President Medvedev's strong words to the Russian nation must be followed by deeds, the daily Kaleva writes: "With his presidency half over Medvedev is in a quandary. He is still living in the shadow of his political godfather, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile the differences of opinion that divide the two are becoming increasingly obvious, and Medvedev wants to accelerate the tempo on reforms. But without Putin's explicit backing he lacks the political clout. Medvedev's ideas sound sensible and his analysis of the status quo in Russia hits the nail on the head. His assessment of the system in Russia is harsh: in the president's own words, Russia is still 'half-Soviet' … . Real changes take a long time in Russia. Medvedev has not concealed his desire to carry them out, but at least so far his deeds have lagged far behind his words." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Russia

President Dmitry Medvedev may have diagnosed Russia's "chronic backwardness" but he still considers the comprehensive democratisation of the country unnecessary, the Tagesspiegel concludes: "'All attempts to stir up the situation in the country with democratic solutions, to destabilise the state and to divide the society will be thwarted' - someone who talks like this is following the centuries-old tradition of Russian rulers who have no trust in their own people's power and ability to develop. Instead the state is to do this for them and the country to be modernised from the top down. This strategy may not have worked for the Tsars, Stalin or Gorbachev, but it does have a decisive advantage: there's always someone else to blame for the failures, be it the opposition, a country like Georgia or the West, towards which Medvedev's attitude was noticeably cool." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Russia
All available articles from » Sebastian Bickerich

In his address to the nation Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for Russia to modernise, but at the same time reasserted the country's claim to power over the former Soviet republics. The Latvian daily Diena reacts nervously: "The key question for Latvia is how serious Russia's potential for aggression is at present. And to answer this one thing must be clear: Russia has still not recovered from the illness historian Norman Davis once described as its 'political anorexia'. Although this time Medvedev made no mention of the 'lost territories of the old indestructible Union' and the countrymen who live there, he addressed Georgia saying that Russia would deal with the resistance in the North Caucasus and do everything in its power to ensure prosperity for the people there. This, however, harks back to the naïve hopes of the Americans that they could bring peace to Iraq with Hollywood films and humanitarian aid." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Latvia, » Russia, » Georgian Republic
All available articles from » Didzis Meļķis

Medvedev's state of the nation address was more a pompous show that a political message, writes the left-liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza, commenting that it was interpreted accordingly: "In yesterday's speech Dmitry Medvedev promised his fellow Russians a thorough programme of modernisation. But he was unable to convince them that he's the one who can lead them toward a better future. Russia's constitution stipulates that the president must deliver an annual address to the country's political elite and - with the help of the television - the nation. In his speech he is to point the way forward for the country's domestic and foreign policy. At least from an organisational point of view the event was impressive. Thousands gathered yesterday in St. George's Hall in the Kremlin - members of government, parliamentarians, religious leaders and artists. Because on a stage like that it's important to put in an appearance." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Russia
All available articles from » Wacław Radziwinowicz

The EU Parliament has voted by a large majority for the abolition of visa requirements for citizens from the states of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. The daily Večer complains that the new rules which are to take effect on December 19, 2009, will not apply for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo: "The countries themselves are partially to blame for this, for they fall far short … of the EU's economic and political requirements. And yet of all countries these two in particular, with their ethnic make-ups which for many make them ticking time bombs, needed an incentive from the EU. This refusal to waive visa requirements could add fuel to the smouldering fire of nationalism. … On the other hand some EU countries like Austria and Italy fear an onrush of people looking for work. This fear is unfounded because there are enough safety mechanisms in place. But unfortunately these countries forget that the young people of the Balkans played no part in the war, and that they too deserve the chance of a decent and less humiliating life."  (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Kosovo, » Bosnia and Herzegovina
All available articles from » Vojislav Bercko

Thursday of next week the EU heads of state and government will elect an EU president for the first time. Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy has good prospects of winning the post. A wise choice, writes the liberal daily Mladá Fronta Dnes: "Particularly the small EU member states are very reluctant to have a president from a strong country, and would prefer a mediator instead. Someone who can negotiate at the highest level, and who understands how to come to terms with 27 heads of government. ... The 62-year-old Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, a Flemish Christian Democrat, has been at the top of the list of candidates for over a week, and it's no surprise. Who could be a better arbitrator than Van Rompuy, who took over the leadership of a drifting government at the height of the economic crisis and successfully negotiated between Flemish and Francophone Belgians?" (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Belgium, » Europe
All available articles from » Kateřina Koubová

A Kosovan family is facing deportation from Austria after its application for asylum was rejected. "Arigona Zogaj, her mother and her siblings are all victims," writes Michael Fleischhacker in the daily Die Presse: "First of all they are victims of the false hopes people gave them and they gave themselves. Then they are victims of a man who showed little consideration for his family. They are victims of the policies that, for lack of clear concepts, have given the authorities more leeway than they can deal with. And finally the Zogajs are victims of the media, which have ruthlessly exploited them to satisfy the supposed political reflexes of their consumers. If I were Minister of the Interior I would grant this family the right to residence denied to them two years ago in recognition of their victim status."   (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Integration, » Austria
All available articles from » Michael Fleischhacker

The suicide of Robert Enke, goal keeper of the German national football team, has caused widespread consternation in Germany and abroad. Society must do more to identify and treat mental illness, writes Siegfried Matlok in the daily Der Nordschleswiger: "In recent years Danish state and religions ... have invested much money in improving psychiatric care. But even more importantly a growing number of prominent people are publicly admitting they suffer from such disorders. Crucial in this respect is the call by former social democraic prime minister Poul Ryrup Rasmussen, whose daughter committed suicide after protracted mental illness. ... He stressed that it is vital not to shy away from addressing such problems in the family and on the job, no matter how difficult that may be. Let it be hoped that Robert Enke's suicide will not just provoke pity, but that it will also make us more willing to give these people the attention they deserve - before it's too late!" (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Germany, » Denmark
All available articles from » Siegfried Matlok

