Allah's Willing Executioners

by Eric Utter 

What has happened to women in the course of my lifetime is almost unfathomable — and unspeakable.

Females had an almost mystical hold on me as I went through puberty and into my young adulthood. Feminine, soft, curvy, sweet, nurturing, as I saw the fair sex. I probably pedestalized them. Much of this was likely due to examples I had in my own family.

Several decades later, I have lost my faith in females — and humanity in general.

So let’s be honest: at best feminism has coarsened and cheapened the relation between the sexes. At worst, it has nearly destroyed a great many women and has severely weakened the foundations of our society. Today we see “karens” everywhere, AWFULs are ubiquitous, and there seems no end to bitter, angry, entitled, unfulfilled women. Many of those (coincidentally?) look nothing like women.

Women have been sold a bill of goods. It is no wonder rates of depression, hopelessness, and suicide have crept up over the years. We see crazed “liberal” women in the street, launching dildos and attacking law enforcement officers who are trying to take criminals and rapists off the streets.

And now we see thousands upon thousands of women, clad in pink, vociferously and vocally supporting a three-time child murderer. If a woman who strangles all three of her own children is exonerated, that will be a disaster for the society — and nation — in which that decision was made. If the premeditated murder of one, let alone all, of one’s children does not even warrant serious criminal penalties, what will? Of course, the logical answer would be nothing. Even other hardened criminals in prison famously do not tolerate child molesters … let alone child killers.

 But there will be a crime so heinous that it will be treated harshly in the future. That crime will be daring to speak out — and stand up — against the crazed leftists that want to unleash chaos and evil across the land. There are currently precious few of those. (One with just such courage is the lone male who steadfastly stood against the other 11 jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial.)

On the other hand, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently dressed herself in a hijab while speaking to Muslim men two weeks before the 25th “anniversary” observation of 9/11, illustrating many women’s bizarre and disturbing desire to submit to hypocrisy — and evil — rather than truth and decency.

It pains me to say this, but it may be time to truly ask ourselves if we really want to see a woman president, or perhaps an administration filled with women. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a “progressive” woman president dressed in a pink hijab and wearing a facial mask speaking from the Oval Office.

Would we also see abortion legalized until the age of nine? The legal age to vote lowered to the age of nine? Along with the legal age to wed?

Leftists, be they male or female, are desperately trying to break apart the melting pot and turn us once again into a tribal nation. They want to pit women against men, black against white, rich against poor, gay versus straight, the mentally ill against the sane, etcetera, etcetera. All of this is reprehensible and highly detrimental, but when men and women no longer see themselves as divinely complementary but at loggerheads, that society is dead whether it yet knows it or not.

Everyone’s heard of “toxic masculinity.” Yet it is the lack of masculinity, properly understood, that is adversely affecting us now. And the lack of traditional femininity.

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On today’s show, host Rafe Heydel-Mankoo is joined by Peter Barnes, political strategist and commentator, Michael Murphy, Head of Journalism at Outpost Studios, and the Free Speech Union’s Celeste Warren, making her first appearance on the show. This week the panel discuss:

* Britain’s Child Marriage Scandal – shocking new report reveals the scale of child marriage in the UK, and the degree to which much of it now occurs entirely within the UK.

* Labour’s “Representation of the People Bill” will fundamentally change who can vote at the next election. Is this an attempt to ‘rig’ the election against the right?

* The UN has ordered Britain to erect statutes of Africans and create public spaces acknowledging the sin of slavery. Is the UN still fit for purpose?

A Scottish civil servant turned up to a work training session “dressed as a cat”, forcing the SNP to issue a reminder on “appropriate dress code,” it has been revealed.

Reports emerged that a male civil servant who identifies as non-binary turned up to a training session dressed in a frock, cat ears and a tail.

The incident allegedly took place at Victoria Quay, the government office complex situated at Leith Docks in Edinburgh.

In response, a Scottish Government spokesman stated: “All civil servants are required to dress appropriately for work. The dress described in this claim would not meet that requirement.”

The story gained traction on social media, where one user wrote: “My friend at the Scottish Government says that a male has shown up to VQ to attend a training session whilst wearing a dress, cat ears and a cat tail. I wish I was making this up.”

