Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Large protests after annulled presidential election: “Romanians have chosen their president”

Published 14 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Photos from the protests in Bucharest.

In recent days, large-scale demonstrations have taken place in the Romanian capital Bucharest and other major cities.

The protests, which gathered more than 100,000 participants in Bucharest, target the incumbent President Klaus Iohannis and the current government, which the demonstrators consider illegitimate.

The demonstrations began after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election, in which Călin Georgescu won with 22.95% of the vote. A second round was to have been held on December 8, 2024 between Georgescu and reformist leader Elena Lasconi, but this was stopped by the court’s decision.

We are more than a 100,000 Bucharest. Iohannis has to leave, shouted one of the protesters, adding: This usurper of a president, who has elected an illegitimate government, has to leave urgently!

Protesters demand that Călin Georgescu, who won the first round of the presidential elections, be recognized as the legitimate leader of the country.

– Romanians have chosen their president. We have to resume urgently round two of the elections and let the people decide who must lead Romania!

The court’s decision was motivated by suspicions of foreign influence, particularly via social media, which allegedly benefited Georgescu’s campaign. This has been met with strong condemnation from both Georgescu and Lasconi, who say the decision is a threat to democracy.

Parallel protests in Serbia

Meanwhile, demonstrations have taken place in Serbia, where discontent over the government’s handling of a collapsed train station in Novi Sad has led to widespread protests. Some protesters have shown symbolic solidarity with their Romanian neighbors by waving Romanian flags and tearing up EU flags, underlining a regional frustration with political abuse of power.

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Brutal stabbing in Austria – 14-year-old boy killed and five injured

Migrant violence

Published yesterday 15:21
– By Editorial Staff
Images circulating online of the arrest at top left, where a female police officer was tasked with arresting the offender. On the right, images from the cordon in Villach.

A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker has been arrested as the suspected perpetrator of a brutal knife attack in the Austrian town of Villach.

The attack took place on Friday evening, and according to witnesses, the man attacked passers-by at random in the city center.

According to witnesses, the perpetrator shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack and laughed when he was arrested. Rainer Dionisio, a longtime press officer with the Austrian police, expressed astonishment at the attack.

– I have never seen anything like this in my 20 years in the profession, he said at a press conference afterwards.

A 14-year-old boy was killed and at least five people were injured, three of whom are in intensive care.

A food vendor, also of Syrian origin, managed to stop the attack by using his car to run over the perpetrator, thus preventing further injuries.

– I couldn’t just stand there and watch, I had to do something, the food vendor told Kronen Zeitung.

The suspect was subsequently arrested by the police, who also called in the Cobra special forces.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (Christian Democrat ÖVP) declared that the attack will be thoroughly investigated and that any links to extremism will be clarified.

Poland says no to joint EU army

The new cold war

Published yesterday 12:58
– By Editorial Staff
Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski believes that a common European army will not become a reality.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and EU leader Ursula von der Leyen are two of several leaders who have recently called for the creation of a common European army.

However, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski dismisses such a solution, stating that “it will not happen”.

– I think we should be careful with this term because different people understand different things. If you understand by it the unification of national armies, it will not happen, Sikorsk explained in an interview with Telewizja Polska at the weekend.

Poland’s foreign minister also dismissed the idea of an EU peacekeeping force in Ukraine after a possible future ceasefire.

This is not a consideration because Poland’s duty to NATO is to protect the eastern flank, i.e., its own territory, he said.

However, the minister is in favor of EU countries rearming their own armies and developing their defense capabilities. According to Sikorski, Poland has long been pushing for the EU to relax funding rules so that member states can more easily invest in defense without violating the set budget rules.

“A threat to the existence of NATO”

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Zelensky declared that a “European army” must be created and argued that “decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending” after US Vice President JD Vance harshly criticized European countries and their leaders.

However, the idea is not Zelensky’s, nor is it new in 2019, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel argued that an EU army should be established and that Europe must start pursuing a policy of “strategic autonomy” from Washington.

