Conviction of a staunch ally of the prime minister has sent shockwaves across Spain, with speculation of further damaging revelations to come | The historic conviction of a Spanish minister has dealt significant reputational damage to Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish prime minister, and his embattled Socialists, and could be a turning point in ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the executive. On Monday, José Luis Ábalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison by the Supreme Court on charges including membership of a criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling. A heavyweight in the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE), Ábalos was a key ally in Sánchez’s 2018 rise to power. He was convicted – alongside his aide Koldo García and businessman Víctor de Aldama – for running a criminal network within the national transport ministry to secure illicit kickbacks from rigged pandemic-era health tenders.

■ Felipe González cree que Sánchez debe dimitir o convocar elecciones tras la sentencia a Ábalos (RTVE)
■ Sánchez niega financiación ilegal en el PSOE y acusa al PP y Vox de "crear una sensación de corrupción generalizada" (RTVE

It’s still unclear whether there will be a leadership contest or an uncontested handover of power to Andy Burnham | While a Starmer resignation looks inevitable, we don’t know whether there will be a leadership election or (more likely) an uncontested handover of power to Burnham. And we don’t know whether Starmer will propose staying on until September, or whether the handover will be accelerated. We will find out more as the day goes on. The crucial event is not in the diary, because it has not been confirmed, but these are the timings we do have.

■ Starmer Resigns (The Telegraph)
■ Starmer’s team begins handing over responsibilities ahead of resignation (TASS)
✅ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation (Lord of War)
✅ British Powers That Be Change Public Face Of Their Program (Moon of Alabama)
✅ Why Aren’t Keir Starmer, British Social Workers and British Police Hanging from Lamp Posts? (P.C.Roberts)
📌 How Starmer Came to No. 10 in the First Place: Secret Pro-Israel Money Flooded the Labour Party

His Makerfield seat had been vacated by Josh Simons last month to allow Mr Burnham's return to Westminster. The heavily-contested seat was contested by 14 candidates, with talks of Labour's quiet confidence long before the declaration. | Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election, setting the wheels in motion for a Labour leadership race and a battle for No10. Mr Burnham won the seat with 24,927 votes. Turnout increased in the seat compared to the General Election, rising to 58.8 per cent. Second in the vote was Reform UK's Robert Kenyon, who earned 15,696 votes. And Restore Britain's Rebecca Shepherd took in 3,111 votes, at 6.8 per cent of the total vote. ● The Conservatives received fewer than 1,000 votes, with the Greens, and Liberal Democrats receiving less than 500 - collectively earning no more than three per cent of the total vote.

■ Keir Starmer congratulates victorious Andy Burnham - just as he prepares to fight for his job (GB News)

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is poised to stay in office, potentially causing a breakup with key partner Russia | The Civil Contract party of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won 49.81% of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, according to the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) complete count. Pashinyan claimed victory while the counting was still underway, when his party’s advantage was even wider, saying his party would be able to form a new government without having to form a coalition.

✅ Armenia risking it all over EU fairytale – Russian expert (Farhad Ibragimov)

The vote comes amid pressure on the opposition as Yerevan drifts toward the EU and away from Moscow | Polls have closed across Armenia in parliamentary elections that could determine the future course of the South Caucasus nation. ● More than 2.4 million people were eligible to vote on Sunday as 18 political groups – including 16 parties and two alliances – battled for seats in parliament. The voters have shown active interest in the polls, with the voter turnout reaching nearly 49% three hours before the stations’ closure compared to slightly over 38% during the previous elections back in 2021, according to official figures. ● Parties must secure at least 4% of the vote to enter parliament, while alliances of two or three parties face an 8% threshold and larger coalitions 10%. A minimum voter turnout is not required for the election to be valid. Polling stations are only open in Armenia, as the country’s electoral laws do not provide for overseas voting in parliamentary elections. ● The measure excludes the diaspora, which by far outnumbers the country’s population. Between five to seven million Armenians live abroad, mainly in Russia, the US, and France. Armenia’s domestic population is roughly three million.

