poland allowed ONE plane to fly many of their top people from their government. My company would NEVER ALLOW more than 3 top management people onto the same plane. NEVER. And yet Poland had no issue with this safety issue ????? I say this is as fishy as hell.

Next, since NATO generals were on the plane why didn't NATO/EU help Poland to take control of the investigation ????? In Ukraine they shoved the gov. aside and did what they wanted with the Malaysian plane investigation.

Something fishy here but the sheep don't think so

 

[Ant22]

Coming back to the article quoted above:

Good Intentions: What Warsaw's Talk of Friendship With Russia is Really About

"After all, it must be understood that Moscow can wait for years for the right state of affairs to emerge in Ukraine…Poland, in case of a rapid negative development of events in Ukraine, will turn out to be a country which almost instantly (within the space of one or two years) receives five to six million 'European-oriented' refugees, mainly from the Bandera-supporting regions of western and central Ukraine."

"For Poland, where about one and a half million Ukrainian guest workers are already working, and where social tensions are growing on the basis of Poles' anti-Banderite sentiments, five million is a heavy load," the observer noted. "It's worth noting that Germany, which in two years has taken in a little more than a million refugees from Asia and Africa, is now bursting at the seams…"

Poland refused to accept refugees from Africa, yet it has experienced an influx of Ukrainian refugees, many of them with neo-Nazi and Bandera loving tendencies. I found an interesting interview on Polish Sputnik that addresses the issue of Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Voices can be heard that the same forces that brought African refugees into Europe are responsible for destabilisation of Ukraine.

If this is true, Poland's strong stance against refugees, when coupled with it's alignment with NATO, didn't protect it from following the global social destabilisation script. Installing African refugees in Europe played on the liberal leftist "help the poor and ease the suffering" feelings and virtues. Poland is significantly more right wing, with some nationalist tendencies so Nazi-leaning Ukrainian refugees are likely to cause unrest.

This is not to say that all Ukrainian refugees have those tendencies. Many arrived becuase their government's actions and foreign involvement led to deterioration of their conditions of living. But it doesn't take the majority, historically 6% has been enough to stir things up.

The below article doesn't state this but the forces behind the current state of the Ukrainian economy are the same forces Poland seeks to align itself with.

The below is an interview between a Radio Sputnik correspondent, Leonid Sigan, and a political scientist and a university lecturer Andrzej Zapałowski, PhD.

Imigranci ukraińscy w Polsce - czyli groźba powoli tykającej bomby (excerpts are translated by me):

(...)

Q: What is causing the exodus of Ukrainians into Poland?

A: I think this is orchestrated from the outside. On the one hand people go where they can find work. Ukraine has one of the lowest levels of economic growth in Europe, it is a dying nation and the exodus of young people is being promoted.
(...) I also think that the forces which supported the exodus of Africans into Europe are now encouraging economic emigration of Ukrainians into Poland, directly or indirectly.

Q: Is there any guarantee that there won't be any nationalist, pro-Bandera elements among those emigrants that may act as a slowly ticking bomb?

A: (...) First of all, a large part of those economic migrants comes from Western Ukraine. Second of all, over the last 2-3 years we have observed increased criminalisation of social life in Ukraine. Their murder statistics are over a dozen times higher than in Poland while their population is of a similar size. This is frightening. If we look at year-by-year statistics the most serious crimes have risen by nearly 100%. Individuals infected with Bandera-inspired chauvinism as well as individuals from criminal circles will enter Poland. We already hear regular news reports about robbery attacks committed by Ukrainians. I think this process will continue to escalate. If the Union of Ukrainians in Poland and its activists use pro-Bandera elements, we will end up having tensions with Ukrainian nationalists in Poland.

Q: In today's issue of "Rzeczpospoita" newspaper, its editor Jerzy Haszczyński referred to the Ukrainian issue. He said Ukraine desperately needs anti-Russian heros. And in his opinion the fact that they're Bandera supporters is actually a positive thing. The problem is that those heroes are also anti-Polish, and Haszczyński has regrets about that too.

A: This is pollution of an environment that wants to impose only one dimensional line of reasoning on the rest of the society through intellectual terrorism. We need to bear in mind that the narrative of anti-Russian or anti-Polish heroes uses a very shallow and very brutal part of the Ukrainian history that promoted activities based on anti-humanitarian principles. Ukraine's references to its Galician or Kievan Rus history are non-existent or minimal. They build their statehood on nationalist movements of the twentieth century. This is a distortion of centuries of this society's history. The current trend to promote anti-Russian, anti-Polish or anti-Hungarian heroes is absolute stupidity. It is possible to be a hero defending something, without acting against another community. I think this creation of the Ukrainian history is aimed to go in certain pre-defined directions and it is orchestrated from the outside. The fact that specific anti-Polish of anti-Hungarian attitudes are not emphasised is just the tactics of this community, becuase they can't fight everyone at all fronts. I think the direction of the Ukrainian internal policy will lead to a catastrophe.

