Friday, August 29, 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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Merz: “Germany can no longer afford welfare”

The destruction of the European economy

Published 26 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
For several decades, regime critics warned that Germany's destructive policies would crush the welfare state – under Merz, it appears this is becoming reality.
3 minute read

German Chancellor and former BlackRock executive Friedrich Merz now states that the country can no longer afford to finance its current welfare system. At the same time, he rules out tax increases for medium-sized companies and promises to defend their interests.

— The welfare state that we have today can no longer be financed with what we produce in the economy, Merz said at a party conference for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Osnabrück on Saturday.

The statement comes as Germany has sent nearly 40 billion euros in aid to Ukraine since the war began in 2022. The country has also received millions of migrants since the turn of the millennium, which has resulted in very high costs for the public sector.

Merz’s message aligns with what several European actors have argued for in recent years – that Europe must cut welfare spending in order to invest in military rearmament instead. The Chancellor himself has previously made clear that continued support for Ukraine is something he prioritizes very highly.

Already 40-50 years ago, immigration critics warned that mass immigration would eventually lead to overburdened welfare systems. They predicted that ordinary people in general, and particularly vulnerable groups, would in practice be forced to pay the highest price for the consequences and enormous costs of mass immigration.

Demands reforms – but no corporate taxes

Merz’s demands for comprehensive welfare reforms are expected to lead to increased tensions with coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD). The Chancellor acknowledged that welfare cuts will be difficult for the center-left party to swallow, but still called for cooperation.

At the same time, he made clear that companies should be protected from tax increases.

— There will not be any increase in income tax on medium-sized companies in Germany with this federal government under my leadership.

This despite the fact that SPD deputy party leader Lars Klingbeil previously opened the door to tax increases on middle and high earners to finance welfare.

SPD warns against cuts

The Social Democrats signal resistance to pure cuts in the welfare system, and Klingbeil emphasizes that any reforms must contain “imaginative solutions” rather than just savings that affect workers.

— We will remain a country that helps people who have fallen onto hard times, who have gotten sick and need help, it states.

Philipp Türmer, leader of the SPD’s youth organization Jusos, is even more categorical. If the purpose of the reforms is just to cut benefits, “the SPD cannot give an inch”, he tells the daily newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung.

Pressure from AfD

The coalition parties have already agreed on the need to drastically cut the social insurance system – which includes health insurance, pensions and unemployment benefits. This is due to rising costs and budget deficits.

Merz’s comments on Saturday can be seen as an attempt to win back voters who have switched to the immigration- and EU-critical party Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the Chancellor himself admitted that he is not satisfied with the government’s results so far.

— I’m not satisfied with what we have achieved thus far. It has to be more. he told the audience in Osnabrück.

The SPD, which has traditionally seen itself as the defender of the welfare state, finds itself in a difficult position after the party’s voter support collapsed in the latest election. The party is therefore expected to be reluctant to back overly large cuts that could further alienate their core voters.

Sven identifies as Svenja – to serve sentence in women’s prison

Published 23 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Outraged left-wing and LGBTQ activists argue that Liebich is making a mockery of the legislation - and that he in particular should not be allowed to identify as a woman.
2 minute read

A German national socialist and hate crime offender has legally changed gender to female and will therefore serve his prison sentence at one of the country’s women’s prisons.

53-year-old Sven Liebich, now Marla-Svenja, is exploiting a new law that makes it possible to “change gender” by simply filling out a form with the authorities.

It was in July 2023 that Sven Liebich was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for the hate speech crimes of incitement against ethnic groups, defamation and insult. But when it came time to serve the sentence, something had changed – Sven had become Marla-Svenja.

Through Germany’s new self-determination law, which came into force in November last year, Liebich only needed to make a simple notification to the civil registry in Schkeuditz to officially change gender and first name. No court, no medical certificates – just a personal declaration.

According to German media, Liebich showed up in court wearing a leopard-print top, large hat, makeup and carrying a handbag. The new Marla-Svenja argued that the gender change was necessary to avoid “discrimination” in a male prison.

The ironic aspect of the situation is that Liebich still wears a mustache when appearing publicly in women’s clothing – something that has caused great anger and frustration among liberals and left-wing activists.

They have also pointed out that the 53-year-old has previously burned Pride flags and described transgender people as “parasites,” and argue that the legal gender change is just a way to mock the new law and troll the German justice system.