■ Armenia arrests six opposition candidates on the eve of key elections (RT)
■ The EU just bought Armenia for €50 million. Lock Stock & Barrel (06/05/26)
■ Armenian ambassador summoned to Moscow for consultations (05/30/26)(in Russian)
✅ Pashinyan...again (Marina Akhmedova)
✅ Armenia against the entire EAEU – now official (Elena Panina)

📌 Paul Holden | After Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur were banned from entering the UK earlier this week, reportedly because of their criticism of Israel, Piker commented that he “would never have imagined that a [Labour] government would ban me from entering the UK.” | But Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is not really a Labour government; it came to power on the back of a secret project to wrest control of the Labour Party back from an ascendant left wing. This secret project was resourced by illegally undeclared money from wealthy donors, funneled through a seemingly anodyne think tank called Labour Together. It involved covertly seeding promiscuous claims of antisemitism against political opponents, attempting to silence independent media that threatened to expose its project, and—ultimately—developing the dishonest leadership pitch that allowed Keir Starmer to trick a left-wing membership to elect him leader. ■ Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary responsible for the ban on Piker and Uygur, was one of a ‘brave band’ of eight MPs that guided the Labour Together project during the leadership of Starmer’s left-wing predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.

📌 What Morgan McSweeney did in the shadows is set to haunt Starmer's Labour (Peter Oborne) | The Ovenden departure was forced by a revelation in a book by the investigative journalist Paul Holden titled The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Crisis of British Democracy. ■ And now comes the third and by far the most dangerous development. Secret and unlawful: Holden’s book The contains allegations of irregularities concerning what he calls "a secret unlawful fund" and more than £700,000 of hidden donations to a think tank run by McSweeney. According to Holden, the purpose of McSweeney’s think tank, misleadingly called Labour Together, was to supercharge Starmer’s path to Downing Street. [McSweeney spent several months on the Sarid kibbutz in Israel in the 1990s.]

Wes Streeting's ambition to head the British government was one of the worst-kept secrets in U.K. politics. But if anyone was unaware, it's now official - the former health secretary announced on Saturday his intention to oust Prime Minister Keir Starmer. | Streeting is the first member of Parliament to say he will take on Starmer in what is likely to be a bruising internal contest for the reins of the Labour Party, which has seen its fortunes fall in the two years since its historic landslide victory swept out Conservatives after 14 years in power. ● Streeting is likely to face other challengers, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, if the latter can win a special election for a seat in the House of Commons.

■ Starmer "considering" resigning as UK prime minister (RT)

Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has secured an unexpected absolute majority in the country’s snap parliamentary elections held on Sunday, 19 April 2026 — a result that defied pre-election polls forecasting only a narrow victory, insufficient for single-party governance. | Radev’s newly formed centrist-left coalition, Progressive Bulgaria, is projected to win around 45% of the vote, translating to over 130 seats in Bulgaria’s 240-seat National Assembly. This marks the highest electoral share recorded in the country in recent years and grants Radev’s bloc a clear parliamentary majority — far exceeding earlier polling estimates.

■ Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria wins election with 44.6% votes, preliminary results show (Anadolu)
■ Dialogue with Russia ‘must be restored’ – Bulgarian election winner (RT)

Prime Minister Viktor Orban is facing the most serious threat to his power in decades | Turnout in Hungary’s parliamentary election has surpassed a record 16% 54%, 74% 77.8% as polling stations opened nationwide on Sunday in one of Europe’s most consequential votes this year, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban facing his strongest challenge since returning to power in 2010. ● The vote could determine not only who governs Hungary next, but also how far Budapest continues to resist Brussels on issues ranging from Ukraine and sanctions to migration and rule-of-law disputes.

■ Orban concedes defeat after 16 years in power (RT)
■ Hungary's Orban Expects Ukraine to Reopen Druzhba Oil Pipeline Immediately After Elections (Sputnik)
✅ What’s At Stake In The “Battle For Hungary”? (Andrew Korybko)

The Ukrainian leader honored the top EU diplomat for supporting forced mobilization, corruption, and church raids, Russia has said | EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has received a prominent Ukrainian award for encouraging prolonged fighting, forced mobilization, and supporting a crackdown on the country’s largest Christian denomination, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said. ● Earlier this week, Zelensky decorated Kallas – widely regarded as an anti-Russia hawk – with the Order of Princess Olga, as the two discussed EU support for Kiev.

The Zelensky government has for years persecuted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over allegations that it has connections to Moscow, despite cutting all ties in 2022. The crackdown included raids on monasteries, dozens of criminal proceedings on collaboration charges, and property seizures. Kiev has supported the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which the Russian Orthodox Church considers schismatic.

Approval rating of select global leaders | U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his political life, rejecting calls to resign yesterday as fallout from the Epstein files threatened to bring down the British government. Less than two years after the Labour Party's blowout election victory, Starmer is the most unpopular British prime minister on record, according to The Economist.