With the political changes of 1989 a cycle of US dominance and capitalist supremacy began, writes lawyer and politician António Vitorino in the daily Diário de Notícias. But this cycle ended with the current crisis and we now need new concepts, he argues: "The fall of the Berlin Wall made German reunification, nato expansion and the enlargement of the European Union possible and it was the beginning of a cycle of US predominance. … The global economic crisis can also be seen as the end of this cycle … . And although we don't yet know how the world will develop we all share the conviction that concepts that had been universally applied since the night of November 9 will now change. … Although it is true that the crisis has not yet produced an alternative system that could lead to a new world, it is also true that it has acted like a mirror, confronting the market economy with its own reflection, and that image was not as pretty and perfect as the one we were promised in November 1989. Yet this does not detract from the historical significance of the fall of the Wall." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » History, » Germany, » U.S., » Global, » China
All available articles from » António Vitorino

Prompted by the crisis in the air travel industry British Airways and [Spanish carrier] Iberia on Thursday agreed to a merger that will make them the world's third-largest airline. The business paper Cinco Días sees this as the best way out of the crisis: "Neither British Airways nor Iberia could afford to go on being too small to become one of the major global operators and too big to restrict themselves to their limited national markets. Iberia even less so now that Spain has become one of the preferred battlegrounds for both Anglo-Saxon and German budget airlines eager to exploit the strong natural attractions of tourist destinations." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Corporations, » United Kingdom, » Spain

The strikes are spreading in Slovenia's steel and electrical industries. The daily Dnevnik writes that workers are no longer afraid to harm the competitiveness of their companies to achieve their goals and are becoming far more radical than the unions that represent them: "They've had enough of low wages and the adverse economic situation. We are seeing a clear discrepancy between what the workers want and the rather modest demands of their unions. While the unions are putting forward their demands in the meekest of tones and agreeing to pay increases of no more than a few percentage points, the workers are demanding wage hikes of 30 to 50 percent. Doubts about the unions' integrity and accusations that they are 'working hand in hand' with the bosses have widened the gap. But the people who make such claims forget that the unions are also fighting to survive, and that only they can mobilise huge masses of people." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Trade unions, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Igor Dernovšek

The student protests in Austria continue apace. The left-liberal daily 168 Óra shows sympathy for the students' demands: "The 19 major universities in Austria are attended by roughly 220,000 students (the buildings, many of which are in need of repair, can't even hold that many). ... In addition the flow of German students has increased in recent years. Admission is restricted in Germany, and for that reason numerous German students come to Austria where the universities still have no entrance exams. ... It was only a question of time before the bomb exploded. The students are primarily fighting against student fees and for better conditions. ... By contrast they are not calling for a more rational approach to curricula. Currently they can choose from 170 different subjects, however just eight of those subjects attract the majority of the 220,000 students." (12/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Education, » Austria
All available articles from » Júlia Szászi

For months the Romanian public television station TVR has dedicated a programme to spotlighting dilapidated cultural monuments. Audiences will choose their favourite out of 30 monuments and then donate money for renovations. The weekly newspaper Dilema Veche welcomes the action: "State subsidies aren't sufficient, local authorities are no help, local companies prefer to finance major public events, and these cultural monuments and ruins are threatened with disappearance as a result of public indifference. Even if at the end of the day only one monument is repaired with the money donated, the programme ... will still have been a success. Because it has allowed many other monuments to be registered and presented, because ... it has given succour to these dedicated preservationists, because the fate of these heritage sites is shown and talked about on television. ... Even if they aren't restored in the strict sense, their image will be rehabilitated." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Cultural Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » Romania
All available articles from » Matei Martin

On the initiative of the Islamophobe Swiss People's Party (SVP), the Swiss will vote in a referendum on 29 November on whether to ban the construction of new minarets in the country. But the Ahmadi Muslims living in Switzerland are the most peaceful in the world, writes the daily Le Temps: "With the slogan 'love everyone, hate no one", the Ahmadis advocate openness and understanding in society, and reject the aggressive interpretation of the Jihad as well as all forms of terrorism. ... The Ahmadis have been subject to a social ban since 1973, when the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) declared them 'non-Muslim'. ... Above and beyond this quarrel, the ostracism suffered by the Ahmadi and other minorities on Islamic soil poses the problem of the rise of fundamentalism, just as dangerous for its targets as for Muslims themselves." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Jean-Claude Buhrer

In the Netherlands the percentage of children and juveniles in prison is greater than in other European countries. Bert Janssens, director of the national broadcaster Human, examines the reasons for this in the left-leaning Internet forum Joop.nl: "Yasmina has been serving her sentence in a closed institution for months, waiting for her therapy to begin. Christel went to pieces without anyone even reporting it. … Davron is facing deportation to a country … whose language he doesn't speak and where he knows nothing and nobody. … These cases make painfully clear why the UN has admonished the Netherlands to guarantee children's rights. So why is it that there are so many violations of children's rights in the Netherlands - more than in neighbouring countries with similar problems? Is it because of the less efficient social social net of benefits? … These are questions that should be high on the agendas of all politicians and journalists, because they touch on the basic values of our society." (13/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crime and Law, » Netherlands, » Europe
All available articles from » Bert Janssens