Murray Meikle, who recently retired from the Scottish civil service, confirmed he had been aware of the incident.

He described the organisation as “utterly dysfunctional,” warning that raising concerns about such matters was “potentially a career ending decision.”

Mr Meikle added: “I left this year and glad to do so. It’s a completely embarrassing organisation and yet it’s our government. Wha’s like us?”

Another user on X argued that managers who had lost sight of acceptable workplace conduct, or lacked the courage to uphold it, ought to step down.

A source within the civil service spoke to The Scotsman about the atmosphere surrounding the episode.

“The issue seems light hearted but, actually, staff were uncomfortable but felt they couldn’t express opposition to this form of dress because we are encouraged to be kind and open-minded, especially around issues of identity,” the insider said.

The source added: “It is disquieting though.

“There’s a feeling it could have been more swiftly handled.”

The incident has also refocused attention on the chronic underuse of Victoria Quay itself.

The vast office development, which opened in the 1990s and contains 1,250 desks, has long been criticised for its running costs given how few staff actually show up.

Freedom of information figures revealed that average daily attendance by core Scottish Government employees on Wednesdays stood at a mere 12 per cent between mid-December last year and mid-January 2026.

Although civil servants are formally expected to be present in the office for at least two out of every five working days, there are no penalties for those who ignore this requirement.

The Scottish Government’s liberal approach to remote working has drawn sustained criticism, with opponents arguing it represents poor value for taxpayers.

Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin, the Scottish Government’s most senior official, exemplified this reluctance to enforce standards when he appeared before a Holyrood committee.

Asked directly whether staff who refused to return to the office would face disciplinary action, Mr Griffin said: “No. Not on a simple refusal to come to the office.”

He explained that any response would depend on broader factors, including “the posture of that individual, the language that they were using and so on,” but confirmed there was no “narrow trigger” that would lead to formal sanctions purely for failing to attend.

Rather than holding staff to account, Mr Griffin told MSPs the focus would be on showing “kindness” towards employees who had complained about the increase from 20 per cent to 40 per cent office attendance.

GB News has approached the Scottish Government for comment.

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Nine people were injured after a corrosive liquid was reportedly thrown at an information stand belonging to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate.

According to the information available and videos circulating on social media, disinfectant was poured from an adjacent building toward the AfD stand. Among those taken to hospital were AfD politicians Nicole Höchst and Sebastian Münzenmaier.

The incident has drawn condemnation from senior AfD figures and supporters, who have described the attack as another example of the escalating hostility faced by the party and its representatives.

Right-wing political commentator Naomi Seibt, who became famous as the “first German asylum seeker” after she sought political asylum in the United States in 2025 citing political persecution in her home country, wrote on X “Leftists attacked an AfD booth with a corrosive liquid,” adding that two AfD politicians had been taken to hospital.

She added the attack on Charlie Kirk had provided a “blueprint for an international rampage against conservatives.” Her remarks come as on September 10th, it will be the one-year anniversary of the murder of conservative American activist Charlie Kirk. 

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel also denounced the incident, confirming that “corrosive liquid was dumped on our booth” and that nine people had been injured, including MPs Höchst and Münzenmaier. Weidel attributed the attack to what she called the “irresponsible demonization of the opposition,” while insisting that the party “won’t be intimidated.”

The attack comes amid a wider political conflict surrounding the AfD and its place in German public life. The conservative party has faced repeated attacks while Germany’s established political parties have maintained a political firewall against it, presenting the exclusion of the AfD as necessary to “protect democracy.”

Earlier this year in June, AfD state parliament member Michael Meister was attacked outside his home by a group of people, later identified to be left-wing extremists. The politician was stabbed in the back but fortunately, his laptop in his backpack absorbed the blow and Meister survived with only minor injuries.

Also in June, two men were charged with the attack on an AfD councillor, after CCTV cameras caught the men kicking, pushing and striking the victim. One of the men charged, Norbert Raatz, is the local SPD politician, which highlighted the role of the mainstream political elites in Germany in inciting violence against the right-wing populist party.

