The Olympic flame wavers in Europe

"China's critics have succeeded in the first act of a show that won't stop until the Olympics begin. They have taken advantage of the global torch relay - which is a marketing gag - and are using its impact to achieve the opposite," Stefan Kornelius writes. "First of all, the protest tells us a lot about the Chinese government. Beijing has lost control of images. The stubbornness with which it disregards the protest is testimony to a complete ignorance of the rules of an open society. ... But does it help when the torch goes out in Paris? Not necessarily - so far the protest itself has been more a sign of utter impotence than anything else. And for the demonstrators, too, symbolism is everything - there's not much political substance behind the spectacle. Every protest, every boycott and every outcry is, of course, legitimate. But in the end it must stand up to a simple question: does it achieve its aim, does it change anything?"

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