To Ethnos newspaper writes that Obama has already disappointed the US public: "Not in their worst nightmares could the 60 million Americans who voted Obama in have imagined he would so blatantly ignore their desire for change. ... Obama has agreed to a compromise, and handed everything over to the representatives of the establishment. There is not a single progressive Democrat in his government! This is the first time that an American president has so sorely disappointed his voters even before taking office. The vision of change ... has been born dead. What we are left with is a showcase president who was voted in to improve America's public relations. Obama has a single goal: to polish up America's image in the world. This is what he's doing, but without political change." (03/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Giorgos Delastik

In the opinion of the Slovenian daily Dnevnik Obama's decision to appoint Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state is an "expression of his great political courage and self-confidence, which sometimes borders on naivety. During his first year in office Obama will naturally be primarily concerned with solving the economic crisis. Having a person of authority at the head of the State Department is therefore a considerable advantage. ... Obama is obviously convinced that he has received sufficient assurance from Hillary Clinton that she will subordinate her own ambitions to his. But by selecting Clinton Obama has landed himself two secretaries of state because the package includes former president Bill Clinton. ... And then Obama has a third 'secretary of state' in Vice President Joe Biden, whom he has promised an influential role in the government. ... This may be a good thing, but it may be a recipe for disaster if Obama fails to tame the egos in his foreign policy team." (03/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Andrej Brstovšek

Even if at first glance Obama seems to be focusing on continuity, it is too early to say that nothing will come of the change he promised, writes De Volkskrant newspaper: "In view of the many attacks on his supposed lack of experience it is not surprising that Obama is playing it safe in naming his cabinet. Furthermore, running for office is not the same as governing. Here continuity almost always wins out over change. America's global interests will not change immediately after Obama takes office, but the way the president pursues them will. Obama confirmed this when, on presenting his foreign policy team, he stressed that while he wanted to maintain America's military strength, he also intended to give more weight to diplomacy and international cooperation. More soft power and less hard power. That change is more than welcome." (03/12/2008)

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The daily Kalevala welcomes Obama's decision to appoint Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. "Obama had the courage to give a key post to his final tough competitor within the Democratic Party in the race for the presidential office - a candidate who eight years ago lived in the White House as the wife of the president at that time. ... This and earlier decisions made by Obama are testimony to his extraordinary self-confidence and courage to also take risks. He has deliberately put together a cabinet that is made up of people who combine two qualities: clear talent and clear independence. ... This indicates a strong and resolute style of political leadership. But we must not forget that Obama's government has not yet spent a single day in office. It is therefore impossible to know what the reality will be. ...Since 1996 the US has appointed three women as secretary of state - Madeleine Albright, [Condoleezza] Rice and [now] Clinton. Women in this office have become the rule rather than the exception. This has considerably enhanced the role of women in global politics." (03/12/2008)

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The Irish Independent comments on Hillary Clinton's nomination as Secretary of State: "Marriages of convenience often prove successful. There is no doubting Mrs Clinton's fitness for the job. The appointment tells, not of weakness but of the width of Mr Obama's net and the toughness of his mind. He must have some reservations still. His reconciliation with the Clinton family has always looked fragile. Bill Clinton came out to campaign for him at a very late stage in the Presidential election campaign. Now the President-elect has insisted on receiving a list of donors to the former President's library and charitable foundation. The possibility of embarrassment is all too obvious. But clearly he has decided that giving Mrs Clinton a position of such weight and prestige is worth the risk. It will strengthen his administration and make him look magnanimous." (03/12/2008)

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The liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza comments on Poland's opportunities at the climate summit in Poznań: "We still have the chance to play a key role at the summit. But to do this we must present a coherent plan outlining what Poland can do in the battle against global warming. 'Poland is a hindrance in the race to save the climate,' non-governmental organisations alleged critically at the summit in Poznań. The summit is important. If 190 states can't agree on how to reduce CO2 emissions the earth's temperature will increase, the oceans' water-level will rise and states will be hit by natural disasters. The world we have is disappearing, and the coming generations will curse us for doing this. ... The government has begun the task of raising awareness among Poles about how to reduce emissions, but this is too vague. It should launch a major public energy-saving campaign. It must convince the average Pole that we can make a contribution to protecting the climate." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Maciej Kuźmicz

