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OfficialZero quoted the words of Łukasz Gibała, who said that he faces two difficult years and there will be no major investments, because — as he stated — the city cannot afford them. He added that he wants to sort out matters left by his predecessors, honestly present their governments, and restore normality. #Polska #polityka #gospodarka (translated)

Max Hübner wrote that Peter Magyar announced that he would not provide military assistance to Ukraine nor allow the transit of weapons through Hungary. Hübner ironically referred to him as a favorite of Donald Tusk and the "Silni Razem" environment, and then asked whether Tusk-affiliated media and their supporters would attribute pro-Russian sympathies to Magyar, just as, according to him, they did with Viktor Orbán. The author reminded that throughout the election campaign in Hungary he claimed that the geographical location meant that Budapest would not change its geopolitical direction. In his opinion, Magyar's situation was worse than Orbán's: Hübner believed that in the longer term, Donald Trump and Karol Nawrocki could convince Orbán to support the shift towards the energy hub being created by Poland and the USA. In the case of Magyar, as he wrote, there was no such possibility because the politician supported Germany's policy, which was contrary to the Intermarium project. #Ukraina #Węgry #polityka (translated)

In January 2025, James Appathurai, the assistant to the NATO Secretary General, publicly confirmed that the threats against Papperger were part of a broader campaign of diversions and hybrid operations against countries that support Ukraine. #KremļaSabotāža #Diversija #Drošība (translated)

The U.S. court temporarily prohibited the Trump administration from broadcasting advertising campaigns funded by the Department of Homeland Security, stating that they do not meet the established funding objectives and are illegal political propaganda. #DonaldTrump #JAVteismas #politinepropaganda (translated)

Žiga Turk believed that it was not possible to win the referendum on taxes for the wealthy in Slovenia and that he would therefore ignore it. According to his proposal, after the law fell, all tax solutions would be accepted again. He wrote that legislation on the subjects decided at the referendum could not be changed for one year, and referendums on taxes are not permissible. From this, he concluded that the referendum was not about taxes and that laws on them could be adopted the very next day. To maintain the non-tax solutions from the omnibus law, their advocates would have to get involved in the campaign, in his opinion. He questioned why the government would take risks for people who are not interested in this. #Slovenija #Referendum #Davki (translated)

Joanna Pinkwart reported that Łukasz Gibała became the president of Krakow, receiving 62.12% of the votes compared to 37.88% for Senator Monika Piątkowska. She wrote that support from Warsaw did not help the candidate, and assessed that the slogan "do not move the capital to Krakow" remained relevant, even though Andrzej Sikorowski supported the KO candidate. Pinkwart added that Piątkowska assured her in a conversation that the government funds promised for Krakow during the campaign would not be lost due to her rival's victory. #Kraków #wybory2023 #polityka (translated)

Katja Kokot wrote that the right is financing the campaign with party funds and defends its positions with party members, while the Left is said to be using not only party money but also funds from non-governmental organizations, including millions from abroad, which she referred to as "Soros money." She added that the Left is also defending its positions with the support of non-governmental activists and public RTV. She asked whether this is still democracy or a competition of capital and power against common sense. She described the map of the referendum results on the amendment to the law on parliamentary inquiry as a representation of that common sense; according to her explanation, the dark blue areas voted against, while the light blue ones voted in favor. She also mentioned that at her home polling station and the surrounding ones, about 70 percent of votes were in favor of all four questions. In this context, she wondered where Slovenia is headed and whether power would belong to foreign capital, and wrote that the nation would write its own judgment. #demokracija #Slovenija #referendum (translated)

There was also news from home over the weekend that Dávid Vitézy sent a letter to Mészáros's company stating that they were fired from the construction of the Southern Ring Railway, the upper limit of environmental fines has been raised from 2 to 5 billion, and the minimum penalty will also be higher, according to János Bóka, the Fidesz has no reason to apologize for its campaign that incites war anxiety, the editorial offices of Hungarian women's magazines requested the ratification of the Istanbul Convention from the government, it turned out that 5 percent of the property tax can also be offered for public purposes, and that Imre Komjáthi is setting an example for the old warhorse Orbán in reaching young people. #szegénység #szerhasználat #mentálhigiénia (translated)

Zdeněk Šarapatka thanked his supporters and stated that their support helped him get back on his feet after the results of the Senate elections. According to him, the campaign in Prague 5 and 13 was not a fair competition about topics, but a contest over billboards. He claimed that one of the candidates was running a concurrent campaign for the Senate and the Prague City Hall, transferring funds between them, including money from a company building houses. According to Šarapatka, the state supervision office did not respond to the violations of the rules. The candidate, he claimed, received 14,606 votes out of a total of 45,782. Šarapatka also criticized the ODS, which, according to him, despite an agreement with his TOP 09, fielded its own candidate, thereby reducing the chances of defeating Václav Láska. He stated that their candidate hardly presented political positions during public appearances and instead relied on a romanticized story about the students' relationship with the school principal. He added that the students of the candidate's school, according to Šarapatka, got involved in the campaign, even though the principal was balancing on the edge of the education law. The candidate received 12,162 votes out of 45,782. As an earlier example of the split with ODS, Šarapatka mentioned its member Benda, who, according to him, appointed Matocha and Xaver Veselý to the Czech Television Council. He claimed that part of ODS contributed to his failure in the election despite the party agreements at that time. He also recalled that six years ago, at ODS's request, he supported its candidate in the second round of the Senate elections in Mělník, whom he claimed he had not seen publicly appear in the Senate since then. Šarapatka stated that he would not make the same mistake again. According to him, the result meant that there would be no amendment to the lustration law nor security clearances for government members and their deputies, and that there would be no qualified fight for a free Czech Radio and Czech Television. At the same time, he urged his supporters to keep going. #politika #volby #Senát (translated)

Katja Kokot noted that the amendment to the law on parliamentary investigations was passed in June, and non-governmental organizations then collected signatures and submitted them in September. She added that there followed 30 days of campaigning, during which the Constitutional Court made a decision in September that, in her view, changed the situation. She believed that the court essentially agreed with the purpose of the law, which was intended to prevent the halting of parliamentary investigations through appeals to the Constitutional Court. #parlament #zakonodaja #UstavnoSodišče (translated)

The SDS thanked the voters who, in its opinion, understand that their vote is the strongest democratic tool. It stated that the campaign once again demonstrated the influence of propaganda on public opinion. According to its words, some represented the parliamentary investigation of political officials as political police, while the political police in the past resorted to imprisoning, persecuting, and killing people. SDS added that Slovenia has a lot of work ahead for greater resistance to propaganda in order to reach the level of developed democracies. #demokracija #volitve #propaganda (translated)

The SDS thanked everyone who participated in the referendums and cast their vote, stating that they contributed to democracy. According to them, the campaign demonstrated the importance of independent thinking, critical assessment of information, and decision-making based on facts. They also expressed gratitude for the support, effort, and dedication. #demokracija #volitve #hvala (translated)