This latest incident comes as the AfD is set to win the Saxony-Anhalt state election this Sunday, maintaining a decisive lead ahead of its chief rival, the governing CDU.

europeanconservative

A trans-identified male football player who has been competing in the women’s category was the recipient of a prestigious top goal scorer award, prompting criticism from a professional female athlete. Maximillia Kostur, who has been playing in the National Premier League, the highest level of women’s football in Victoria, was recently handed a Nike FC Cup honor.

The Nike FC Cup is a major women’s football knockout competition in Victoria, Australia. It’s run by Football Victoria and sponsored by Nike. The cup features a Golden Boot / top goal-scorer award, and this year the award was handed to Kostur, a male player for FC Clifton Hill who “identifies” as a woman.

In response to the news, former American professional footballer Addison Steiner came forward in opposition to the inclusion of male athletes in women’s competitions. Speaking to The Daily Mail, Steiner addressed the situation without naming Kostur, presumably to protect herself from a lawsuit.

However, a search for the recipient of the award reveals that FC Clifton Hill celebrated the win on social media and named Kostur, noting that he scored 11 goals in women’s matches during the 2026 season and thereby “contributed to our best Cup run ever.”

Steiner had played against Kostur during a match in Melbourne. “This player was undeniably faster, stronger and more technical, out running some of the quickest players in the league,” she said. “I found myself thinking, damn this player is an absolute beast and shocked by their abilities, unaware she was a transgender woman until the game was finished.”

“It’s about protecting women’s sports where we have fought so hard for decades to be respected, seen, heard and given equal opportunities and resources,” Steiner continued. “We are forced to succumb to these decisions made by the soccer federations here without any choice.”

Another female player spoke to The Daily Mail anonymously, noting that “many players admitted being too scared to go in for tackles against [him].”

The anonymous player contacted Football Victoria to express her views on the unfairness of Kostur’s participation due to his physical advantages. She was told the organization’s “foremost priority” was inclusion.

Dan Birrell, Football Victoria’s chief executive, told The Herald Sun the organization’s current policy does not require athletes to disclose their sex in order to play in the women’s category.

“There is no current requirement for born/biological sex disclosure from any player/person behind their identified gender,” he stated. Birrell also claimed that there was no evidence that male athletes benefit from greater strength, or that they pose a risk of injury to female players.

1/4 Things are so dire in Australia right now that men who play in women's sports cannot even be named for fear of punishment and retaliation from the government.

Fortunately, I'm not in Australia.

The player in question is "Maximillia" Kostur. pic.twitter.com/1LAbFrWAqW

— HeCheated.org (@hecheateddotorg) September 1, 2026

Football Victoria’s official website published a statement in support of the “LGBTQIA+ Community” at the beginning of 2025 – around the same time Kostur began playing on the Alamein United FC team. “We believe being inclusive is reflecting the diversity of our local communities and that everyone should have the opportunity to be included and engaged through football in a way that is positive and meaningful, regardless of sex, sexuality, gender identity or any other defining characteristic,” reads the statement. “Football Victoria has zero tolerance for homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in our game, and is committed to fostering safe, welcoming and inclusive environments for all participants.”

The organization’s policy aligns with Australian football’s wider approach. Earlier this year, a female player came forward to reveal she had been retaliated against for refusing to play against against a team with five trans-identified male players. The Flying Bats have consistently dominated women’s matches in Australia’s Premier League of the North West Sydney Football Association (NWSFA), and have reportedly injured multiple women on the field.

In 2024, the team won the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup, netting a $1,000 prize. With the news that the men had joined, racking up victory after victory, 24 women dropped out of playing in the league in protest. The decision was influenced by reports that the men had repeatedly injured some of the female players to the point of no longer being able to play football. Later that year, the Flying Bats also won the NWSFA Premier League tournament, having gone the season completely undefeated. They hadn’t lost a single game among the 17 they had played, although six of those were because the opposition had forfeited the match in silent protest.

While the Flying Bats accrued victories, reports emerged of multiple female players sustaining injuries on the field after run-ins with the male players. One as-yet-unnamed male player for the Flying Bats is said to have broken a female player’s leg in two places.

Reduxx spoke with Frank Parisi, president of St. Patrick’s Football Club, who confirmed that after “a clumsy tackle from behind,” a woman playing for his team “had her leg broken in two places, and she’s no longer playing football.”

