Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Georgian Dream wins the election – opposition rejects result

Published 28 October 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Representatives of Georgian Dream during election rally.
3 minute read

Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, won this weekend’s elections with over 54% of the vote.

But the pro-Western opposition refuses to accept the result, and the country’s president goes so far as to claim that they are “victims of a Russian special operation”.

According to the country’s electoral authority, Georgian Dream won a clear majority of the vote, while the four main opposition parties together received around 38% – but the election was chaotic as both the ruling party and the opposition declared themselves the winners on Saturday night.

– We do not accept stolen election results and we are not going to recognize these stolen results. The victory won by the Georgian people does not belong to any one party, but belongs to the entire country and the opposition, which was jointly given a mandate of trust by the Georgian people, said opposition leader Tina Bokuchava.

The opposition, which wants Georgia to move closer to the EU and the West, claims that the vote count was rigged and the results manipulated – allegations that are denied by the election authorities.

The country’s president, Salomé Zurabishvili, who also belongs to the opposition, claims without presenting any evidence that the election results were manipulated by Russian interference.

– We became witnesses and victims of a Russia special operation, she said, calling on opposition supporters to protest in the capital on Monday.

Risk of violence

Already on Saturday, there were reports of violence and clashes outside several polling stations as opposition and government supporters clashed, and it is considered likely that the situation will escalate further on the streets today and in the coming week.

The pro-Western opposition and its allies in the EU and the US have long criticized the Georgian Dream for refusing to impose sanctions on Russia or cease trade and other cooperation, and the party has frequently been described as “pro-Russian”.

The ruling party’s own representatives say they are on the side of the Georgian people, and that the opposition parties want to drag the country into war with its neighbor Russia.

According to observers, the Georgian Dream’s success is largely due to its focus on strengthening Georgian identity and traditions and the conservative world in general. It has also promised to invest in economic development and poverty reduction.

It should also be noted that Western organizations such as the OSCE and NATO have also publicly made allegations of irregularities linked to the elections and that the EU is calling for a thorough investigation of the electoral process.

Moldova said yes to the EU

Moldova also held an important election recently, with a referendum on 20 October on future EU membership and the inclusion of EU provisions in the country’s constitution. The referendum was very close, but according to official data, the “yes” side narrowly won with 50.2% to 49.6% of the vote.

Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Moldova applied for NATO membership, and although negotiations have not yet started, the country’s leaders are hopeful that membership will be granted before 2030.

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Newly elected German mayor targeted in attempted murder – family member prime suspect

Deteriorating safety

Published today 10:06
– By Editorial Staff
During the year, incidents of domestic violence have been reported in Stalzer's home, and police have previously been called to the residence due to violent incidents.
2 minute read

Iris Stalzer (SPD), newly elected mayor of the city of Herdecke in western Germany, was found yesterday in her home with life-threatening stab wounds. Police currently rule out a political motive and instead suspect the incident is connected to her family.

In Herdecke, a smaller city in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of western Germany, 57-year-old Iris Stalzer was found with multiple life-threatening stab wounds in her apartment on Tuesday.

According to information from her adoptive son, she was attacked outdoors by several men, but despite the severe injuries managed to retreat to her home. Politicians from across Germany quickly condemned the attack and expressed concern for Iris Stalzer’s health.

Police have launched a major investigation and currently rule out that the attack had a political motive, instead suspecting that the perpetrator is actually within her own family circle.

Stalzer’s two adoptive children, a 15-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter, have been brought in for questioning and further investigation. Recent reports indicate that it is the 15-year-old adoptive son who has been arrested as the suspect for the attempted murder.

History of reported domestic violence

During the year, incidents of domestic violence have been reported at Stalzer’s home, and police have previously been called to the residence due to violent incidents.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called the act a “despicable attack” and expressed hope for Stalzer’s swift recovery. He has also directed his thoughts to her family and relatives.

Stalzer belongs to the Social Democrats (SPD) and she won the mayoral election with 52.2 percent of the votes, breaking the Christian Democrats’ long rule in Herdecke. The small city of around 23,000 inhabitants has now gathered in concern over the serious attack.

This is far from the first time German politicians have been victims of violence. Historically, similar serious attacks have shaken the country and contributed to a growing debate about the safety of public representatives.

The investigation continues with forensic analyses and the murder investigation unit in the nearby city of Hagen has reportedly taken over the investigation.

Hungary: Brussels prepares for war – and Europeans will pay the price

The new cold war

Published 2 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó sounds the alarm: EU leadership under Ursula von der Leyen is sacrificing Europe for Ukraine.
2 minute read

“Brussels is preparing for war and they want Europeans to pay the price”, writes Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in a harsh attack against the EU’s new seven-year budget.

He warns that the union’s power holders are prioritizing Ukraine’s military over Europe’s own and very urgent problems.

In the post, published ahead of the informal EU summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, Szijjártó emphasized that Europe’s security and economic situation has deteriorated sharply as a result of failed decisions in Brussels.

“Brussels is preparing for war, and they want Europeans, including Hungarians, to pay the price. The proposed budget for the next seven years is much more about Ukraine than about the European Union itself”, wrote Szijjártó.