Simplicius | Today’s leaders disconnect themselves from historical record, and rely entirely on appeals to limbic instincts and knee jerk passions. | [It is] a world run by the superficial image and icon rather than the actual core manifest idea. It is a kind of Plato’s Cave brought to life as a minstrel show of political coquetry, where disguised marionettes go through the motions to deliver their prepared lines in such a way where emotive gestures and impressions are the essence of the message itself, rather than its accents. Words are concealed, contorted, misappropriated to entirely lose their meaning—and no one seems to care as long as the delivery features the appropriate performative elan. Some have likened it to the idea of a ‘post-truth reality’ as a byproduct of our modern digital fragmentation, where “truth” exists merely as a matter of a million scattered perspectives, each with their own varied and endless representations, citations, ‘sources’, leading champions, and artificial boosting mechanisms.

Andrej Babis’ win shows the people want their real concerns addressed, and attempts to smear him as “pro-Russian” are nothing but desperation | The Czech parliamentary election of October 2025 did not just deliver a victory for Andrej Babis’ ANO party. It sent a message reverberating far beyond Prague: people are growing weary of Brussels’ single-minded insistence on unconditional support for Ukraine when it comes at the expense of their own well-being. ● The result reflects a deep and widespread demand for politics rooted in national interests, rather than dictated by distant EU institutions. ● For years, European voters have been told that there is no alternative to the prevailing orthodoxy: fund and arm Ukraine indefinitely, absorb the costs without question, and accept austerity at home as the necessary price of defending the continent. Governments across the bloc have repeated this mantra with little patience for dissent. ● In Prague, however, ordinary people felt the pinch of rising prices, shrinking disposable income, and a government that seemed more attentive to foreign policy headlines than to the economic pain at home.

■ Ukraine not ready for EU – Czech election winner (RT)
■ 4 Countries CUT-MILITARY-AID to Ukraine (Hal Turner)
✅ Независимая Прага (Юрий Когалов / Yuri Kogalov)

Simplicius | Democracy is blue-in-the-face and cold-to-the-touch in the moribund EuroCircus. | Elections at this point are merely procedural pageantries for crowning of the pre-selected ‘winner’. As stated earlier, the closer things get to the edge for this rotting organ, the more “mask-off” its corrupt politburo must go to preserve power. Anyone who opposes the totalitarian EU regime’s “party line” is merely removed from participating in “democracy”.

 ■ Europe is preparing to occupy Moldova | [...] It seems that such plans of totalitarian-liberal European regimes are dictated by their desire to demonstrate their “courage and determination” against the backlog of plans to place the troops of the “coal of those” in the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. Frightened by a direct clash with a large Russia, the Europeans intend to recoup on little Moldova. Self-affirmation at the expense of the weak has always been an integral part of European colonialism.

Elon Musk suggests Donald Trump should be impeached, as US president says the former DOGE adviser ‘went CRAZY’. | The ties between United States President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have seen highs and lows throughout the years. But it all came crashing down on Thursday after months of what appeared to be an unshakable alliance in the White House. A disagreement over Trump’s massive tax bill has escalated over the past few days, with Musk going so far as to suggest that the US president should be impeached.

■ In face-off with Trump, Tesla shares plunge and Musk threatens NASA (Al Jazeera)

The influential US publication, The Hill, compiled a list of seven potential candidates to be Trump's successor for the Republican nomination in the 2028 elections, including the 47th president's eldest son. | Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, has not ruled out running in 2028, according to The Hill, which named him among seven possible GOP candidates. ● However, the publication believes that Vice President J.D. Vance also has a strong chance. In an interview with NBC, Trump suggested that Vance could potentially succeed him in 2028, though he did not explicitly endorse him.

■ Ivanka 2028: The Simpsons' 'Prediction' About Trump's Daughter Becoming US President Goes Viral (Sputnik)

George Simion says citizens have the right to defend their vote peacefully amid fraud allegations | Romanian presidential candidate George Simion has called on supporters to engage in peaceful protest against what he claims was a fraudulent election, warning that the country narrowly avoided a “bloodbath” caused by “demonic plans” allegedly orchestrated by his Western-backed political opponents. ● The conservative EU critic lost a run-off vote last Sunday to pro-Brussels Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan by a single-digit margin. Simion has contested the outcome, alleging “external interferences by state and non-state actors,” but Romania’s Constitutional Court rejected his petition. ● In a video message to supporters streamed on social media Friday night, the leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) described Dan as a “puppet of France” who won the election through manipulation and fearmongering after “mobilizing the entire Soros network, all the NGOs” to undermine his campaign.