The automotive industry does not have to meet its strict climate protection targets in 2012, but only three years later. The Süddeutsche Zeitung criticises the compromise agreed on Monday by the European Parliament and member states. "It may be that at this point no one is more advanced than the EU in matters of environmental protection. A target for the car industry remains a target, even if it only comes into force three years later. But it is already so watered-down that it can hardly serve as a model for the global community. On the contrary, such faintheartedness exposes Europe's hot air for what it is. ... Every state has its own caveats on the way to a climate-friendly Europe. The intersection of these caveats is Europe's lowest common denominator. But it is not the way for the Union to become environmentally friendly." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Michael Bauchmueller

At a meeting in Brussels Nato foreign ministers have decided not to include Georgia and Ukraine in the organisation's Membership Action Plan (MAP). The daily Postimees writes that this does not preclude membership for the two countries. "Moscow's influence was all too obvious in the stances of Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, but in the end everyone joined ranks, even the US, which had previously been the strongest supporter of membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Notwithstanding, the MAP is not an indispensable symbol for the rescue of the alliance. On the contrary, it is a new invention and most of the current Nato states never needed such a plan. It is much more likely that this MAP which has elicited such opposition from Moscow will simply be renamed and the process will continue." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Estonia, » Ukraine, » Europe, » Georgian Republic

The rampant corruption in Bulgaria is not the consequence of the pathological greed of politicians and civil servants, writes Dnevnik newspaper. "This corruption is simply the continuation of the party-clan system, the redistribution of power, economic and symbolic resources practiced during late socialism in Bulgaria. The networks have planted the metastases of earlier times in today's democracy and effected a seamless transition, because protective mechanisms like an independent judiciary and free media have not managed to gain a foothold. Now people make the mistake of saying that the politicians are the culprits and of placing the media on the side of the people, and thus on the good side. No one can deny the merit of individual journalists, programmes and media that brought to light the misuse of public resources during the transition and thereafter. Nevertheless the media has been privatised in exactly the same non-transparent way as the economy and the institutions." (03/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Boiko Pentchev

In his column in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Paavo Rautio writes that recessions are a recurring event and that it is important to focus on what comes afterwards. "The global economy has plunged into a recession. The newspapers are flooded with assessments of what will happen here and now. One expert after the next explains how long the stagnation will last, and everyone is prescribing anti-recession medication. This is astonishing, because recessions come and go. ... Far more interesting is how the global economy, businesses and politicians are accepting these changes. If boom phases can change the world, recessions can do so much more. In the world of business, economic collapses are a fight for survival. Those who are best prepared, the most productive and the most profitable will win out. In a recession they consolidate their position vis-à-vis their competitors. ... As always in a fight for survival, the strong defeat the weak. ... Once the recession is over Europe will have changed. The EU's efforts to balance the standards of living and unite its members will have been dealt a severe blow. ... Internal differentiation within the EU will accelerate. ... Strong countries will not want to wait indefinitely for those that are helpless without their support." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Paavo Rautio

Pollster Anthony King complains in The Daily Telegraph of the growing chasm between the British people and their politicians: "The deepest divide in British politics today is not between Labour and the Tories. ... It is between Britain's whole political class and the great majority of the British people. On the far side of a chasm stand politicians of all parties and their hangers-on. On the near side is almost everyone else. ... Signs of popular alienation from the political class are visible everywhere. The most familiar is the long-term decline in the proportion of people bothering to vote. Turn-out at general elections during the 1950s averaged 82 per cent. During the 1980s it still averaged a respectable 74 per cent. But at the two most recent elections the corresponding figures were a paltry 59 and 61 per cent. ... Britons have always been sceptical about politics and politicians. Now their scepticism has morphed into cynicism, even contempt. ... So what? The answer is not that 'democracy is under threat'. ... Most people want more of it, not less. The answer is that misgovernment is bad in itself and that cynicism of politicians on the present scale corrodes people's respect for the law generally and undermines the ability of governments of all parties to persuade ordinary people to act in a disinterested, civic-minded way." (03/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Anthony King

