1.  Background | 14/05/2008

On the road for sixty years

Hardly any other small country attracts more attention in Europe than Israel. Israel, too, is fascinated by Europe. A short account of sixty years of common history. » more

Libya's new start fraught with uncertainty

Libya officially celebrated its liberation from the rule of Muammar al-Gaddafi on Sunday, three days after the dictator's violent death. But celebrating the end of tyranny is easier than the job that lies ahead, namely the construction of a free society, the liberal daily Sme contends: "Optimists say Libya has good prospects thanks to its oil exports. In addition the society is sufficiently homogeneous and the Libyans were quick to create state organs at the very beginning of the revolution and for that reason also received foreign support. ... Pessimists however fear that where there is money there are also patrons. Moreover although Libya is united religiously it is divided ethnically between Arabs and Berbers and geographically between Bengasi and Tripoli. Sceptics see the unwillingness of some groups to lay down the arms they fought with against Gaddafi as a fertile breeding ground for future conflicts. ... And the demise of the dictator is also casting a shadow over the country's new beginning."

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Hard times ahead

The conservative daily Lidové noviny describes Tzipi Livni's election to party leader as a step backwards: "The programme for the return of land to the Palestinians - which in principle is good - does not always meet ... with the most propitious circumstances. The withdrawal [carried out by former Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon from the Gaza Strip can't exactly be described as a success. Livni's plans threaten to go down in the midst of the disputes with coalition partners, as has often been the case in Israel. Whether she succeeds or not also depends on how well she is able to hold her own as a woman among several tough rivals. She only just made it into the parliament nine years ago, as the last but one on Likud's party ticket. Now she must prove she is able to play right at the top."

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Middle East, » Israel