Even Italian politicians have argued that the EU cannot have a credible foreign policy without a common military.

The idea of forming a pan-European army as an alternative to the US-led military pact began to circulate some 20 years ago an idea then US Defense Secretary William Cohen described as “a threat to the very existence of NATO”.

Asylum seeker plows into crowd in Munich – 30 injured

Migration crisis in Europe

Published 14 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Mini Cooper car used by the suspected perpetrator in the attack.

Around 30 people were injured, several of them seriously, when a car deliberately drove into a demonstration in central Munich on Thursday. The suspected driver, a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan, was arrested after police fired shots. The incident, which took place at a time of heightened security ahead of an international conference, has provoked strong political reactions and put the spotlight on Germany’s migration policy ahead of elections later this month.

A cream-colored Mini Cooper suddenly accelerated to 50 km/h and crashed into a crowd of people at Stiglmaierplatz, where the Verdi trade union was holding a demonstration linked to an ongoing strike. According to eyewitnesses, the attack appeared to be deliberate.

“It looked like it was done on purpose”, one witness told Bayerischer Rundfunk. Emergency services described the situation as chaotic, with several life-threatening injuries, including small children.

Police fired warning shots and arrested the driver, who had a history of drug offenses and was reportedly to be deported. He is now suspected of planning an attack on the protesters.

Strong political reactions

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) condemned the incident as an “attack” during a press conference, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) promised that the suspect “must be punished and leave the country” if found guilty.

The attack comes in the midst of a heated election campaign, with issues of migration and security taking center stage.

The incident also comes on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, which starts on February 14, with participants such as US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The organizers have not yet decided on any changes to the conference programme.

Broader debate on security and immigration

The attack is the third high-profile incident of violence in Germany in a short time where the perpetrators are of Afghan origin. Three weeks ago, a two-year-old boy was killed in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg, and another Afghan man is being prosecuted for the murder of a police officer in Mannheim in 2024. These incidents have sharpened the debate on asylum policy and integration, especially ahead of the 23 February federal elections.

At the scene, journalists arrived to find traces of blood and torn clothing. Police have not released any details about the motive, but the investigation is focusing on whether the perpetrator acted alone or has links to larger networks.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis resigns after impeachment threat

Published 12 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Yohannis has been accused of illegitimately staying in power.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on 10 February 2025 that he will step down from office, three months before a new presidential election is scheduled.

His departure follows a period of political turbulence, including threats of impeachment from opposition parties and criticism for remaining in office despite his term formally ending in December 2024.

Klaus Iohannis, who has been president since 2014, actually finished his second and final term on 21 December 2024. However, the December presidential election was annulled by Romania’s Supreme Court over allegations of Russian interference and electoral fraud.

The first round had been unexpectedly won by independent candidate Calin Georgescu, however, the court ruled that the election should be re-run and asked Iohannis to stay on as interim president until the new elections, scheduled for May 2025.

The decision to remain in office was strongly criticized by opposition parties, especially by opposition groups such as the Alliance for Romanian Unity (AUR), which launched several attempts to impeach him, accusing him of illegitimately staying in power like a dictator. Widespread protests were also organized by these groups, which further increased the pressure on Iohannis to resign.

Favorite of EU leaders

During his 10 years as president, Klaus Iohannis has been a strong advocate of the EU and European integration. He has worked to strengthen Romania’s role within the Union and pushed for its entry into the Schengen area. His pro-European stance and outspoken support for Ukraine have made him popular with other EU leaders, who have rallied behind him during the political crisis of recent months.

In his resignation speech, Iohannis stressed that he is stepping down to avoid a political crisis and prevent a polarizing impeachment process.

To spare Romania from this crisis, I am resigning as president of Romania” he said.

His resignation means that Romania is now governed by an interim president until the new elections, the first round of which is scheduled for May 4 with a possible second round on May 18.