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Monday, October 27, 2025

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October 3, 2025
Jack Montgomery
News
Religion
UK

WATCH: UK Police Threaten Christian With Arrest for Street Preaching.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Street preacher Ollie Sabatelli was issued with a “Community Protection Notice” warning him to stop causing “annoyance, upset, and distress” by preaching from the Bible over a speaker system and threatened with arrest in Guildford, England.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ollie Sabatelli, a preacher known for his social media presence.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Over September and October 2025, in Guildford and Brighton.

💬KEY QUOTE: “You need to listen to me, if you breach this, you can be arrested and you will be arrested.” – Police officer to Ollie Sabatelli.

🎯IMPACT: Sabatelli attempted to circumvent the notice by preaching using only his voice, with no microphone.

IN FULL

Christian street preacher Ollie Sabatelli was issued with a “Community Protection Notice” by police in Guildford, England, to prevent him from preaching in public using a speaker system. Officers alleged the “manner” of his preaching was causing “causing annoyance, upset, and distress,” which is unlawful in the United Kingdom.

Video of the incident shared to social media on October 2, 2025, shows an officer warning Sabatelli, “You need to listen to me, if you breach this, you can be arrested and you will be arrested.”

He accused the preacher of “causing annoyance, upset, and distress” to “the local community and businesses,” citing “the content you are choosing to preach… and the choice of words,” as well as his use of a loudspeaker.

Despite clearly indicating that his words as well as his volume were the issue, the officer backtracked when Sabatelli asked him if he was banned from preaching the word of God, saying it was only the “manner” of his preaching “using a loudspeaker” that was at issue. Sabatelli therefore continued preaching using only his voice.

Sabatelli, who has amassed a significant following, with 91,000 followers on Instagram and 184,000 on TikTok, was previously driven out of Brighton last month for preaching on topics such as homosexuality, which the Bible describes as a sin.

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21 minutes ago
Immigration

Far-Left Chicago Mayor Says ‘Illegal Alien’ Label Is ‘Racist’ and ‘Nasty.’

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized a reporter’s use of the term “illegal aliens,” calling it “racist” and “nasty” during a press briefing.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mayor Brandon Johnson, a reporter, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

📍WHEN & WHERE: The press briefing occurred in Chicago on Friday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We don’t have illegal aliens. I don’t know if that’s from some sort of sci-fi message that you wish you’ve had.” – Mayor Brandon Johnson

🎯IMPACT: The mayor’s remarks came after the reporter questioned him about a report on city spending related to illegal aliens that was allegedly required to be filed with the White House.

IN FULL

Far-left Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) claims the term “illegal aliens” is “racist” and “nasty,” blasting a reporter’s use of the label during a press briefing on Friday. The mayor’s remarks came after the reporter questioned him about a report on city spending related to illegal aliens that was allegedly required to be filed with the White House.

Video of the press conference captured Johnson responding immediately to the reporter’s question. “We don’t have illegal aliens,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if that’s from some sort of sci-fi message that you wish you’ve had.”

He added, “Well listen, the legal term for my people were slaves. You want me to use that term too? So, look, let’s just get the language right.” Johnson further insisted, “We’re talking about undocumented individuals that are human beings. The last thing I’m gonna do is accept the type of racist, nasty language, to describe human beings.”

The mayor quickly tried to shift focus to his administration’s budget priorities, highlighting a $16.7 billion investment in areas such as education, transportation, housing, youth employment, and environmental justice. He stated his intent to “challenge the ultra-wealthy” to ensure they “pay their fair share.”

Following the press conference, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) backed Johnson’s remarks, stating, “Immigration violations are not criminal offenses. It is very important that people in Illinois and across the country understand the immigration system is a civil system. Undocumented presence in the United States is not a criminal offense. And so thank you for the clarification on language.”

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1 hour ago
News

Democrat Govt Shutdown Delays 2,800 Flights as Air Traffic Controllers Go Without Pay.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Roughly 2,800 U.S. flights were delayed, and 109 were canceled on Monday due to staffing shortages amid the ongoing Senate Democrat-led government shutdown.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Air traffic controllers, the Department of Transportation (USDOT), and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Monday, October 27, 2025, across U.S. airports.

💬KEY QUOTE: “They got a big fat no paycheck is coming on Tuesday,” said Secretary Sean Duffy.

🎯IMPACT: Delays and cancellations are expected to increase as the shutdown persists, adding stress to already strained air traffic controllers.

