Cold war 2.0

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

Romania’s president launches bid for NATO top job against Mark Rutte

This could be an interesting race to watch. Rutte is basically plenty of talk centrist guy and I am not sure that this is what we need at the helm at this point.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Macron corners far left, far right with vote on Ukraine aid

Polish rivals unite in DC to lobby for Ukraine military aid

Navalny’s former policy chief brutally attacked in Lithuania

Ukraine updates: Pro-Kyiv volunteers attack western Russia

Vietnam likely to permit worker unions to appease EU critics

Chaos in Haiti: What's causing it, and can it be stopped?

 

[Virtual ghost]

Wilders abandons pursuit of Netherlands PM job

This is exactly why it is good to have multiparty system. Since that makes it quite unlikely to take over the show on your own.



Denmark to begin conscripting women for the military in rare move

Scholz, Macron and Tusk to meet in Berlin to hash out differences on Ukraine

Germany’s Scholz says sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine is ‘out of the question’

Slovakia’s Fico cheers as pro-Putin biker gang boss is removed from EU sanctions list

Germany: Elon Musk visits Tesla factory after power sabotage

Houthi attacks in Red Sea threaten internet infrastructure

Israel-Hamas war: Aid convoy enters northern Gaza

Thai authority to ask court to disband reformist party

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

NATO chief says members are responsible for Ukraine’s ammo shortage

High noon for Putin: Opposition trolls Russia’s rigged election

EU president congratulates Putin on ‘landslide’ win … as Russian voting kicks off

Don’t count on Tusk to fix Macron-Scholz rift over Ukraine

Libya: New hope for a political solution?

Erdogan's farewell? Turkey's leader hints at retirement

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

NATO chief says members are responsible for Ukraine’s ammo shortage

High noon for Putin: Opposition trolls Russia’s rigged election

EU president congratulates Putin on ‘landslide’ win … as Russian voting kicks off

Don’t count on Tusk to fix Macron-Scholz rift over Ukraine

Libya: New hope for a political solution?

Erdogan's farewell? Turkey's leader hints at retirement

 

[The Cat]

 

[JAVO]

I wonder who is going to win the Russian election?

 

[ceecee]

I've been wondering about them - I simply assumed the NYT and WaPo called them antisemites for trying to feed Palestinians so they've focused on other places

 

[Virtual ghost]

I wonder who is going to win the Russian election?

In that case you should have seen the circus that my so called "reformed Communists" have just done.
Anyway, the local tensions were already very high. They are high since the current parliament got dissolved and we entered the peak of election campaign in Croatia, since the big vote is just a month away. The vote which should define 100% of parliament and thus who will get to be new prime minister and his staff. What is about 80% of elected power on the country level. The remaining 20% goes to the president that generally serves as commentator of events and it oversees important things like elections and military (like some sort of check and balance). Anyway the incumbent president who is: openly Russia friendly leftist, insults western politicians live on TV, hates Ukraine and calls his voters Comrades at rallies ... has once again decided to make drama. In a surprise press conference he and the president of the party have declared that it is him who will be the choice of the party for the next prime minister. What completely short circuits the whole election since that opened huge number of serious legal questions. First he is the president and if he wins upcoming elections that should mean that he would have to give the oath to himself. What really smells like banning the democratic order when you think about. Since in that case he is the judge and the jury.


Legal experts claim that in the case that he wants to run for the parliament to be the next PM he has to resign right now, without any hesitation. However that opens more problems, if he resigns who exactly will be the president ? After all you need a president for the process of making new parliament and the oath of PM. In theory the replacement should become speaker of the parliament. However right now we are in the middle of the election process and the current parliament has been dissolved, so there is no speaker at the time in legal sense. However the left still insists that the president will be their top candidate. What simply rises tensions because that can't be. To make things more dramatic legal experts have pulled out some lines out of the legal books, which say that the party that tries to play with integrity of elections in some part of the country should be banned form the ballot in that part of the country. What means that the left by doing this should suffer the consequences and be removed from the ballot in the region where the president decided to run (which is left heavy). What means that their pretty long shoot to win is becoming mission impossible in that case. As a matter of fact they have gathered 11 party coalition with small parties just to help even the odds. However with all the drama in the air that improvised tower is shaking since the vision of winning is all that is keeping that tower standing (for the record: Germans think that their left wing 3 party coalition is too complex). Therefore with winning being called into question with current events that tower of a coalition is seriously shaking (and that makes even their own voters nervous). After all the ruling center right isn't just observing all of this from the bench. They have slammed all of this with what basically comes down to: Ladies and gentlemen with these events we have seen the newest attempt of the left to obstruct and sabotage our country! They have never accepted out transition to democracy and this proves that they don't care about the concept! All of this is open attempt to dissolve this country and take us away from our close partnership with United States!".


Therefore now everyone is crazy, many see all of this as election of our lifetime. However as things stand it is becoming unclear can we even have elections. Since it is unclear that we have all the elements to have them at this point. Especially since all of this opens the question is the left doing this out of ignorance and incompetence, or are they indeed trying to burn down the system. In other words if the second is the case that basically opens the question of do we even have a country anymore? :drama:

 

[Virtual ghost]

Update on the above:
The things are evidently escalating. The left wing socialist president claims that he will be the candidate in elections even if legal experts say that this is impossible. Since this creates too many of legal problems in the mix, and thus it isn't possible under the law of Republic of Croatia. To what the president said that he doesn't care about what exactly the law and constitution say about the topic and that he will be the candidate of the left for next Prime-minister. Therefore supreme court is currently in emergency mode about the whole situation, but the president said that this doesn't really matter. Especially since in his opinion the constitution was written by the center right for their own needs and they have the majority in the supreme court. Therefore any ruling is evidently partisan and he doesn't really care about it. The statement that has horrified quite a few people (for obvious reasons). While on the other hand center right started to claim that the left can't win in a fair way, so they have to make drama out of the situation. But it seem that they have realized that the president plans to steamroll them with logic outside of any rules. Therefore it seems that they have started to talk with the far right about finding possible right wing majority. Since the president acting like angry bull could greatly boost the turnout, and that could easily lead his party to victory. Especially since parts of the far right have sympathy for the president on the anti-establishment basis (and that flirting is going on for years). Therefore center right as the most establishment party of them all has to interfere and protect it's right flank. What means talking to far right.


Long story short: these could easily turn out to be very very "interesting" election cycle. Since this is literally "all bets are off" scenario.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Putin ‘wins’ rigged Russian election with 88% of the vote, early results show

Russia election: Putin wins with 88% support, exit poll says


Plus to answer the question above.

 

[Red Herring]

Putin ‘wins’ rigged Russian election with 88% of the vote, early results show

Russia election: Putin wins with 88% support, exit poll says


Plus to answer the question above.

In Spanish this kind of near unanimous vote used to be called "a la búlgara" (Bulgarian style). A remnant from the days of the cold war.

 

[Virtual ghost]

In Spanish this kind of near unanimous vote used to be called "a la bulgara" (Bulgarian style). A remnant from the days of the cold war.

Yeah, he should have won by 68%, that would kinda make it more believable.
But in a country like this, it doesn't really matter. Since the will of the people isn't really the point or the concern.