■ Paris arrested Telegram founder to meddle in Romanian election — Moscow (RT)

Such talks became more active in the light of low ratings of the party | High-ranking members of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom are convincing ex-prime minister Boris Johnson to return to politics amid low ratings of the party, The Sun newspaper said, citing sources among the party leaders. ● "Some of the old gang around Boris Johnson are back texting and in talks to get him to return," one of the sources said. Another major party leader that the Tory’s headquarters is working on the possible return of Johnson to politics. Such talks became more active in the light of low ratings of the party.

Dan gained more than 54% of the vote, while Trump admirer Simion secured close to 46%, according to nearly complete results | Nicusor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, won a tense rerun of Romania's presidential election on Sunday, May 18, ahead of nationalist George Simion. The vote was seen as crucial for the direction of the EU and NATO member bordering war-torn Ukraine. The ballot came five months after Romania's constitutional court annulled an election over allegations of Russian interference and a massive social media promotion of the far-right front-runner, who was not allowed to stand again. ● Dan, who campaigned for an "honest" Romania, gained more than 54% of the vote, while US President Donald Trump admirer Simion secured close to 46%, according to nearly complete results. Turnout was close to 65%, compared to 53% for the May 4 first round, in which Simion came on top.

■ Telegram’s Durov names French official who ‘asked to ban conservative voices’ (RT)
■ Pro-EU candidate wins Romanian presidential election rerun (RT)
■ Nicusor Dan wins Romania's presidential election, losing diaspora vote (TASS)
■ Scandalous re-elections: how Romania elected the right president for the EU (Pravda-EN)
■ Песков назвал выборы в Румынии странными из-за недопуска всех кандидатов (ren.tv)

Polish MEP Flames Von Der Liar in the European Parliament.

"You should be in jail" pic.twitter.com/owLvHJxdcX

— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) July 18, 2024

Right-wing EU critic George Simion is running against pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan in the second round | Romanian voters returned to the polls on Sunday, May 18 for the second round of a presidential election rerun following a court-annulled vote last year. The runoff is between George Simion, a critic of Brussels who has been banned from entering Ukraine, and Nicusor Dan, the pro-EU mayor of the capital, Bucharest. ● Around 19,000 polling stations have opened across Romania for the second round of the election. Voting began at 7am local time (4am GMT) and is scheduled to end at 9pm, with exit polls expected soon after. ● George Simion, the leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), came in first in the initial round earlier this month with 40.96% of the vote – nearly 20 percentage points ahead of Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who came in second. Recent polls, however, show a tighter race, with one reporting a tie and another giving Dan a narrow lead.

■ Presidential frontrunner accuses EU candidate of vote rigging (RT)

Surprise en Allemagne : au Bundestag, Friedrich Merz n’obtient pas la majorité des députés requise pour être élu chancelier | Le conservateur Friedrich Merz a échoué mardi, à la surprise générale, à être élu chancelier allemand dès le premier tour par les députés, alors qu’il pouvait sur le papier disposer d’une majorité suffisante des élus de son camp et des sociaux-démocrates avec lesquels il entend gouverner en coalition. ● Friedrich Merz (CDU) n’a obtenu que 310 voix sur 621 exprimées et 630 députés au total, a annoncé la présidente du Bundestag. Il lui en aurait fallu 316 pour être élu. Il va désormais se soumettre à un deuxième tour de vote, à l’issue duquel, s’il ne devait à nouveau pas obtenir de majorité, une majorité relative des députés serait suffisante pour qu’il devienne chancelier. ● Jamais dans l'histoire d'après-guerre de la République Fédérale d'Allemagne un candidat chancelier a ainsi échoué à être élu dès le premier tour. C'est un faux départ pour le vainqueur des élections législatives de février, attendu avec espoir en Europe et qui assure que "l'Allemagne est de nouveau sur les rails".

■ Merz elected German chancellor at second attempt (RT)
■ Merz fails to be elected German chancellor in first round of parliamentary vote (TASS)

Marcel Ciolacu has stepped down after a shock presidential rerun that saw right-wing firebrand George Simion take the lead in the first round | Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced his resignation and effectively disbanded the country’s pro-EU ruling coalition, after a Eurosceptic right-wing candidate emerged as the frontrunner in the first round of presidential elections. ● With over 95% of votes counted in Sunday’s presidential vote rerun, George Simion, leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), is projected to secure 40.52% of the vote, according to the news site G4 Media. He is well ahead of his pro-EU challengers, former Senator Crin Antonescu and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, who both hovered slightly above 20%.