IN FULL

On Monday, October 27, 2025, approximately 2,800 flights were delayed, and 109 flights were canceled across the United States. The disruption comes as the Senate Democrat-led government shutdown enters its 27th day, with essential workers, including air traffic controllers, increasingly failing to report to work.

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy explained the situation during a television appearance early Monday, noting that air traffic controllers are under significant financial strain due to missed paychecks. “They got their notice on Thursday and Friday. They get a notice of what they are going to be paid on Tuesday. And they got a big fat no paycheck is coming on Tuesday,” Duffy stated.

Duffy highlighted the stress faced by air traffic controllers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck. “I’ve been out talking to air traffic controllers, and you can see the stress. These are people that oftentimes live paycheck to paycheck… they are concerned about gas in the car, they are concerned about childcare,” he said.

On Sunday, FlightAware recorded over 8,700 delays across the U.S., with 22 “staffing triggers” reported at air traffic control towers nationwide. Duffy warned that these indicators signal worsening conditions, predicting higher levels of delays and cancellations in the coming days as staffing shortages grow more severe.

The U.S. faced a shortage of air traffic controllers even before the shutdown began, but the ongoing impasse threatens to exacerbate the issue. The National Pulse reported in January 2024 that the former Biden government prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), resulting in qualified air traffic controllers being turned away despite numerous open positions. Concerningly, the former Biden government even sought to ensure that a portion of new hires included individuals with severe intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.

An internal FAA safety report highlighted that the tower’s staffing levels were “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic” during the deadly January 2025 collision between an American Airlines flight and a Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport. A single air traffic controller was responsible for managing both helicopter activity in the vicinity and the movements of aircraft departing from and landing at the airport. Two controllers typically fulfill these duties.

The shortage of air traffic controllers created under the Biden government was significant, with a reported shortfall of about 3,000 controllers as of early 2024.

Image by Senate Democrats.

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1 hour ago
Politics

Pence Whines About Trump Calling Him a ‘Wimp’ on Jan 6.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump reportedly called former Vice President Mike Pence a “wimp” during a phone call on January 6, 2021, over Pence’s refusal to block the certification of the 2020 election results.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Jonathan Karl, who revealed the details in his upcoming book, Retribution.

📍WHEN & WHERE: January 6, 2021, during a phone call at approximately 11 AM. Eastern, hours before the Capitol breach.

💬KEY QUOTE: “You’ll go down as a wimp. If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago,” Trump reportedly said to Pence, according to the former Vice President’s notes.

🎯IMPACT: Pence has attempted to position himself as and capitalize on being the foremost anti-Trump voice in the Republican Party. However, Pence has shown a lack of fortitude and success even in that endeavor.

IN FULL

In a phone call on January 6, 2021, hours before the Capitol protests, President Donald J. Trump reportedly criticized then-Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to block the certification of the 2020 election results while state-level challenges were underway. According to notes taken by Pence, Trump called him a “wimp” and said, “If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago.” These details come from Jonathan Karl’s upcoming book, Retribution.

Pence’s notes, written in his day planner, were intended to be used as evidence by former Special Counsel Jack Smith in his investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Pence had previously referenced this call in his 2022 memoir, So Help Me God. Trump later stated during a speech on January 6 that he hoped Pence would “do the right thing” by declining to sign off on questionable Electoral College votes, but the then-Vice President refused to back the America First leader.

During the certification process, Trump tweeted criticism of Pence, stating he “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”

Trump has denied calling Pence a “wimp,” contradicting his former Vice President’s recollection of events. Notably, Pence has attempted to position himself as and capitalize on being the foremost anti-Trump voice in the Republican Party. Even in that endeavour, however, Pence has shown a lack of fortitude. The National Pulse reported in May that Pence, while accepting the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his actions in January 2020, avoided criticizing President Trump by name, instead opting to attack the President through innuendo.

In January, Pence—in his role as an establishment mouthpiece to attack President Trump and his agenda—lobbied Republicans in the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Pence’s political organization, Advancing American Freedom, unsuccessfully whipped Republican senators against the ex-Democrat Kennedy’s nomination on the pretext of his past support for abortion access.

Image by Gage Skidmore.

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2 hours ago
News

Left Rally Round ‘Death to the IDF’ Singer After Louis Theroux Loses Sponsor for Softball Interview.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Leftists are rallying around Pascal Robinson-Foster, a.k.a. Bobby Vylan, who chanted “Death, death to the IDF” at a music festival and performed a song including the lyrics “I heard you want your country back, ha, shut the f**k up, you can’t have that.” This follows British Airways withdrawing a sponsorship from Louis Theroux and his podcast for giving Vylan a softball interview.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: British Airways, Louis Theroux, and Bobby Vylan.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The podcast episode aired earlier this month; British Airways’ response followed shortly after.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues don’t occur, and we’re investigating how this happened.” – British Airways spokesman.