He described the draft as “a Ukraine budget”, focused on arming the country and keeping its state structure alive, while Europe’s own urgent needs are neglected. Instead, Brussels should address declining competitiveness, secure energy supply, and rebuild the foundations for European growth, he argued.

“But instead, the European Commission wants to send European taxpayers’ money – including Hungarians’ money – to Ukraine, to finance the Ukrainian state and military”, the minister warned.

Wants to see “patriotic shift”

Szijjártó emphasized that Hungary rejects the idea that the country’s citizens’ money should be used for war efforts.

“We don’t want Hungarian taxpayers’ money to be sent to Ukraine, we don’t want it to be spent on war, and we don’t want it to cover the arming and operation of the Ukrainian military”, Szijjártó explained further.

The minister concluded by stating that the EU can only change course if a “patriotic shift” occurs in Brussels.

“Until then, Brussels will remain committed to pro-war, pro-migration, and pro-gender policies. But we don’t want war, we don’t want migration, we don’t want gender madness, and we don’t want Hungarians’ money to be siphoned off to Ukraine”, he wrote.

The day before Szijjártó’s statement, on September 30, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán directed harsh criticism at Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in a post on X.

“Dear Donald Tusk, You may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union. You are playing a dangerous game with the lives and security of millions of Europeans. This is very bad!” Orbán emphasized.

Orbán: “We feel sorry for the Swedes”

Deteriorating safety

Published 18 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has on several occasions in a short period of time highlighted Swedish politicians as a cautionary example.
2 minute read

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is once again attacking Sweden’s government. In a new post on X, the Hungarian leader writes that he “feel for the Swedish people – trapped in disorder while their leaders spend their time pointing fingers”.

In his Wednesday post, Orbán lists figures to show the contrast between Hungary and Sweden. Hungary reportedly had zero bombings and zero illegal migrants during 2024, while 132 people smugglers were caught and 16,000 illegal migrants were stopped.

Sweden, on the other hand, according to Orbán’s sources, had 317 gang-related explosions during 2024, with 32 in January alone. 62,000 people are connected to criminal networks, 8,935 illegal migrants, and the firearm murder rate stands at 4 per million inhabitants – compared to the EU average of 1.6.

“Safe, orderly, under control”, Orbán writes about his own country, while describing Sweden as a country where “law and order collapses”.

The Hungarian leader also quotes Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who earlier this year admitted “that we don’t have control over the wave of violence is quite obvious”.

“Yet they lecture us about the rule of law,” Orbán writes, concluding with the words: “This chaos must not become Europe’s future, our people deserve better!”

Ongoing war of words

Orbán’s latest statement is a continuation of the war of words between him and the Moderate Party-led Swedish government. As recently as last weekend, the Hungarian prime minister attacked crime developments in Sweden and Swedish authorities’ inability to act, claiming among other things that “this is how a country collapses” and that “what remains is barbarism”.

During the political event, Orbán claimed that 284 underage girls had been arrested for murder in Sweden. However, the claim was incorrect – according to his source, German newspaper Welt, it concerned 284 girls between 15 and 17 years old who were investigated for various types of violent crimes, not just murder.

The Hungarian leader argued that this development had been ongoing for fifteen years under different Swedish governments and that politicians had “relegated the country outside European civilization”.

— By the way, these are the Swedes who lecture us about the rule of law, he added as a final jab, referring to how the Kristersson government has directed harsh criticism at what it considers Hungary’s democratic backsliding and restrictions on LGBTQ rights and other civil liberties.

CDU wins in North Rhine-Westphalia – AfD triples its support

Published 15 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
AfD party leader Alice Weidel regards the preliminary result as a major victory.
2 minute read

The CDU appears set to become the largest party in the state election in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. But it is primarily the national-conservative Alternative for Germany that has reason to celebrate after tripling its voter support.

When polling stations closed on Sunday, initial projections showed that the Christian Democratic CDU, led by former BlackRock executive Friedrich Merz, received around 34 percent of the vote. The Social Democratic SPD came in second place with 22.5 percent.

However, the biggest change comes from Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party appears to have received 16.5 percent – a significant increase from 5.1 percent in the 2020 election.

Sunday’s election was the first local election since the political upheaval in German politics earlier this year, and for AfD the result represents another step in the party’s westward expansion.

The national-conservative party has made historic gains in recent years and become the second-largest political force at the national level. The voter base has traditionally been found in eastern Germany but is now also growing in the west – as Sunday’s results in North Rhine-Westphalia demonstrate.

Strict opinion laws

Despite AfD’s growing support in both elections and opinion polls, the party struggles to gain actual political influence. The other established parties have consistently refused to cooperate and formed various coalitions to keep AfD out of power.

Several German authorities have gone even further and argued that AfD should be completely banned and classified as unconstitutional.

Germany’s strict opinion laws make many immigration-critical and nationalist positions criminal acts. While several neighboring countries have considerably freer debate, German authorities often use 1930s history as an argument to silence political opposition.

AfD’s recent successes have, however, raised the question of whether German opinion laws and attempts to isolate AfD actually work – or whether they instead drive more dissatisfied German voters to the party.

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