 

[Kmicic]

Hello everyone, it's funny to read about own country here If you would like to ask something about Poland history or mentality of polish people, I could try to get the answer for you

 

[angelburst29]

September 11, 2018 - Poland signals Seven Judges must Quit in Court Overhaul
Poland signals seven judges must quit in court overhaul

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda signaled on Tuesday that seven Supreme Court judges seeking to work past retirement age would have to stand down, advancing reforms that critics have said amount to political interference in the judiciary.

A decision by Duda to allow five out of 12 Supreme Court judges who wanted to stay on to keep their posts meant in effect that the remaining seven could no longer sit there, Presidential aide Pawel Mucha told state news agency PAP.

The measure is part of reforms by Poland’s ruling nationalists that are under fire from the opposition, the European Union, and rights groups who say the overhaul undermines the rule of law in the largest ex-communist EU state.

Through legislation and personnel changes, PiS has already taken de facto control of much of the judicial system since being elected in 2015, including the constitutional court and prosecutors, who now report directly to the justice minister.

The government says the change is needed to improve the efficiency of the courts and rid the country of a residue of communism, which collapsed in Poland almost 30 years ago. Further negotiations are due to take place with Brussels but so far Warsaw has offered only cosmetic concessions.

Earlier this year the Law and Justice (PiS) party introduced a law forcing into early retirement more than a third of the judges at the Supreme Court, which validates election results in Poland. New ones would be appointed by the president, a PiS ally.

There are more than 50 judges who are - according to the PiS-imposed law - allowed now to rule in the top court, after Duda’s decision on Tuesday to allow the five judges to stay on.

Taking another step in a row that divided Poles, Duda had been expected to name on Tuesday a new acting head of the Court, a move likely to be seen by critics as an attempt to pressure President of the Supreme Court Malgorzata Gersdorf, who declares that she remains in her job on the basis of the constitution.

Gersdorf has defied a new law that forces her into early retirement and has called on the EU to defend her country’s judiciary from government interference.

“Mr. President will take this decision by midnight today,” Duda spokesman Blazej Spychalski told private radio RMF FM.

However, Mucha later said the president would not name a new head of the court, adding that in his view this would mean that the longest-serving head of the Supreme Court chamber, Dariusz Zawistowski, 59, would become acting head of the Supreme Court.

The opposition has accused Duda of creating chaos aimed at helping PiS to take over the Supreme Court, as it did the Constitutional Tribunal in 2016.

“It is not about improving the speed and quality of cases being judged, because the main aim of what PiS is doing is to block the Supreme Court and install duplicate judges there,” Borys Budka, opposition Civic Platform (PO) party deputy told private broadcaster TVN24.

The Supreme Court has ruled that any changes in the body should be put on hold until the European Court of Justice (ECJ) answers its question whether the way Poland nominates members of the body that recommends judges is in line with the EU law, but PiS regarded this decision as not valid.

The EU has launched a punitive procedure against Warsaw over the reforms, which the ruling party says are needed to free the judiciary of communist-era thinking and practices.

 

[angelburst29]

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the White House that the two would discuss establishing a permanent US military base in Poland.

18.09.2018 - US to Consider Establishing Permanent Military Base in Poland - Trump
US to Consider Establishing Permanent Military Base in Poland - Trump

We're looking at it very seriously, I know Poland likes the idea very much, and it's something that we are considering, yes," Trump told reporters.

The statement of the US President comes just a few days after Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaschak announced that his country can pay up to $2 billion for the deployment of a permanent US military base in the country.

The Polish Defense Ministry previously claimed that deployment of the US troops in the country would send a message to Moscow that Washington is ready to protect its allies in Eastern Europe.

Addressing the issue, Russia has repeatedly voiced its protests against the NATO military buildup near its borders, saying that this move would undermine regional stability and would lead to a new arms race.


28.05.2018 - Kremlin on US Base in Poland: Moscow Ready to React to NATO's Expansion
Kremlin on US Base in Poland: Moscow Ready to React to NATO's Expansion

The Kremlin has commented on the deployment of a permanent US military base in Poland, which will cost the country $1.5-2 billion.

Reacting to the establishment of a US base in Poland, Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov underlined that Poland had a sovereign right to establish a US military base on its territory, stressing that Moscow, in its turn, was ready to react to the NATO's infrastructure expansion.

"It depends what kind of base it will be. In general, when we noticed the gradual expansion of NATO's military infrastructure towards our borders, the immediate approach of NATO's military structure to our borders does not in any way contribute to security and stability on the continent, on the contrary, these expansionist actions, of course, inevitably lead to counter-measures on the Russian side in order to balance the parity that breaks each time," Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Poland is ready to pay $1.5-2 billion for deployment of a permanent US military base in the country, a document called Proposal for a US Permanent Presence in Poland prepared by the Polish Defense Ministry said.