🎯IMPACT: The sponsorship has been paused, and the associated advert removed.

IN FULL

British Airways (BA) has pulled sponsorship from Louis Theroux’s podcast following a softball interview with Pascal Robinson-Foster, a.k.a. Bobby Vylan, the frontman of the hip-hop duo Bob Vylan. Bobby Vylan was previously broadcast leading chants of “Death, death to the IDF” (Israel Defense Forces) at a music festival by the BBC, and also produced a song directed at anti-mass migration patriots, including the lyrics “I heard you want your country back, ha, shut the f**k up, you can’t have that.”

A spokesman for the airline stated, “The interview breaches our sponsorship policy in relation to politically sensitive or controversial subject matters.” They added, “We and our third-party media agency have processes in place to ensure these issues don’t occur, and we’re investigating how this happened. Our sponsorship of the series has now been paused, and the advert has been removed.”

Notably, on the podcast, Vylan defended his Glastonbury “Death to the IDF” chant, saying he had no regrets and would do it again, and that BBC employees cheered him on.

However, some on the left are rallying around Vylan—in part by throwing Theroux under the bus. “But oh wait, no, it was interviewing someone critical of Israel that was the problem,” commented activist Phillip Proudfoot, sharing a promotional image for Theroux’s Louis and the Nazis documentary.

Commentator Bushra Shaikh complained that “British Airways was fine sponsoring Louis Theroux’s podcast when he was interviewing Daniella Weiss, the psychopathic genocide-supporting Israeli settler leader” while drawing a “red line” against “Bob Vylan’s hurty words about the IDF.”

New Lines Magazine Associate Editor Idrees Ahmas was more sympathetic to Theroux—who was not sympathetic to the aforementioned subjects in the way he was to Vylan—saying, “So [British Airways] is trying to financially punish a British journalist to protect from criticism a foreign army implicated in a genocide? This is a game two can play. Add BA to the boycott list. There are better and cheaper alternatives.”

The Trump administration withdrew the Vylan duo’s U.S. visas in the wake of the chanting scandal, with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau remarking, “Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.”

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3 hours ago
News
UK

WATCH: Farage Wonders When ‘The Deluded Left’ Will Realize Islamist ‘Invading Army’ Is Not Their Ally.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A march of masked Muslim men carrying flags and chanting slogans took place in east London over the weekend, spurning leftist “anti-racism” activists who attempted to support them.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Islamists, ‘Stand Up To Racism’ and other left-wing activist organizations, and Reform Party leader Nigel Farage.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Over the weekend in east London, with key events taking place in Whitehall and Tower Hamlets.

💬KEY QUOTE: “It was like a foreign invading army marching through our streets.” – Nigel Farage

🎯IMPACT: The march has raised concerns over public safety, demographic change, and social disintegration in Britain.

IN FULL

Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has described a march of masked Muslim men in east London over the weekend as “one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen in my whole life.” The group, dressed in black and carrying Palestinian and Bangladeshi flags, marched through Whitehall in response to a UKIP protest—which the police banned—over the weekend.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Muslim grooming gang survivor Ellie-Ann Reynolds, Farage lamented the “outright intimidation to the point of sort of basically urging the mass wipe out of huge numbers of Jewish people” during the march, and chastised the left for allying with the marchers.

“[W]hat a telling moment; the leftist, Stand Up to Racism were there with their banners, and one of them says to these masked marchers, ‘We’re on the same side,’ to which the response comes, ‘No, we’re not,'” Farage said, recalling an incident from the march which has gone viral on social media.

“Maybe one day the deluded left will wake up to realize they’ve been with very strange bedfellows. Organizations like Queers for Palestine spring to mind,” he said, adding that the scenes were “absolutely terrifying… like a foreign invading army was marching through our streets,” he added.

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3 hours ago
Economy

Trump Extends Mexico’s Tariff Deadline as Negotiations with Sheinbaum Progress.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced an extension of the trade deadline between Mexico and the U.S. to discuss pending issues.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement followed a conversation on Saturday, with Sheinbaum addressing the matter in her Monday press conference in Mexico City.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I was interested in making sure that November 1 didn’t arrive without us having communicated and that we were in agreement that our teams were still working,” said Sheinbaum.