According to the business paper Diário Económico, the EU rescue package will achieve little unless the European Central Bank (ECB) considerably lowers the key interest rate on Thursday: "The banks are simply the tip of a system which is based on the consumption of consumers. Without consumption companies can't be successful and there can be no investments and no loans. ... The rescue packages of the respective governments are simply oxygen balloons; their success depends on the revival of economic activities. ... The ECB must convince consumers and companies to consume and invest once more. In the wake of the financial crisis the ECB surely doesn't need to be reminded of this. The speeches of [EU Commission President José Manuel] Durão Barroso should therefore be aimed at persuading the governments of the EU states to take a break from their bank rescue initiatives and dedicate their efforts to saving the economy." (02/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe
All available articles from » Pedro Marques Pereira

Unemployment figures are rising at a breakneck pace in Spain. In November alone, the number of unemployed jumped by 171,000 to around three million. The business daily Cinco Días fears that this may well be only the beginning of the crisis: "Because of the social repercussions and destructive impact on family households this is the country's most pressing economic problem; even more pressing than the financial turbulence that could cause problems for thousands of small businesses that employ these people. ... There is no doubt about it: The unemployment figures will rise to more than four million." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Economic Policy, » Spain

The daily Polska praises a project launched by the management of the museum at the former concentration camp Stutthof near Gdańsk which uses comics to teach children about the suffering of the camp's inmates: "Everyone can recall the Polish comic classics like 'Tytus, Romek, Atomek' and 'Thorgal'. However the new forms emerging from the world of comics are less well known to most Poles. This is why many of us are rather sceptical about comics that have historical themes. We doubt that cartoonists will be able to adequately explain such important matters as the death of Father Popiełuszki [killed by the communist secret services in 1984] or the drama of the Warsaw Uprising. These doubts are unjustified. ... Comics are drawn by true artists who are able to use their pencils and colours to convey many things and combine humour with suffering, without crossing the boundaries of good taste ... Therefore we need not fear them or criticise the museum. Comics are simply one means of communication among many, but one that is much more interesting and appealing to children than a book." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Literature, » History, » Poland
All available articles from » Anna Gwozdowska

The Italian government wants to raise value added tax on Pay TV subscriptions from 10 to 20 percent. The major Italian newspapers have criticised the plan as the country's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is also owner of the media holding Mediaset. La Repubblica newspaper stresses the authoritarian tone with which Berlusconi forbids the Italian papers to criticise him. "Six years after Berlusconi's 'Bulgarian edict' against Santoro, Biagi and Luttazzi - journalists and satirists who were forced out of public television - follows the 'Albanian edict' against newspaper publishers. On returning from Tirana Berlusconi has provided yet another example of his view of what it means to be a liberal statesman. ... The threat 'change jobs' betrays more than just a colossal conflict of interests. ... The Cavaliere's words conceal a totalitarian vision of democracy which from one edict to the next is racing headlong into autocracy." (03/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Massimo Giannini

The social democratic Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Ronald Plasterk is persisting in his policy of providing state financing for the web sites of public broadcasting companies. EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes holds that this distorts the competition with private broadcasting companies. The Dutch tabloid De Telegraaf supports the commissioner's views: "But Plasterk refuses to remove his blinkers and is stubbornly clinging to the erstwhile broadcasting bastion. There can be no talk of a nuanced approach. The same applies to subsidies for the national and regional public broadcasters that are once again campaigning to prove their right to exist. The decrepit broadcasting system is being kept in repair while the private broadcasters are left at a disadvantage. The minister, who is just trying to make himself popular with his media buddies in [the Dutch radio and TV metropolis] Hilversum, bears the full responsibility for this." (03/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Media policy, » Netherlands