"It is generally acknowledged that the United States are better than Europe when it comes to integrating Muslim immigrants," notes Stephan Richter, chief editor of the American weekly 'The Globalist'. "For many American observers the European failure is due to political error: Europeans preferred welfare to any significant attempt to integrate newcomers into their societies." Richter does not share this view. "The education and training of many of the Muslims who have come to the United States place them among their home countries' most highly qualified people. ... In Europe the situation is very different. Most Muslim emigrés have experienced difficulties because they have no qualifications, are poor, and do not speak English. ...America has a selective immigration policy, not Europe. There lies the difference." (05/04/2006)

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Columnist Martin Wolf is not against poorly qualified immigrants coming to Europe, but wonders about the economic impact. "With fewer immigrants, the economy would simply grow more slowly. But the question for existing citizens is not whether immigration raises the size of the economy, but whether it increases their own incomes per head. ... The opening of world trade is eliminating opportunities for production of labour-intensive tradeable goods and services in high-income contries. Employment of the native-born unskilled must be in non-tradeable activities. If unskilled immigrants drive down wages for such jobs, too, a hapless underclass will inevitably emerge. Does this matter ? The answer depends on whether extreme inequality is compatible with successful democracy." (05/04/2006)

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The newspaper discusses the different citizenship tests in Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands and Great Britain and which are now under disussion in Germany and Austria. "The Austrian version foresees the introduction of 'citizenship tests' which, if applied to Austrian citizens under threat of expatriation, would leave entire regions of the country empty. Even the most ingrained inhabitants of Upper Austria would have problems answering questions like 'In which Upper Austrian town are there two famous winged altars?'", Samo Kobenter mocks, adding, "This is a constant feature of the tests: under the pretext of improving their knowledge of Austrian history and culture, future Austrian citizens will have exactly the type of small-minded provincialism drummed into them which people deny exists here." (05/04/2006)

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Heribert Prantl is deeply concerned about the debate about the integration of immigrant children in German schools after a school in Berlin felt compelled to surrender to the violence of the pupils: "There are ten rules which must be observed to prevent the successful integration of foreigners in German society. Since the scandal broke out about conditions at the Rütli School in Berlin, politicians have managed to follow a number of them," Prantl writes, citing threats to use repressive measures and even deport "integration-resistant" immigrants as an example. "This aggressive approach will achieve only one thing, namely that minorities increasingly take refuge in their otherness. Integration is still a new word – both for the old and the new citizens of Germany... There's a lot at stake. This is about a second German reunification, this time between old and new German citizens, or in other words, between German citizens and citizens of foreign origin." (05/04/2006)

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Oxford University economics fellow Andrew Glyn believes that the "reserve army of labour" that Karl Marx described in the late 19th century is now going global. "The extraordinary transformation of China's and India's economies promises to bring Marx and Engels' prediction to completion. ... Together with tens of millions of urban underemployed, [agricultural workers] constitute a reserve army of labour of quite unprecedented magnitude. ...This could bring intense pressure on jobs and working conditions in Britain and elsewhere. Even sectors where relocation was not possible, like retailing or education, would be flooded with job seekers. The bargaining chips would be in the hands of capital to a degree not seen since the industrial revolution." (05/04/2006)

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Taking as his premise that the word 'culture' is ubiquitously bandied about in politically correct speak - "we once had company policy; now we have company culture, graffiti culture, drinking culture" - the Spanish writer Luis Goytisolo lashes out. "Using the world 'culture' for things that have nothing to do with culture, giving them all equivalent value has harmful consequences now, and will have even more in the future." Goytisolo believes that it is important to distinguish between what is truly cultural and what belongs to fashion and religion. It is essential to do so, because that is how a sense of identity is formed. "Otherwise, how can we ask for greater civility from people who do not understand the world in which they live, have no bearings, and do not know who they are?" (05/04/2006)

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The newspaper talks about the new buzz word "precarious" which is now being applied to all sorts of movements. "The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu is to blame. He observed the rising number of insecure and poorly-paid jobs on offer and proposed 'precarisation' as a term to describe the process. Things which were taken for granted in the fordistic world of employment – like protection against dismissal, standard wages, social security – have become 'precarious' in the post-fordistic world of employment, with its mini-jobs and never-ending work placements. If this word is widely used at present, it's because it's a handy battle slogan for all those who are trying to resist the creeping economisation of all aspects of our existence. Work doesn't protect you against poverty – when people first made this discovery, they welcomed it as 'enterprising' and 'flexible'. It's only once things have gone wrong that the situation becomes precarious." (05/04/2006)

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Bernardo Valli, the daily's special correspondent in Paris, met some young protesters writing a requiem for French prime minister Villepin, his government, and Chirac. "Swagger and imagination have triumped in the young demonstrators' marches. In two months street protests have rocked the political picture and toppled France's insitutions into crisis. Whoever thought mass demonstrations were out of vogue and the word 'mass' a thing of the past will have to think again in the light of events in France. France is not another planet, but it is one of the few countries where people take action in the belief politics can change things. ... The president, government, right- and left-wing political parties, and even parliament have been hit by the storm. An inventory of the damage will take time. Some of it may be irreparable." (05/04/2006)

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Jan Machacek sharply criticises former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for his involvement with Gazprom. "It's very clear that in Schröder's case there was a conflict of interests. Not only did his government approve the gas pipeline project, it also guaranteed a loan for Gazprom. And the case has another geopolitical dimension too. The contract for the gas pipeline means that Central Europe is defenceless against Russia's blackmailing gas price tactics. Schröder is not only mocking Poland and Ukraine, but he's also backing Putin in the face of American foreign policy, which in recent times has often criticised Russia for human rights violations. And how does the German public respond? Not, unfortunately, with harsh criticism. Chancellor Angela Merkel supports the construction of the gas pipeline." (05/04/2006)