🎯IMPACT: Following the announcement, Mexico’s peso saw a modest gain, strengthening by 0.29 percent to 18.38 per dollar, reflecting confidence in the ongoing negotiations.

IN FULL

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed on Monday that she had spoken with President Donald J. Trump over the weekend, resulting in an agreement to extend the trade deadline for discussions between the two nations. The original pause in tariff increases, agreed upon in July, was set to expire this week.

Sheinbaum stated during her morning press conference, “I was interested in making sure that November 1 didn’t arrive without us having communicated and that we were in agreement that our teams were still working.” She added that the focus remains on resolving 54 outstanding trade barriers.

Following the announcement, Mexico’s peso saw a modest gain, strengthening by 0.29 percent to 18.38 per dollar, reflecting confidence in the ongoing negotiations. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has largely shielded Mexico from significant tariff hikes in recent years, but the deal is set for review next year.

Earlier in October, Sheinbaum expressed optimism about reaching a favorable trade agreement and highlighted plans to advance projects related to electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI). “We continue working and there is no situation in the near future where there could be any special tariff on November 1,” she noted.

When asked whether Mexico would continue to approach U.S. trade talks independent of Canada—including next year’s USMCA review—Sheinbaum urged caution. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said. Last week, President Trump broke off trade talks with Canada over a lack of progress and meddling by Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

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4 hours ago
News

REPORT: East Wing Debris May Be Used to Renovate Decrepit DC Golf Course.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The East Wing of the White House was demolished, and its debris was transported to various locations.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, construction workers, and local reporters.

📍WHEN & WHERE: October 2025, East Potomac Park and Hyattsville, Maryland.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Oh, they’re gonna turn it into another hole,” said an employee at East Potomac Golf Links.

🎯IMPACT: The debris is being used for potential redevelopment, including a new golf course hole.

IN FULL

The East Wing of the White House has been demolished to create space for a grand ballroom to host state functions, with the resulting debris—including soil and various materials—hauled off to multiple sites across Washington, D.C., and its environs. Reports indicate the dirt has been dumped at East Potomac Park, close to the Jefferson Memorial.

Trucks hauling construction materials have been observed pulling into the East Potomac Golf Links, where they unload the dirt at a fenced-off zone. An employee told reporter Nancy Walecky that “they’re gonna turn it into another hole.” President Trump is reportedly eyeing a rebrand and overhaul of the East Potomac Golf Links as the Washington National Golf Course.

Notably, the East Wing is not part of the iconic White House Executive Residence, but a fairly unremarkable outbuilding, dating in its current form to the 1940s, when it was rebuilt to hide the parallel construction of a bunker for the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Nevertheless, the Democrats have exploited the East Wing’s replacement to smear President Donald J. Trump—who is funding the new ballroom at his own expense alongside private donors—as destroying America’s heritage, and exaggerated the building’s historical importance, at one point mistakenly sharing a picture of the East Wing of Buckingham Palace in London, England, in a social media post bemoaning the demolition.

Image by Sizzlipedia.

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4 hours ago
Media
News
UK

Leftist Actor LOSES Defamation Case, Forced to Edit 2022 Film.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Actor Steve Coogan and two production companies have agreed to pay substantial damages to settle a libel case brought by a university academic over his portrayal in the film The Lost King.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Steve Coogan, university academic Richard Taylor, Baby Cow Productions, and Pathe Productions.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The settlement was announced in court on Monday, following the 2022 release of The Lost King.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The outcome of this case represents success and vindication after a long and gruelling battle.” – Richard Taylor

🎯IMPACT: The defendants will pay damages, legal costs, and make changes to the film to address Taylor’s defamation claims.

IN FULL

British actor Steve Coogan, together with Baby Cow and Pathe Productions, has agreed to pay substantial damages to Richard Taylor, a university academic, to settle a high court libel case concerning his portrayal in the 2022 film The Lost King. Coogan is noted for his leftist activism, denouncing Brexit supporters in degrading terms and arguing that Jesus Christ was a “socialist” who “would have hated Republicans,” among other outbursts.

Coogan’s movie portrays the 2012 discovery of King Richard III’s lost remains under a parking lot in Leicester, England. Taylor, then deputy registrar at the University of Leicester, took legal action against the filmmakers for depicting him as “devious”, “weasel-like”, and a “suited bean-counter”. A judge previously determined that the portrayal was defamatory.

William Bennett KC, Taylor’s lawyer, stated in court that the depiction caused “serious harm to his professional and personal reputations” and resulted in “enormous distress and embarrassment”. The settlement includes damages, legal costs, and changes to the film to address the claims.