“This proposal outlines the clear and present need for a permanent US armored division deployed in Poland, Poland’s commitment to provide significant support that may reach 1.5 – 2 billion USD – by establishing joint military installations and provide for more flexible movement of US forces. Together, the United States and Poland can build an even stronger bond – one which guarantees the safety, security and freedom of its people for generations to come,” the document said.

The paper reflects the Polish readiness to share the burden of defense spending with the US government and to make the decision on deploying troops in Poland more cost-effective for Washington.

From the Polish Defense Ministry’s point of view, deployment of the US troops in Poland would send a message to Russia that Washington is ready to protect its allies in Eastern Europe.

“Permanent US troops in Poland will send a clear message to Russia of US support for its Eastern European allies,” the document added.

The country's authorities have confirmed the authenticity of the paper later in the day.

NATO's Presence in Europe
NATO has been significantly increasing its presence in Eastern Europe after the eruption of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 using alleged Russian interference in the Ukrainian internal affairs as a pretext.

Moscow has many times voiced its protests against the NATO military buildup saying that this move will undermine regional stability
and result in a new arms race.


28.05.2018 - Permanent US Base in Poland Only in Interests of US 'War Hawks' - Politician
Permanent US Base in Poland Only in Interests of US 'War Hawks' – Politician

Poland is ready to pay up to 2 billion dollars for the deployment of a permanent US military base in the country, according to the country’s defense ministry. Radio Sputnik discussed Poland’s proposal to the United States with Konrad Renkas, a Polish political analyst and vice-chairman of the Zmiana party.

Sputnik: NATO has already decided to increase military presence in Poland. Why would Poland ask for more troops? What about the timing of all this? Is this important? Is it some kind of a symbolic gesture?

Konrad Renkas: Well, it's another aggressive gesture against Russia and against any kind of appeasement policy between Europe and the Russian Federation. As many times before, Poland is used as a useful idiot for the war hawks in Washington just to provoke a Russian reaction and of course to make any possibility of improving relations between especially Europe and Russia completely impossible. It is, of course not in Polish interests, it's only in the interests of the war hawks in Washington.

Sputnik: What kind of geopolitical risks could we emerging from an increased NATO presence in Eastern Europe?

Konrad Renkas: We have to define two things. First of all, in the military business the most important thing is that it is a business. So for Trump and the other rulers of American policy, Poland and other European countries are only to buy American weapons, American military products. But, of course, on the other hand, if you had a shotgun on the wall in the theater, in the last act, it could shoot. So we have to be very, very careful.

We have another 9,000 American soldiers with tanks and heavy armor near the Russian and Belorussian borders. It is not, of course, any kind of defense. It is a kind of aggression. It's a kind of tank iron fist that is pointed to Russia and to Belarus. And it is very, very big threat to peace in the world, especially in Central Europe, in the region of Ukraine and, of course, the Baltic States.


18.09.2018 - Poland suggests 'Fort Trump' as US weighs Military Base
Poland suggests 'Fort Trump' as U.S. weighs military base | Reuters


U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to first lady Melania Trump during a meeting with Poland's President Andrzej Duda (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque


President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent U.S. military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Poland's concerns about possible Russian aggression.

Polish President Andrzej Duda asked Trump for a permanent U.S. base during a White House meeting, offering to name it “Fort Trump,” and explaining it would be a bulwark against what he considers a threat from Russia.

Trump said he agreed with Duda that Moscow had “acted aggressively” in the region and said the request for a base was under consideration. He said he appreciated Duda’s offer to put more than $2 billion into the project.

“We’re looking at it very seriously, I know Poland likes the idea very much, and it’s something that we are considering, yes,” Trump told reporters.

Moscow expressed concern in May over reports about Poland’s request, saying NATO’s expansion toward Russia’s borders undermined stability in Europe.

Poland joined NATO in 1999 along with Hungary and the Czech Republic, and since then other former communist states, including Baltic republics bordering Russia, have joined despite Moscow’s strong opposition.

Poland has repeatedly requested a permanent U.S. military presence on its soil. The United States currently rotates troops through Poland temporarily but permanently stationing forces there would be expensive because of costs that can include housing for families, schools and hospitals.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. military was studying options with Poland but cautioned that no decisions had been made.

“It’s not just about a base. It’s about training ranges, it’s about maintenance facilities at the base, all these kinds of things. There’s a host of details we’ve got to study alongside the Poles,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.

Trump and Duda also expressed shared concerns about Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which they said could make Europe overly reliant on Moscow for energy and expose it to the risks of what Duda called “political blackmail” with shipments.

But Trump said the United States was not looking to sanction companies that participated in the project with Russia. “We just think it’s very unfortunate for the people of Germany that Germany is paying billions and billions of dollars a year for their energy to Russia,” he said.