“One of our players rushed over to try to help her, she was screaming in so much pain. At that time, she made a derogatory remark to the Bats player, which we apologized for. [She was] suspended. The Bats player, nothing happened to [him].” Parisi clarified that following this incident, the player was suspended from matches for a total of eight weeks.

Despite this, women in one of the top football leagues in Sydney were recently banned from forfeiting matches against the Flying Bats. The women of the Northern Suburbs Football Association were reportedly forced to sign an agreement that explicitly barred them from forfeiting matches against the team with five male players.

AUSTRALIA: Women in one of the top football leagues in Sydney have been banned from protesting against an "LGBTQIA+" team known to have multiple male players.

The women have been told to sign a document agreeing not to forfeit any matches in protest.https://t.co/gc5oz9nADD

— REDUXX (@reduxx) April 29, 2026

In addition to social retaliation, female athletes and coaches have been threatened with egregious fines should they attempt to voice opposition to policies allowing men to play football against women.

Heads of Football New South Wales (FNSW) and North West Sydney Football (NWSF), John Tsatsimas and Matthew Geracitano, convened a meeting in spring of 2024 and required the attendance of all football club presidents under their jurisdiction. During the March 20 meeting attendees were told that a decision to boycott participation by forfeiting matches against The Flying Bats would result in “disciplinary action” being issued.

Additionally, Geracitano sent an email to all club presidents citing policies put forward by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant in the Online Safety Act 2021. The email states that possible violations of the legislation include “publishing private or identifying information about an individual with malicious intent to cause serious harm,” and cautions that “individuals responsible for posting seriously harmful material” can be fined up to $111,000.

Currently, one woman who raised safety concerns about male players in women’s football leagues is appealing a “vilification” conviction for referring to the athletes as men. Kirralie Smith was ordered to pay a staggering $95,000 AUD to the two trans-identified men who brought a discrimination complaint against her after she sounded the alarm using publicly available information.

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First they come. Then they Islamize.

I wrote a recent article exposing the Sanchez government’s false promising that the migrant invaders of Ceuta would be sent back. Large numbers have remained behind, they’re getting vaccinated and the government is seizing public spaces to house them and is vaccinating them. That’s not what you do with a population that you’re planning to deport them.

Spain’s Ministry of Health is sending 45,000 doses of vaccines to deal with the migrant outbreaks including 10,000 polio, chickenpox, and diphtheria-tetanus vaccines and 15,000 MMR vaccines suggesting that the true number may be between 10,000 and 15,000.

MMR vaccines with the second booster shot operate on a 4-week schedule. The chickenpox vaccine is spread out over 2 months, and the polio and diphtheria-tetanus vaccines operate across 6-12 months. The Spanish government expects thousands, and perhaps even a full ten thousand migrants, to stay for at least a year which means that they will probably never leave.

As Spain’s former head of immigration, Ramón Caudevila from Ceuta, pointed out, under the law “after 31 days from the application date, undocumented immigrants have the right to go to the Spanish mainland.” What that means is that in around a week, thousands of invading Ceuta migrants will enter Spain proper and then all of Europe will lie open before them.

No wonder they’re getting vaccinated.

Now here’s another piece of evidence emerging from Ceuta schools. La Gaceta reports that pork is being removed from Ceuta schools and instead being replaced with Islamically approved ‘Halal’ Sharia meat.

The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports has awarded a contract worth more than one million euros for the dining service of several public schools in Ceuta , which expressly requires that the meat served to students be halal and completely excludes pork.

According to the Technical Specifications consulted by El Debate on the Public Sector Procurement Platform, the requirement is unequivocal: “the meat on the menu will be Halal and no pork will be used” .

The contract was awarded just days after the serious migration crisis that Ceuta experienced on July 30 and 31. Since then, the autonomous city has been under intense pressure on its public services as a result of the massive influx of immigrants and, especially, the high number of unaccompanied foreign minors who remain under the guardianship of the authorities.