Now chief operating officer at Loughborough University, Taylor welcomed the resolution, calling it “success and vindication”. He recognized Philippa Langley’s role in starting the project to find Richard III’s remains but stressed the vital contributions of the University of Leicester and its academic team.

In a joint statement, Coogan, Baby Cow, and Pathe Productions reaffirmed their dedication to authentic storytelling, saying, “We remain incredibly proud of this film and are pleased this matter has now been settled.”

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5 hours ago
News

Did Mamdani Make Up His Hijab-Wearing Aunt Who Was Too Scared to Ride the Subway After 9/11?

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Democrat New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s claim that his aunt stopped riding the subway after 9/11 “because she did not feel safe” wearing her hijab is under scrutiny, with social media sleuths alleging she did not even live in the U.S. at the time of the attack.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Zohran Mamdani, his “aunt,” and social media users.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The controversy surfaced during the New York City mayoral race, in October 2025.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” – Zohran Mamdani

🎯IMPACT: The controversy has fueled debate over Mamdani’s honesty and integrity.

IN FULL

Zohran Mamdani, the Democrats’ far-left, Ugandan immigrant candidate for New York City Mayor, is facing further pressure for a speech on “Islamophobia” in which he suggested his Muslim aunt was a victim of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, because she “did not feel safe” wearing her hijab on the New York City subway afterwards. Social media sleuths claim to have found the LinkedIn page for his only aunt on his father’s side, Masuma Mamdani, and discovered she does not wear a hijab and lived in Tanzania in 2001. His mother’s family is Hindu.

Mamdani was already facing backlash for the anecdote, as it appeared to emphasize Muslims who felt uncomfortable after 9/11 over the 2,977 people who were killed on the day, mostly in New York City. Vice President J.D. Vance voiced the sentiments of many critics by remarking that, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”

A number of social media users have compared Mamdani’s anecdote to a famous viral post by the late comedian Norm MacDonald, who quipped in 2016, “What terrifies me is if ISIS were to detonate a nuclear device and kill 50 million Americans. Imagine the backlash against peaceful Muslims?”

Some are attempting to defend Mamdani, however, arguing the aunt referenced in his story may not be Masuma Mamdani, but some other relative or family friend. “South Asians often call even their parents’ cousins, second cousins, third cousins, and also their parents’ friends ‘aunts.’ So this isn’t such a simple open-and-shut case. If you’re South Asian, you’d know who the aunties are,” said one social media user cited by The Times of India.

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6 hours ago
News
Politics

Populists Are Returning to Government in This European Country.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Czech president has tasked billionaire former Prime Minister Andrej Babis with leading talks to form the next government following his party’s recent election victory.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Czech President Petr Pavel and Andrej Babis.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made on Monday in the Czech Republic.

🎯IMPACT: The decision sets the stage for government formation talks in the Czech Republic following the parliamentary election.

IN FULL

Czech President Petr Pavel has appointed Andrej Babis, the billionaire former prime minister whose populist ANO party emerged victorious in the recent parliamentary vote, to spearhead negotiations for a new coalition government. Pavel announced the appointment during a public address on Monday, stressing the need to safeguard core democratic values amid the process.

This step comes on the heels of ANO’s strong showing in the elections earlier this month, cementing Babis’s central role in shaping the country’s next administration. As a prominent entrepreneur and past head of government, Babis now faces the challenge of forging alliances to deliver a cohesive ruling coalition in the European Union (EU) member state.

Babis’s ascent reflects a broader surge in populist momentum across the continent, where nationalist and anti-establishment populist movements are reshaping the electoral landscape. In the European Parliament, for instance, ANO has aligned with the Patriots for Europe bloc, launched in late June 2024 by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party—which includes Austria’s Freedom Party and Spain’s VOX, and is poised to rank as the chamber’s third-largest faction if it absorbs the Identity and Democracy group.

This continental wave has seen similar breakthroughs elsewhere, such as in Portugal’s May 2025 snap elections, where the anti-immigration Chega party, under André Ventura, captured a record 22.56 percent of the vote amid public frustration over corruption and border policies, nearly matching the opposition Socialists and pressuring the center-right Democratic Alliance to run a minority government.

The populist rise has also provoked backlash from establishment powers, as evidenced by Romania’s December 2024 constitutional court decision to void its presidential runoff, after pro-Trump nationalist Călin Georgescu’s unexpected first-round triumph, citing alleged Russian-linked social media meddling. The move was decried by critics as an undemocratic ploy to thwart populist gains, echoing patterns in other EU states.

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