In a joint statement released later on Tuesday, after the press conference, Trump and Duda said they will continue coordinating efforts “to counter energy projects that threaten our mutual security, such as Nord Stream 2.”

Trump also said the United States was considering a visa waiver program for Poland.

 

[angelburst29]

Sept. 19, 2018 - Polish PM says had 'good' meeting with Supreme Court Head
Polish PM says had 'good' meeting with Supreme Court head | Reuters


Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he had a "good" meeting with the head of the country's Supreme Court earlier in the day and welcomed the fact that the EU executive did not file a new lawsuit against Warsaw over changes to the judicial body.

The EU’s executive European Commission defied expectations earlier on Wednesday by not referring to the bloc’s top court, the European Court of Justice, a new case against Poland for trying to push out its Supreme Court judges, including Malgorzata Gersdorf, who has defied government pressure.

“I am glad that the European Commission has not referred the case,” Morawiecki told reporters on arriving for talks among all 28 EU leaders in Austria about migration and Brexit.

“I spoke yesterday to (Commission) President Jean-Claude Juncker. Today in the morning I spoke to Professor Gersdorf. It was a nice conversation... There were no sensational details, no agreements but it was a good conversation. With President Juncker as well.”

“We are showing we are open for talk,” Morawiecki said of Poland’s long-running fight with the EU, which says the nationalist government in Poland is undercutting democracy with its sweeping judicial overhaul.

 

[thorbiorn]

Recently there have been two earthquake in Poland, that have been noticeable, a 4.7 and a 5.0. According to the list below it appears that a 4.7 occurs once in every two or three years, as the previous was three years ago and then further back 6 years. Last time there was 5.0 was eight years ago, so they are more rare. Still this time the 4.7 and 5.0 are close to each other in time. Over all the past year has shown more activity, 4.7, 5.0, 4.4, 4.5 than in several previous years. The source for the data below is Today's Earthquakes in Poland

5 days ago 4.7 magnitude, 10 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

2 months ago 5.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

3 months ago 4.4 magnitude, 8 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

5 months ago 3.9 magnitude, 9 km depth
Wieszowa, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

9 months ago 3.9 magnitude, 10 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

10 months ago 4.5 magnitude, 10 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

about a year ago 4.3 magnitude, 11 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

2 years ago 4.5 magnitude, 5 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

3 years ago 4.1 magnitude, 6 km depth
Chełmek, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland

3 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 1 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

3 years ago 4.7 magnitude, 5 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

3 years ago 4.3 magnitude, 5 km depth
Ruda Śląska, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

4 years ago 4.3 magnitude, 5 km depth
Rudna, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

4 years ago 4.5 magnitude, 10 km depth
Szczerców, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland

4 years ago 4.1 magnitude, 2 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

4 years ago 4.3 magnitude, 5 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

5 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 10 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

5 years ago 4.1 magnitude, 5 km depth
Głogów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

6 years ago 4.7 magnitude, 1 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

6 years ago 4.3 magnitude, 5 km depth
Głogów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
6 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Głogów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

6 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Przemków, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

6 years ago 4.4 magnitude, 5 km depth
Rudna, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

7 years ago 4.1 magnitude, 5 km depth
Głogów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

7 years ago 4.2 magnitude, 2 km depth
Grębocice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

7 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Lubin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

7 years ago 4.5 magnitude, 5 km depth
Lubin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

8 years ago 4.3 magnitude, 5 km depth
Lubin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

8 years ago 4.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Gaworzyce, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

8 years ago 5.0 magnitude, 5 km depth
Polkowice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

 

[angelburst29]

The stationing of a US military base in Poland will mean the dismantlement of the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, which directly bans deployment of substantial combat forces along the border on a permanent basis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.

26.09.2018 - Russian Deputy FM: US Base in Poland will Dismantle NATO-Russia Founding Act
Russian Deputy FM: US Base in Poland Will Dismantle NATO-Russia Founding Act

“This will mean that the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which directly bans the deployment of substantial combat forces on a permanent basis, will be dismantled. I reiterate that this step would significantly worsen the security situation," Grushko said.

“This will require us to take additional military and technical precautions that will reliably guarantee our security under the new circumstances. We have various opportunities, including cost-effective ones, how to strengthen our security,” the former Russian envoy to NATO stressed.

He also added that the stationing of the base run against the interests of European security.

 

[angelburst29]

September 28, 2018 - In Warsaw's local election, Europe's identity crises plays out
In Warsaw's local election, Europe's identity crisis plays out | Reuters


For would-be Warsaw mayor Patryk Jaki, allowing Muslims into Poland poses a threat akin to the Nazi invasion of 1939. His opponent, Rafal Trzaskowski, agrees the country faces an existential threat, but says it comes from Jaki and his allies.

The two men epitomize the divisions that have riven Poland since the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, in which Jaki serves as deputy justice minister, took power in 2015.

