After tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Tbilisi on Monday against the contested result of the Georgian parliamentary elections, a portion of the votes are now to be recounted. The country's Central Election Commission had officially declared the national-conservative ruling party Georgian Dream the winner with 54 percent, but the opposition is accusing the government of vote rigging. Commentators discuss the next steps.
For the seventh time since 2021 Bulgaria has elected a new parliament. As in June, Boyko Borisov's conservative Gerb party came first (26.4 percent), well ahead of the reform-oriented PP-DB (14.2 percent). The far-right Vazrazhdane party (13.4 percent) and the DPS led by the controversial oligarch Delyan Peevski (11.2 percent) came third and fourth respectively. Things are not looking good for the country, Europe's press fears.
Íñigo Errejón, parliamentary spokesman for the left-wing governing alliance Sumar and previously an influential figure in Podemos, announced his resignation on Thursday, shortly after he was anonymously accused of sexual violence in the press. The allegations include "psychological abuse" and "degrading" sexual practices. According to the national press Errejón is not the only one who has been discredited by this scandal.
On Friday night Israel carried out its announced strike in retaliation for Iran's missile attacks at the beginning of October. It remains unclear which targets were hit. Iran's reaction was ambivalent: Tehran insisted on its "right" to respond, while Ayatollah Khamenei said the attacks should "neither be exaggerated nor minimised". Europe's press breathes a sigh of relief.
360 bishops and other members of the Catholic Church have been discussing the Church's future over the last month at the Global Synod in Rome. A particularly controversial issue was the extent to which the Church should democratise and give women access to official positions within its institutions. Commentators discuss whether the final document offers cause for optimism or is in fact a setback for those calling for reforms.
Odair Moniz, a Portuguese citizen of African origin, was shot dead by a police officer in Lisbon on 21 October under circumstances that remain unclear. The incident triggered several days of unrest and rioting. On Saturday there were parallel marches in solidarity with the victim on the one hand and by the right-wing party Chega, which came out in defence of the police, on the other. Commentators take a look at the two demonstrations.
During a town hall event hosted by CNN on Wednesday, Kamala Harris said she agreed with the assessment that her rival in the race for the US presidency, Donald Trump, is a fascist. Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly had previously told the New York Times that in his opinion Trump "fits the definition of a fascist". Commentators see reasons to criticise Trump's behaviour but urge caution regarding this particular accusation.
The meeting of representatives from the nine members of the Brics alliance and other states potentially interested in membership in the Russian city of Kazan came to an end on Thursday. The alliance aims to create a multipolar world order. Europe's press discusses to what extent the group can be considered a counterweight to the "global West" and what the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres signifies.
At least five people were killed and 22 others injured in an attack on the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) in Ankara. Turkey has blamed the Kurdish PKK and responded with drone attacks on PKK positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria. Commentators discuss whether the timing of the attack was relevant in terms of the motives.
Georgia will elect a new parliament on Saturday. While Georgians have repeatedly expressed clear support for the path towards EU accession in polls, the Georgian Dream party which has been in power since 2012 recently pushed through laws resembling those in Russia that restrict the rights of the opposition and civil society. The EU responded by putting the country's accession process, which began at the end of 2023, on hold.
Turkish spiritual leader Fethullah Gülen has died in the US. The founder of the Hizmet movement has been deemed a major opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since 2013. His movement founded educational institutions in Turkey in the 1960s, and many of his followers went on to join the civil service. Charged with attempting to overthrow the secular state, Gülen left Turkey for the United States in 1999 and had lived in exile there ever since.