The trick here is that ‘minors’ can’t be deported so every migrant claims to be a minor. How many are there? The figures vary wildly but the numbers is in the thousands. Meanwhile, crime is off the charts and the Muslim migrants are committing rapes, hunting birds and even dolphins. Ceuta is being Islamized with the complicity of the radical Sanchez regime.

dolphins, whales and the environment are more important than people…

…except when the people are Muslim migrants and then they can kill as many dolphins (and Europeans) as they like https://t.co/O2RWBbsv0D

— Daniel Greenfield – "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) September 4, 2026

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Spain, the eurozone’s fourth largest country and economy, after Germany, France and Italy, is by many standards irresponsibly governed by an erratic demagogue. His wife and his brother have both been sent for trial in corruption cases and he is ostentatiously out of step with the Western alliance. The economy enjoys a 2.4 per cent growth rate, which is approximately three times the anaemic eurozone average, and it is doing particularly well in the growth of skilled and professional occupations. Spain has benefited from the fact that nearly 13 per cent of its GDP is derived from tourism and this is an industry that can be largely staffed with underpaid migrant workers.

This policy has enabled the Spanish Government to conduct a ludicrous masquerade of being Europe’s centre of humanist and compassionate government by accepting such migrants more freely than the other Mediterranean countries in Europe. It can do that because the French had to accept an inordinate number of Algerians in 1962 when France granted that country its independence and it admitted about a tenth of Algeria’s population to France, Europeans and the Arabs who had supported the French colonial enterprise there. Italy was relatively late organising itself to limit immigration and the principal sources of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to Europe are more distant from Spain and so have been relatively late getting there.

Despite the posturing and histrionics of the Spanish Government as being more generous to these unfortunate migrants than the other major European countries, we saw with the sudden arrival of 60,000 Moroccans who swam to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on July 30-31, 2026, how tentative and conditional is the Spanish Government’s masquerade as Europe’s friend of the international disadvantaged.

The decisive turning point in Spanish affairs in this century occurred on March 11, 2004, three days before the general elections that were expected to re-elect the centre-right government. On that day, a terrorist attack killed 193 people and wounded 1,900 others. The terrorist group ETA was initially blamed, but when it became known that Islamists were involved, the Spanish Left was able to blame Spain’s support for the Iraq war for the terrible incident. The socialist leader, the egregious José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, organised demonstrations on the day before the elections and on election day, blaming the government for this tragedy. With this gambit, Zapatero won and a disaster of misgovernment began.

Zapatero allied himself with the Left and with the regional separatists in Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque provinces and made humiliating concessions to the terrorists. His foreign policy had been foreshadowed when, as leader of the opposition, he remained seated at the October 12, 2003 military parade as the American flag, among those of other NATO allies, passed by. He encouraged separatist movements in different parts of Spain and passed the “Historical Memory Law” which placed the entire blame for the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), in which about 500,000 Spaniards died, on the winning side, while completely exonerating the Left which originated the war.

The present Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, is the heir of Zapatero and frequently conveys the impression of being a pathological narcissist. He gained office through a parliamentary coup and not an election and is at the head of a ragtag coalition of communists, separatists, terrorists and political eccentrics. He became cloyingly friendly with Iran, China and Venezuela, and Spain became a clangorous dissident within NATO. Russia was permitted to support the cause of Catalonian independence, and the Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s national court, is investigating claims that Venezuelan oil money helped fund Sánchez’s party, allegations the party denies. Sánchez is desperately seeking to establish a name for himself as the head of the international Left and is ostentatiously admired by the Iranian and Chinese governments and by the Palestinians and the Latin American Left.

Sánchez is naturally trying to exploit the unpopularity of Trump in Spain by denying the use of American bases in that country, Rota and Morón in southern Spain, for supplying its Middle Eastern forces in the Iranian conflict, and in various rhetorical flourishes. Trump has not ignored him: at the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8, 2026 he dismissed Spain as a lost cause, instructed his treasury secretary to cut off all trade with the country and said the Spanish were “great people, but they don’t have great leadership”. Sánchez is expected to be sent packing in the general election due in 2027, but no one rules out the possibility of his attempting to reinflate his electoral fortunes and distract from the criminal charges enshrouding his family with further lurches to the Left.