Local elections on Oct. 21 will be the first big contest between PiS and its Europhile Civic Platform opponents since then and its outcome will influence European Parliament elections in May and Poland’s next general election in 2019.

It is part of a larger struggle over Europe’s future, as Brexit and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, a PiS ally, shake up the European Union and right-wing parties make gains across the continent.

While PiS dominates national politics, Civic Platform and its allies still control 15 of Poland’s 16 regional assemblies and most of its big cities, giving them a say in issues from who runs a local school or theater to how large EU funds are spent.

Success would let PiS claim popular support for judicial reforms which the EU says undermine the rule of law. The party also opposes abortion, contraception and IVF treatment and wants culture and education to be more conservative.

Warsaw, a bastion of liberalism and scene of protests against political influence over the judiciary, would be the biggest prize.

Jaki, 33, says he sides with ordinary people against what he describes as an arrogant Civic Platform municipal elite.

Warsaw is ruled today by people who want to say you’re inferior,” he told a cheering crowd this month in front of low-rent apartment blocks. “I am not ashamed of these blocks. We are not ashamed of this Warsaw.”

He scoffs at what he calls the European Union’s “focus on trivial matters, such as measuring a banana or instructions on how to use wellies” echoing criticisms leveled by British anti-EU campaigner Boris Johnson that EU officials term “Euromyths”.

Trzaskowski, 46, a long-time EU emissary for his party, says he wants his native Warsaw to remain “open, tolerant and European”. Jaki says Trzaskowski is out of touch and that if Catholic Poland goes along with EU plans to distribute asylum-seekers across the bloc it will become Islamised.

“Stopping Islamisation is my Westerplatte,” he said in an interview with Plus Minus weekly and on Twitter last year, referring to the peninsula where Poland tried to fend off the Nazi invasion that triggered World War Two.

QUEUING FOR TOILET PAPER
Poland joined the European Union in 2004 after decades of Soviet domination and there is little popular appetite for leaving it.

But PiS has zeroed in on deep-rooted fears of foreign meddling and the EU’s threat of sanctions over its judicial reforms could boost its support.

Trzaskowski labels PiS and its allies anti-European populists. “They want to rewrite the history books and question our place in the European Union,” he told Reuters.

“This is, in a sense, an existential fight.”

Recent polls suggest a close-run race, with around a dozen other candidates far behind Jaki and Trzaskowski.

Jaki belongs to Solidarna Polska, a party allied with PiS, but launched his campaign at the ruling party’s convention in September and faithfully echoes its nationalist message.

As a deputy justice minister, he championed a law that made it a crime to suggest Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. He has said Poles should be proud, not ashamed, of their wartime record. Following strong criticism at home and abroad, the law was later watered down by removing the threat of jail terms.

Born in Opole in southwestern Poland, Jaki grew up in a Soviet-era apartment block and presents himself as somebody with lowly origins to project a guy-next-door image.

Supporters of Trzaskowski, who is Warsaw-born, mock Jaki for not being a true Varsovian, as the city’s residents are called.

Trzaskowski speaks six languages and holds a doctorate in political science. Jaki’s supporters depict him as elitist.

Trzaskowski rejects the characterization. Growing up in Warsaw, “the only elites were the Communist apparatchiks,” he says.

“Whether you were the son of a bricklayer or the son of a jazz composer, as I was, we were all brought up in the same neighborhood. We were all standing in queues to buy toilet paper and, on occasion, ham.”

Back at home, and at work, however, his learning is on display. His Warsaw office is lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with works of history. “All the other books are at home - the literature and so on and so forth,” he says.

He and Jaki promise Warsaw similar things. Both say they want to improve schools and public transport, fight pollution, build affordable housing and create more green spaces.

But their views on Europe diverge.

Jaki insists he is not anti-Europe. “We all want Poland to be in the European Union,” he says. But last year he said the EU was “looking for an excuse to bash Poland” because of its leaders’ open dislike for Brussels.

On Sept. 2, PiS party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Poland belongs to the EU but should be careful not to catch its “social diseases.” The same month, a PiS ally, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, called the EU “some imaginary community with little bearing on us.”

Trzaskowski, a former MEP, says playing “the anti-European card” won’t galvanize voters in Warsaw, a city that European money has helped transform. “They don’t want Poland to be on the margins of Europe,” he says.

“MAKE WARSAW HONEST”
The two men stand on opposite sides of an equally divisive issue: how land and buildings seized by the Nazis and, later, the Communist government, are returned to their pre-war owners.

Poland has never passed legislation to address the issue, triggering multiple lawsuits and allegations of corruption and abuse.

Some Varsovians have been evicted from properties they have occupied for generations. Others have watched developers profit from land their families once owned.

Jaki is chairman of a high-profile committee set up to investigate such irregularities, which he has blamed on opposition politicians and their allies.