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The Polish conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) won the Polish elections last autumn. This victory is now being used as a weapon by both Hungarian conservatives and the Hungarian Left in the run-up to their elections on April 9, writes Jaroslaw Gizinski, head of the foreign affairs department. "In accordance with the unwritten law of the Polish Express (the train stops in Warsaw, then in Budapest), Hungarian commentators have pointed out that the power shift which has taken place on the Danube in recent years ran parallel to the changes on the Vistula. The only difference now is that the Polish example, which only a few months ago was so favourable for the Hungarian Right, is now being used as a deterrent by the Left. The leftist media are conjuring up visions of the PiS bogeyman and depicting the PiS as ultra-conservative, xenophobic and anti-European." (03/04/2006)

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In the conservative weekly Elsevier journalist Jeroen de Boer takes a dry look at the fuss being made in Holland over an attempt to save a thousand jobs in an automobile plant. "The trades unions erect barriers to defend the automaker NedCar. The Christian Democrat Prime minister Balkenende is to have talks with management and union representatives. The province of Limburg has even appealed to the Chamber of Deputies over keeping the jobs. There is agitation everywhere, but the Netherlands should have no illusions. The auto industry has no future here. ... Limburg and the government would do better to attract alternative, innovative new businesses which would give the province a future. It makes no sense to drag a dead weight around." (04/04/2006)

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The British holding company Global Special Situations Master Fund (AGSS) has announced plans to purchase 25 percent of the shares in Slovenia's largest retailer Mercator. Bostjan Mencinger opposes this move, saying it would be highly detrimental to competition and represent an attack on the pride of the Slovenian economy. He explains that this would either be "the first step in the sellout of Slovenia's relatively young capitalism... Another possibility is that AGSS is functioning as a mediator for Delta, a Serbian holding company, and this would inevitably lead to the formation of a huge monopolist in the Balkan region which would swallow up Slovenia's Mercator, Serbia's Delta and the Croatian company Konzum." (05/04/2006)

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The dangers of an energy crisis are often discussed in Latvia, in particular when Russian energy supplies either fail to arrive or become more expensive. Renewable energies are therefore often cited as an alternative. Peteris Strautins outlines the pros and contras of this strategy. "The percentage of renewable resources available in our country is one of the highest in Europe. It's already three times as much as the target set by the EU for 2010, and there is still much untapped potential in this area, especially as regards the use of biomass, wind power and, in the more distant future, solar energy. But just because a source of energy is renewable doesn't necessarily mean it's environmentally friendly. Latvia recently had a bad experience in this respect: many of its smaller hydroelectric power plants have destroyed entire stretches of river and resulted in higher rates for customers." (05/04/2006)

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"Being in prison is a bit like being pregnant: you're only worried at the beginning and the end," Andrej Dynko, editor in chief of the Belarussian culture magazine Nasa Niva notes. Having spent ten days in prison for participating in the anti-Lukashenko demonstrations, Dnyko has great hopes for the Belarussian opposition. "Who were my fellow detainees? Mostly people who had never been in prison before, young men aged between 18 and 35: a computer specialist from Minsk (born in Braslau in northern Belarus), a DJ from Mahilyu, a salesman from the 'Dinamo' market in Minsk (the son of a military officer, he was born in Russia and came to Belarus when he was 17). They are all a living refutation of idiotic nationalist clichés." (05/04/2006)

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Antoine de Baecque salutes an exhibition on the subject of love, called "L'Amour, comment ça va?", currently showing at La Maison de la Villette in Paris. The show uses photos, illustrations, and film footage to trace the development of love since the 1970s. "I was worried it would be all smiles, happy people, and songbirds or, on the contrary, doom and gloom, melodrama, and crossed love. Arlette Farge and Rose-Marie Lagrave [who staged the exhibition] have looked at love in a different light - as shared strength, social energy flowing from group to individual, with the power to shape the shifting nature of being-together." Lafarge explains that she deliberately removed love from the sphere of intimacy. "That's why we started with the workplace - factories, offices, boards of directors. Love is more than just personal relationships, it is the product of culture, politics, society. It's a sentiment that is all around us in our environment." (05/04/2006)

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The notorious taxi drivers of Budapest, nicknamed "taxi hyenas" because of their underhand tricks, are to be taught some manners by the new British owner of Budapest airport. From July on, only taxi drivers who observe certain rules will be allowed to work at the airport: "The criteria for selection are a clean vehicle, knowledge of foreign languages, fair, set and clearly displayed fares – and only non-smokers can apply, Hajnal Kulcsar points out. He quotes a Budapest-based owner of a taxi company who complains about "Mafia-like groups" in the taxi business who are being allowed to operate outiside the law. Kulcsar calls on Budapest's mayor to follow the example of the new airport management and introduce strict regulations for the entire taxi branch." (04/04/2006)

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Writer Thomas Gunzig takes an ironic look at a comment made by a Brussels-based Flemish-speaking regional minister. She said: "Better to be an incompetent bilingual Flemish speaker than an ultra-competent monolingual French speaker." "Personally, I'd like to have a good, intelligent prime minister, with some sense of humour, a conscientious commitment to the 'res publica', a humane person but also a technocrat, who understands Belgium and the world, is determined, free of political and electoralist ulterior motives and fears, who is concerned with the common good, social rights, and dreams of progress. People will say, all that's a minimum. ... So, if you find someone like that, and even if he/she speaks only Icelandic, Arameic, or Lingala, that's fine, I'll take that person. Because a good prime minister is such a rare breed, that I'd willingly give him/her subtitles." (05/04/2006)

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All available articles from » Thomas Gunzig