Democracy and the constitutional monarchy that followed the death of General Franco in 1975, after a stern but rather successful dictatorship of 36 years, have been the first successful democratic era in Spanish history. The Sánchez interlude of profound corruption and contemptible demagogy is the severest challenge of the post-Franco era, although, as has been mentioned, the economy has not done badly and a disaster in public accounts has been prevented by shortchanging the Spanish defence budget. If Sánchez is not evicted by the voters in 2027, the United States may be expected to press for Spain’s suspension from NATO, and the European Union will have to consider seriously if Spain remains an acceptable euro member. Most Spaniards are politically sensible and they should prevail, but an important turning point in Western European history is coming in Spain.

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Rassemblement National President Jordan Bardella signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday, agreeing that if both parties come to power, they would institute a system of immediately returning illegal boat migrants in the English Channel back to the beaches of France.

In a public display of Anglo-Franco solidarity against the globalist-leftist-facilitated migrant crisis in Europe, National Rally rising star and current favourite to become the next prime minister of France, Jordan Bardella, joined Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham.

Bardella lamented that under President Emmanuel Macron, France had become a “gateway for illegal immigration into the United Kingdom,” adding that for Macron, “mass migration is not a problem; it is a project!”

The French MEP said that if he and Marine Le Pen are given power at next year’s presidential election, a National Rally government would commit to finally ending the illegal migrant crisis in the English Channel.

Nigel Farage and Jordan Bardella have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding to stop the boats.

Reform UK and the National Rally will end the invasion of Britain and France together. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/18Z2ykBWH2

— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) September 4, 2026

To this end, Bardella and Mr Farage signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed to “commit to pursuing a restrictive national immigration policy that puts an end to any incentive for illegal immigration, in particular by implementing unprecedented measures to combat illegal working, prohibiting any legal status for undocumented migrants and restricting access to welfare for illegal migrants.”

Perhaps most critically, the MoU stated that Britain would be permitted to “intercept boats which have launched from French shores and entered British territorial waters and will return the persons on board to France.”

Despite London having committed to paying Paris over a billion pounds sterling to combat the migrant crisis, Macron has steadfastly refused to allow migrant boat pushbacks, claiming that such operations could endanger the lives of the illegals, many of whom have previously threatened to throw themselves and their children overboard if forced back to France.

Others, such as former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose similar Operation Sovereign Borders all but eliminated illegal boat migration from Indonesia, have argued that the only way to end the crisis is to demonstrate that reaching England is not possible.

Abbott has also argued that this would be beneficial to France as it would reduce the incentive for illegals to travel to France in the first place.

Jordan Bardella: "Together, we must take back control of our borders." pic.twitter.com/vOMJnBb3ZS

— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) September 4, 2026

In his address to the Reform conference in Birmingham on Friday, Bardella said that while Britain and France have had a “turbulent” history with a “centuries-old rivalry”, there has developed a “true friendship between our peoples.”

“In the twenty-first century, I deeply believe that the United Kingdom and France will shape the future of our continent together,” he said. “We share the same values, the same concerns, and we face the same challenges!”

“Our two peoples want the same things: Borders that protect us. Work that pays. Energy that we produce ourselves. Freedom that no one can take away from us. And Nations strong enough to decide their own future.”

In addition to announcing the memorandum of understanding with the National Rally, Reform also committed to ending the migrant crisis in the English Channel within its first 100 days in office.

Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf said: “Once elected, a Reform government will deliver more transformative change in our first 100 days than any administration in British history: We will deploy the Royal Navy to stop the boats and return anyone attempting to cross back to France.

“We will go from having open borders, to the most secure borders on earth. We will launch the largest mass deportation operation in modern history, removing every single foreign national who entered this country illegally.”

breitbart

Saxony-Anhalt could become the clearest example this Sunday of how far the strategy of Germany’s legacy parties to contain Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has ended up reshaping the country’s entire political system.

Polls put the party at around 40%, well ahead of the CDU, which comfortably won the 2021 regional election. The gap is now too large to dismiss the AfD as a marginal protest vote. The party is clearly on course to become the leading political force in the state.

That would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Now it could even secure enough seats to govern alone, depending on how many parties clear the 5% electoral threshold. It would be the first time the AfD controls a German state government.

But it does not even need to achieve that to emerge strengthened. And that is precisely the key to the party’s position.