Trzaskowski blames “all the political classes” for failing to compensate people whose property was seized, and says voters do not associate him with the issue.

But it remains a central theme in his opponent’s campaign. In mid-September, escorted by three shaven-headed bodyguards, Jaki spoke in a gritty but gentrifying area called Praga, Warsaw’s answer to Brixton or the Bronx.

There, he vowed to rid City Hall of alleged corruption and “do everything in our power to finally make Warsaw honest”.

Across town, in the upscale Mokotow district, Trzaskowski addressed a home crowd at a local cultural center.

Usually, he says, local election campaigns in Poland are short, but Trzaskowski is steeling himself for a grueling race.

“You need to be where the elections are being fought,” he says, “because that’s where the fate of Poland will be decided.”


September 27, 2018 - Polish Ombudsman Wins Norwegian Human Rights Award
Polish ombudsman wins Norwegian human rights award | Reuters

A Norwegian human rights foundation gave its annual prize on Thursday to Polish lawyer Adam Bodnar and the civil society group he heads for their work defending minority rights and judicial independence in Poland.

Changes to the judiciary made by Poland’s nationalist government, such as lowering the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, triggered a lawsuit on Monday from the European Union over what the bloc believes to be a violation of the independence of courts in a member country.

Norway’s Rafto Foundation said Adam Bodnar, 41, and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Poland were selected for “the important stance taken in the face of current political developments in Poland”.

Four past Rafto laureates - Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, East Timor’s Jose Ramos-Horta, South Korea’s Kim Dae-jung and Iran’s Shirin Ebadi — later went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This year’s Peace Prize will be announced on Oct. 5 in Oslo.

“Adam Bodnar has highlighted the crucial role played by independent ombudsman institutions in safeguarding human rights in Poland - and other countries - where such actors and institutions increasingly have come under attack,” the foundation said in a statement.

Bodnar, in a statement issued through the foundation, said the prize showed recognition for Poland’s civil institutions and human rights.

“The award is not just an award to my work and the institution, but mostly a support from your community given to the Polish civil society, academia, judges and lawyers fighting for rule of law, juridical independence, pluralism and protection of minorities in Poland,” he said.

Bodnar as a civil servant cannot accept the $20,000 prize money so it will be donated to civic rights groups in Poland.

 

[angelburst29]

Polish authorities are investigating a brawl involving ‒ according to the local prosecutor ‒ at least three US soldiers stationed in the country. The troops allegedly beat a dentist and his two sons.

17.10.2018 - Three US Troops under Investigation for Beating Local Family near Polish Base
Three US Troops Under Investigation for Beating Local Family Near Polish Base

The US Army says it is cooperating with the Poles in their investigation. Master Sgt. Nathan Hoskins told Stars & Stripes in an email on Tuesday that the soldiers will remain on duty during the investigation. "We are invited guests of Poland, and the Polish authorities have jurisdiction over any cases like this that occur within their country," Hoskins said. "I can't speculate on whether or not they will release jurisdiction to US authorities."

Local media reports that the soldiers were pounding on an apartment door late at night when the dentist and his two sons tried to calm things. After a fight broke out, all three of the Polish civilians were injured, and the soldiers fled when an ambulance was called.

The fight happened some 60 miles from Poznan, the location of the US Army's tactical headquarters, which is responsible for some 5,000 ground troops operating under the ostensible mission of deterring potential aggression from Russia on NATO's eastern border.

Poland has been pushing for a more permanent presence of US troops. When Polish President Andrzej Duda was in Washington, DC, in September, he publicly floated the idea of his country paying for a US base named "Fort Trump," Sputnik News reported. According to US President Donald Trump, Duda "offered us much more than $2 billion."

While Trump said he was considering the proposal, some with US military experience think it's a bad idea. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, retired commanding general of the US Army in Europe, wrote in a June op-ed for Politico that such a base would be unnecessarily provocative towards Russia. "Eastern allies believe that the presence of US forces would significantly increase the deterrent effect, because they believe that Russia would never attack and risk a kinetic confrontation with US forces and the possibility of Russians killing Americans," he said.

But he cautioned that a base in Poland "would give Moscow an easy opportunity to claim that NATO is an aggressor and to somehow respond to protect Russian sovereignty."

Next month, Poland is poised for war games nicknamed "Anakonda" involving some 10,000 troops from 10 allied countries.

 

[angelburst29]

October 19, 2018 - EU Top Court orders Poland to immediately stop Supreme Court overhaul, reinstate Judges
EU top court orders Poland to immediately stop Supreme Court overhaul, reinstate judges | Reuters


FILE PHOTO: People walk outside the Supreme Court in Warsaw, Poland, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

Poland must immediately suspend the application of a new law forcing some of Supreme Court judges into early retirement and reinstate those who have already left, the European Union's top court ruled on Friday.