Women’s prison in Chemnitz

Now Marla-Svenja Liebich will serve her sentence at the women’s prison in Chemnitz in the German state of Saxony. The decision is based, according to the prosecutor’s office, on two clear criteria: the officially registered gender (female) and the civil registry address.

Saxony’s justice department notes, however, that additional psychological or medical assessments may be used in the future if there are suspicions that someone has intentionally changed gender identity to influence their prison conditions.

When the German self-determination law was introduced, critics warned that people would change legal gender for purely tactical reasons – to gain advantages rather than due to gender dysphoria or other mental health issues.

Liebich is hardly alone in exploiting the law, but his political background has made the case particularly noteworthy. It has also exposed an ironic paradox: Those who normally claim that everyone has the right to define their own gender – and be treated accordingly – now seem to argue that Liebich specifically, because of his political views, should not be covered by this right.

German left-wing newspaper files police report against its own interviewee

Published 14 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The editorial management assessed that AfD candidate Jirka Möller had expressed suspected "unconstitutional" and "far-right extremist" views.
2 minute read

The left-liberal German local newspaper Lippische Landes-Zeitung has found a creative solution to the problem of uncomfortable statements from political opponents – they report their own interview subjects to the police.

The newspaper in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia interviewed AfD’s mayoral candidate Jirka Möller. But the editorial staff became so concerned about what the 53-year-old said that they both censored the interview and sent the deleted parts “to responsible authorities for review”.

Möller, a trained chef and family man, had according to the newspaper made statements that could be “unconstitutional” or could “show far-right extremist tendencies”.

When the interview was published, it was filled with the editorial staff’s own comments in italics. These were claimed to “put the statements in context”.

The newspaper dismissed, among other things, Möller’s claim that the German government is controlled by a “new world order” as a “far-right conspiracy theory without evidence”, reports the conservative Junge Freiheit.

“Presumably punishable statements”

The editorial staff also corrected his claim that AfD is no longer classified as “confirmed far-right extremist”. The newspaper was careful to emphasize that this classification has only been “publicly suspended” due to ongoing legal proceedings.

Other statements that received fact-checks concerned everything from entry rules at Swiss swimming facilities to alleged “Islamist invasion” on orders from Iran, as well as Möller’s comparison between gender-inclusive language and George Orwell.

As recently as August 5, the newspaper presented its new policy for handling AfD politicians. Going forward, all interviews will be commented on, allegedly false claims will be marked, and “presumably punishable statements” will not only be censored but also reported to authorities.

Trend in German media

Lippische Landes-Zeitung is not alone in taking a very clear stance against AfD and other less immigration-critical parties. In Aachen, the similarly left-liberal Aachener Zeitung has, for example, organized 16 election debates ahead of the municipal election – but excluded AfD from all of them.

— We report objectively, as neutrally as we can, about everything that happens. But we comment very, very clearly – and that against AfD. Consistently. There is no colleague who doesn’t do it, explained an editor.

AfD’s local branch accuses the newspaper of controlling coverage “through a filter”, where who gets invited to debates depends on how favorably the editorial staff writes about each respective party.

According to the party’s representatives, there is hardly any room for neutral opinion formation when the newspaper has taken such an openly hostile stance against the party in question.

Greece tightens controls with ankle monitors for rejected asylum seekers

Migration crisis in Europe

Published 14 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
A group of migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos.
1 minute read

Migrants in Greece whose asylum applications are rejected will soon be required to wear ankle monitors as part of the government’s new measures to expedite deportations, a government official announced this week.

Migration Minister Thanos Plevris says the measure will be introduced before the end of the year and will be part of reforms that also criminalize refusal to comply with a deportation order.

— The use of electronic monitoring will make it clear that the options have narrowed, Plevris explains in an interview with state radio channel ERT.

The new rules, which among other things include mandatory prison sentences for those who refuse to leave the country after a deportation order, are to be presented to parliament next month. The delay is due to the sharp increase in the number of migrants arriving by boat from Libya to the Greek island of Crete during the summer.

According to Plevris, electronic monitoring will be used during a 30-day period given to migrants after their asylum applications have been rejected and all appeals have been exhausted.

The government is also considering a deportation bonus of €2,000 for those who voluntarily comply with the decision.

The strict migration policy measures that the conservative government has implemented so far – including a recently introduced ban on asylum applications for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa – have been praised by nationalists and immigration critics, but have drawn strong criticism from the Council of Europe and immigration activists.

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