If it wins the election without securing an absolute majority, that is when the real crisis will begin for the CDU. Friedrich Merz continues to categorically reject any agreement with the AfD, which would force the Christian Democrats in Saxony-Anhalt to seek some arrangement with the Social Democrats, the Greens or even some form of understanding with radical left-wing Die Linke in order to prevent the most-voted party from governing.

The more the AfD grows, therefore, the further left the CDU must move in order to exclude it, forcing Merz’s voters to ask themselves whether voting for his party makes sense at all.

That mechanism is feeding precisely the argument Berlin has spent years trying to combat. Elections may change the distribution of votes, but the coalitions formed afterwards allow the political dividing line between those who are permitted to govern and those who are not to remain intact.

The AfD has gone from 20.8% in Saxony-Anhalt in 2021 to now competing for almost twice that level of support. The strategy of isolation has so far prevented it from entering government, but it has not reduced its electoral support. Quite the opposite has happened.

For Merz, the problem is particularly serious. His promise to reclaim conservative ground from the AfD has failed to halt its growth, while the CDU in Eastern Germany is beginning to pay the price for a strategy largely decided in Berlin. Judging by his actions, he has done little to reclaim or even preserve that political space. If anything, quite the opposite.

After this weekend, the AfD will have demonstrated that it no longer needs to govern in order to shape the political system. It only needs to grow enough to force the other parties into increasingly artificial coalitions whose primary purpose is to keep it out. The mere existence and continued growth of the AfD serves to demonstrate in practice what the party has long argued politically.

And when a strategy designed to isolate one party ends up determining virtually every decision made by its opponents, it is worth asking who is really isolating whom.

europeanconservative

Niedersachsen’s commissioner for migration and participation, SPD politician Deniz Kurku, has resigned following renewed scrutiny of his family’s links to the circumstances surrounding the June massacre in Stade, in which six people were killed.

Kurku announced on Friday that he was stepping down from the honorary position with immediate effect, citing “massive hostility and threats” as well as what he described as false claims circulating in parts of the media and on social media. His resignation does not affect his position as a member of the Lower Saxony state parliament.

The development follows reports based on investigative files concerning Kurku’s mother-in-law, Sylvia S., who is alleged to have driven the getaway vehicle used by the gunman, Fatih Khan Gazioglu.

Gazioglu, a 45-year-old Turkish national from the Hanover area, allegedly shot six employees at a mother-and-child facility in Stade on June 29.

The victims included staff from the facility and employees of the local youth welfare office. Gazioglu was arrested after the attack but later died by suicide in pre-trial detention.

Investigators believe the shooting was linked to a custody dispute involving his infant daughter.

Kurku himself has denied any involvement in the case. After his family connection became public in July, he said through his lawyer that he had not known Gazioglu, had not been involved in the custody dispute and had no advance knowledge of the attack.

New reporting by German outlet NIUS has nevertheless raised further questions about the extent of the family’s contact with Gazioglu before the killings.

According to documents reviewed by NIUS, Kurku’s name allegedly appeared in a conversation between his mother-in-law and Gazioglu on May 5, almost eight weeks before the massacre.

Sylvia S., a known open border activist, is reported to have suggested sending a “Deniz from Hannover” to the hospital and leaving his business card there. Investigators subsequently identified the person referred to as Kurku.

The report does not establish that Kurku knew about the alleged plan or that he actually became involved in the dispute. NIUS’s reporting instead raises questions about whether his mother-in-law intended to seek his assistance.

Sylvia S. had been acting as an informal supporter of Gazioglu’s family during the custody dispute. She was subsequently identified by investigators as the person driving the grey Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé in which Gazioglu fled the scene. Her precise role in the events remains under investigation.

The new revelations prompted an application from the opposition AfD in the Lower Saxony parliament to question Kurku about possible contacts or attempts to provide assistance before the attack.

Kurku did not attend a parliamentary interior committee meeting on Thursday, one day before announcing his resignation.

Kurku had held the honorary position since November 2022. The office acts as an independent intermediary representing migrants’ interests to the state parliament and government.

Lower Saxony Minister-President Olaf Lies, also of the SPD, defended Kurku and condemned the threats against him, including what he described as “conspiracy speculation” and death threats. He said Kurku’s decision to step down deserved “recognition and respect”.

The investigation into the Stade killings and the role of people connected to the gunman remains ongoing.

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