The injunction, issued by the European Court of Justice on the request of the EU’s executive European Commission, is a blow to Poland’s ruling nationalists who earlier this month rushed with new judge appointments.

“Poland must immediately suspend the application of the provisions of national legislation relating to the lowering of the retirement age for Supreme Court judges,” the ECJ said in a statement.

“The order of the Vice-President of the Court is to apply, with retroactive effect, to the judges of the Supreme Court concerned by those provisions,” it said.

 

[angelburst29]

October 20, 2018 - Polish Regional Vote a test for Eurosceptic PiS Government
Polish regional vote a test for eurosceptic PiS government | Reuters



Poles vote in a regional election on Sunday with gains expected for the ruling eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party, whose nationalist rhetoric and institutional reforms have fueled a deepening rift with the European Union.

PiS swept into power in 2015 on a promise of voter-pleasing welfare bumps, social conservatism and more state say in the economy. The party remains broadly popular, despite accusations at home and abroad of a shift toward authoritarian rule.

The election is part of a larger struggle over Europe’s future, as Brexit and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, a PiS ally, shake up the European Union and right-wing parties make gains across the continent.

While it dominates national politics, PiS controls a small minority of city halls, and has a majority in only one provincial assembly out of 16.

If successful in gaining seats, PiS will have better access to local funding, a factor which could affect parliamentary elections in 2019. It will also have more influence over schools and theaters, important tools in the party’s nationalist agenda.

PiS opposes abortion, contraception and IVF fertility treatment and wants culture and education to be more conservative.

“Dear citizens, if you want more money to reach here for infrastructure and industry, then vote for PiS candidates,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told voters during a rally in Kielce in southern Poland on Oct. 13.

Opinion polls show PiS could win 33-37 percent of votes for provincial assembly members. A coalition of centrist opposition parties, the Civic Platform and Nowoczesna, is forecast to capture about 24 percent of the vote. Post-election coalitions could affect how many assemblies PiS will control.

The centrist candidate for Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, 46, is seen winning 41-42 percent of vote on Sunday, and securing the office in a second round of voting on Nov. 4, beating PiS’ Patryk Jaki, 33.

A spike in PiS support in cities, traditionally centrist strongholds, would show its brand of populism gaining broader appeal and would be a major upset for the Civic Platform, the home party of European Council President Donald Tusk.

“DISAPPOINTING EU”
A good result for PiS would add to concerns in Brussels ahead of European Parliament elections in May by boosting eurosceptic groups that oppose efforts at closer EU integration.

Underlining divisions, the EU’s top court ordered the Warsaw government on Friday to suspend an overhaul of the country’s Supreme Court and reinstate judges forced into early retirement.

The moves were part of broader reforms of the judiciary, which PiS says are crucial to making the system more fair and efficient, but opponents criticize as an attack on democratic checks and balances.

Throughout his campaign, Warsaw’s mayoral candidate Jaki said he sides with ordinary people against what he describes as an arrogant Civic Platform municipal elite.

Trzaskowski, a long-time EU emissary for his party, says he wants his native Warsaw to remain “open, tolerant and European”.

He accuses the PiS-run justice ministry, where Jaki is a deputy minister and which is at the heart of the government’s conflict with Brussels over court reforms, of policies that could lead Poland to leaving the EU.

“It’s a straight road toward taking Poland out of the EU,” he said on Wednesday.

Like Orban’s Fidesz party in Hungary, PiS argues the powers of Brussels should be reined in, and accuses EU institutions of meddling in Poland’s internal affairs.

“It’s depressing that the EU is so engaged in our politics. I don’t think it should,” said Agnieszka Zdziuch, a 44-year-old office worker in the town of Staszow in southern Poland.

Voting starts at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and ends at 9 p.m., exit poll results are expected shortly afterwards.


October 20, 2018 - Factbox: What to watch out for in Poland's local elections
Factbox: What to watch out for in Poland's local elections | Reuters

Voters in Poland will cast ballots on Sunday in a local election likely to earn the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party more influence over regional affairs.

Below are some facts about the election and its significance.

- Voting for regional assemblies, mayors and councils starts at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and closes at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). Exit polls are expected out shortly after voting ends.

A second round of the election will be held on Nov. 4 in towns where no candidate wins more than 50 percent of votes.

- Provincial assemblies

There are 16 regional assemblies, with 30-50 members each. The assemblies draw up the region’s budget, decide on large investment projects and oversee the disbursement of EU aid.

In the last local election in 2014, PiS won some 26.9 percent of assembly votes, compared with 26.3 percent for the Civic Platform, now the main centrist opposition party that was in government at the time.

Because of local party coalitions, PiS currently controls only one regional assembly, in southeastern Poland, despite winning the race in five of them in 2014.

One opinion poll, by IBRIS pollster and conducted for the Fakt newspaper, showed in September that PiS could win 31.9 percent of assembly votes, giving it a shot at controlling three out of 16 assemblies.