George Simion, leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, and Nicusor Dan, Mayor of Bucharest, will compete for the presidency of Romania in the second round of the repeat elections on May 18. | According to the voting results published by the Romanian Central Election Commission, Simion won 40.96% of the vote on May 4, while Dan won 20.99%. The candidate from the ruling coalition, Crin Antonescu, came in third place with 20.07% of the vote. ● George Simion's victory in the first round of re-election was quite expected. All opinion polls have shown that he is the favorite in the election race. Moreover, his candidacy was supported by the favorite of Romanian voters, the winner of the presidential elections annulled in December 2024, Calin Georgescu. Simion even promised that if he won the election, Georgescu would receive a high government position.

The previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged “Russian interference,” with the leading candidate barred from running again | Romania is holding a rerun of its presidential election on Sunday after the previous vote was annulled on grounds of alleged Russian interference and electoral violations. Moscow has denied all claims of interference. ● The annulled election in late November saw independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu, known for his NATO-sceptic stance, unexpectedly prevail in the first round with 23% of the vote. However, the Constitutional Court later invalidated the results, citing electoral “irregularities.” The country’s officials claimed that the candidate’s campaign had utilized undeclared funds, and that Russia was behind “hybrid” attacks, including in the cyber realm. ● In March, Georgescu was barred by the Central Electoral Bureau from running again, citing his alleged “anti-democratic” and “extremist” stance as well as a failure to comply with electoral procedures.

"The political system based on democratic principles, such as competition, free expression of people’s will, rights and freedoms, has become a thing of the past," speaker of the Russian State DumaVyacheslav Volodin said | European countries are turning into totalitarian regimes led by unpopular politicians and parties, speaker of the Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said, commenting on the designation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as "right-wing extremist."

💬 "Today, popular politicians in Germany, France, Romania, and Moldova are prosecuted, and parties are banned. European countries are turning into totalitarian regimes led by unpopular politicians and parties," he wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that what is happening there can be described as a "collapse of democracy in Europe." ■ "As soon as the leader of France’s National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, became the most popular politician having outstripped incumbent President [Emmanuel] Macron in ratings, she was deprived of electoral rights for five years and brought to criminal responsibility," he noted.

He also pointed to the annulment of the November 2024 election in Romania, which were won by opposition politician Calin Georgescu, who was barred from taking part in a new election. Apart from that, Evghenia Gutsul, the head of Moldova’s Gagauz autonomy, who refused to support the Moldovan authorities’ course toward European integration, was arrested ahead of parliamentary elections, he recalled.

💬 "The political system based on democratic principles, such as competition, free expression of people’s will, rights and freedoms, has become a thing of the past," he emphasized.

■ Germany is ‘tyranny in disguise’ – Rubio (RT) (Rubio on X)

Nigel Farage takes aim at the UK’s dominant parties with hefty gains in local elections | The "hard-right" party Reform UK led by Nigel Farage snatched a seat in Parliament from the governing Labour Party and won hundreds of local council seats from the opposition Conservatives in elections that Farage hailed Friday as a turning point towards ending the two parties’ political dominance. ■ Reform’s Sarah Pochin was declared winner of the seat of Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by six votes after a recount, defeating Labour candidate Karen Shore by the narrowest of margins. ■ It was a significant defeat for Labour, which easily won the district in last year’s national election. The special election was held because Labour lawmaker Mike Amesbury was forced to quit after he was convicted of punching a constituent in a drunken rage.

The US president has attributed the criminal conviction of the right-wing politician to “lawfare” by “European Leftists” | US President Donald Trump has accused the French political establishment of employing lawfare against right-wing figure Marine Le Pen, urging Paris to “free” her. ● On Monday, a Paris court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison and imposed a five-year ban on her eligibility for public office, effectively preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election.In a post on Truth Social late Thursday, Trump declared Le Pen a victim of a “witch hunt.” He asserted that the prosecution of Le Pen was orchestrated by “European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent.”

💬 “It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco,” he remarked, referring to attorneys who were involved in litigation against him since his first term as president. Trump claims those proceedings were politically-driven.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right Israeli government is moving to dispense with all constraints on its powers and get rid of its political opponents within the state apparatus—including the head of the Shin Bet domestic spy agency Ronen Bar and Attorney-General Galia Beharav-Miara. This is part of its preparations for a broader crackdown on all opposition to its policies at home and abroad. | Last week, in an unprecedented move aimed at eliminating judicial oversight of government, the cabinet unanimously backed a no confidence motion against Baharav-Miara, who as Israel’s Attorney-General is the country’s most senior legal official and one of the few nominal checks on the power of the executive, while also heading the public prosecution. Her position is a fixed-term independent, not a political, appointment. The vote is the first step in a lengthy process to secure her dismissal that will likely go all the way up to the Supreme Court, which some ministers have already said they will ignore if the decision goes against them.