Provincial assemblies decide how EU structural aid is divided up and approve large infrastructure projects. They oversee some 31 billion euros worth of EU aid.

- City hall chiefs and councils

Roughly 2,500 city and town mayors are elected, including the mayor of Warsaw. Out of more than a 100 city mayors, ten belong to the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Mayors oversee roads, utilities, local transport, public housing an local investment, as well as education and culture.

 

[angelburst29]

October 20, 2018 - Poland's ruling Eurosceptics score modest gains in local vote, lose Warsaw
Poland's ruling eurosceptics score modest gains in local vote, lose Warsaw | Reuters


Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, react after the exit poll with results of the Polish regional elections are announced in Warsaw, Poland October 21, 2018. Agencja Gazeta/Slawomir Kaminski via REUTERS

Poland's ruling eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) scored limited gains in regional government in Sunday's election, but lost a high-profile race for Warsaw mayor, an exit poll showed, laying bare divisions in Poland over the party's democracy record.

Since sweeping into power in 2015, PiS has remained broadly popular, benefiting from voter-pleasing welfare reforms, nationalist rhetoric and strong economic growth.

But critics at home and abroad have accused it of a tilt toward authoritarian rule after moves to increase government control over the judiciary and public media that have also fueled Poland’s isolation within the European Union.

The party won some 32.3 percent of votes for provincial assemblies, compared with 26.9 percent in a vote four years earlier and 37.6 percent it scored in the 2015 parliamentary election. A coalition of centrist opposition parties was set to win some 24.7 percent, an opinion poll by Ipsos showed.

A strong showing for the agrarian PSL party, which was on track to win 16.6 percent on Sunday, was a blow for PiS which had focused much of its election campaign on winning the rural vote.

In Warsaw, however, the PiS candidate, Patryk Jaki, 33, came in second place after Rafal Trzaskowski, 46, a pro-EU centrist, who unexpectedly secured the office in a first round of voting by winning more than 50 percent of votes.

If confirmed, the results will mean PiS could struggle to keep its support base during a parliamentary election in late 2019 and a presidential vote a year later.

PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the party’s showing on Sunday bodes well for next year, but he added: “We have to work, work, and work some more.” PiS leader told party activists after exit polls came out: “The election campaign is starting.”

Final results of the election will be released by the electoral commission by the middle of the week.

The election is part of a larger battle over Europe’s future, as Brexit and Hungary’s Viktor Orban - who like PiS believes the EU’s powers should be reined in - shake up the bloc and right-wing parties make gains across the continent.

With Brussels entering campaign mode ahead of a European Parliament election in May, the Polish vote could give some hints on whether eurosceptic groups can secure a stronger voice and thwart further EU integration.

“I’d say its a tie, with some advantage for the opposition,” said Warsaw University political scientist Rafal Chwedoruk of the Polish vote.

QUESTIONS OVER LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
While exit poll results can not give a clear indication of how many of Poland’s 16 provincial assemblies will fall under PiS control, any gains will mean better access to local funding. That could affect a general election in 2019. Since the 2014 election, PiS only controls one such assembly.

“I don’t believe in a liberal democracy, because it leads to anarchy,” said Stanisław Lawniczak, 68, a real estate manager who voted for PiS candidates in Warsaw.

The turnout in the election topped 50 percent and was the highest in a regional vote since Poland overthrew communism in 1989, an indication of deep-running divisions that may have galvanized voters.

Winning Warsaw, a bastion of anti-government protests since 2015, was seen as the top prize in the election, with PiS’ Jaki vowing city hall under his leadership would side with ordinary people against what he calls arrogant, liberal elites.

A long-time EU emissary for the centrist Civic Platform party, Trzaskowski had promised the capital would remain “open, tolerant and European”.

“I hope the victory in Warsaw is the first step and that we will win upcoming votes. It’s important for Poland that politicians who respect the rule of law have access to power,” Trzaskowski said after exit polls came out.

Underlining divisions, the EU’s top court ordered the Warsaw government on Friday to suspend an overhaul of the Supreme Court and reinstate judges forced into early retirement.

The moves were part of broader reforms of the judiciary, which PiS says are crucial to making the system more fair and efficient, but opponents say they are an attack on democratic checks and balances.

Slideshow (19 Images)
Poland's ruling eurosceptics score modest gains in local vote, lose Warsaw | Reuters


October 21, 2018 - Poland's ruling PiS leads in local vote: exit poll
Poland's ruling PiS leads in local vote: exit poll | Reuters

Poland’s ruling eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party has secured the highest number of provincial assembly seats in a regional election on Sunday, an exit poll showed.

The poll by Ipsos pollster showed the conservative PiS winning 32.3 percent in the vote for provincial assembly members, against 24.7 percent for a coalition of centrist parties.

A centrist candidate for mayor of capital Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, was set to win the race against PiS’ Patryk Jaki.