Because the protest in Romania is directed against the political system as a whole it is unrealistic in the eyes of the left-liberal dialy Der Standard to expect the demonstrators to join forces with the opposition: "Băsescu's political career is now at stake. Because unlike in Russia and Hungary the opposition in Bulgaria enjoys 50 percent support according to the polls. However it is unlikely that the demonstrators will take sides with the opposition because for many of them the parties and trade unions themselves are untrustworthy. The social democrats in Spain were also unable to convince the 'indignant' in Madrid. According to political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu the protests in Romania are part of a global movement calling for more social and political democracy. These people don't want another party, they want a new political class." (19/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Politics, » Unrest / Riots, » Global, » Romania
All available articles from » Adelheid Wölfl
Who's saying what » The world protests

The week-long protests in Romania against President Traian Băsescu and the government's austerity policy will come to nothing as long as they are based only on hatred and anger, writes the online paper Glasove: "At the start of the protest some observers spoke hopefully of revolution of civil society, even a 'new revolution'. The good news is that the people have gone out on the streets to show their dissatisfaction, and that they have stuck it out for so long in the cold. They have hope. But there's got to be more to a 'new revolution' than just be a change of government. ... It's silly to wait for the deus ex machina that will save the nation. The Romanians must take the fate of their country into their own hands, and produce a new leadership that will change the system. ... It's time the voice of reason drowned out the helpless cries of hatred and rejection." (19/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Unrest / Riots, » Society, » Romania
All available articles from » Maria Dermendzhieva

The early elections demanded by the demonstrators in Romania could put the country's economy at peril, author Mircea Cărtărescu fears in the daily Evenimentul Zilei: "Traian Băsescu has used up the trust placed in him during the first three to four years of his term in office. In his second term he has lacked ideas and new projects. He no longer had the political situation under control. ... Băsescu is a man of the past. But I am extremely sceptical about the potential consequences of his resigning and new elections being held. Prime Minister Boc's government has provided a certain amount of economic stability. ... Emil Boc may be described as mediocre and incompetent but so far no one has disputed his good will and his selflessness - two qualities rarely found in politicians. ... It is questionable whether the unstable economy could withstand a sudden change of government brought on by the pressure of the street protests." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Unrest / Riots, » Romania
All available articles from » Mircea Cărtărescu

The referendum on the Czech Republic's accession to the fiscal union decided on Wednesday and the political dispute it has triggered are all much ado about nothing in the view of the liberal daily Sme: "The Czech Republic is in a comfortable position. At issue here is simply whether the country should at some point - no one knows exactly when - transfer part of its competences within the framework of the Eurozone. If the Nečas government is not prepared to take this step now, then it can do so at some point in the future. Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg has provoked an unnecessary dispute by saying that he didn't want to sit in a government that moves away from Europe's core. In reality it wouldn't occur to anyone in his party to leave government. If the head of government doesn't sign the fiscal pact, this will certainly send a political signal. But it's not a fatal one. The path to the Eurozone will still remain open."   (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Peter Schutz

Hungary is to scrap the 16 percent flat income tax rate it introduced in 2011. According to media reports the EU Commission is pushing Viktor Orbán to do this. The flat tax, which is enshrined in the new constitution and can therefore only be abolished by a two-thirds majority, is a cornerstone of Orbán's grip on power, the business paper Világgazdaság explains: "Orbán has yet to provide an understandable explanation as to why the flat tax was introduced in the first place. Commentators expected it to boost consumption - in vain. The head of government himself apparently hoped to secure the loyalty of a key segment of the electorate, hoping that thanks to the move he would have the country's wealthy middle class 'in his pocket' for the next elections. ... The government failed to take into account that the tax would leave a gaping hole in the Hungarian budget. ... But scrapping the flat tax, and the drastic increase in the tax burden of the wealthy this would entail, would be tantamount to political suicide." (19/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Tax Policy, » Hungary, » Europe
All available articles from » Miklós Újvári
Who's saying what » Resistance to Hungarian government

The first round of Finland's presidential elections takes place on Sunday. The future president will have fewer powers than his predecessor. The tabloid Iltalehti consequently finds direct presidential elections inappropriate: "The political leader in Finland is the prime minister. The political driving force is the government, which answers to the parliament. The president heads foreign policy together with the government. So constitutionally the trend is clear: parliamentarianism has won. As regards the presidential elections, it's obvious that a direct election by the people is not really in accord with the spirit of the constitution. Direct elections confer a greater status on the post than the constitution allows for. This is a contradiction that will no doubt be discussed in the future." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Finland

In the European debate over democracy and prosperity ensuring peace as an engine of European unity should not be forgotten, the political scientists of the University of Constance Dirk Leuffen and Hanno Degner warn in the liberal-conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "In the course of the efforts to overcome the sovereign debt crisis the success story of the European Union so far seems to have reached a turning point. The crisis poses at least two threats to peace in the Union. On the one hand the disintegration of the community menaces the institutional basis for peaceful cooperation. And on the other the limitations on democracy imposed by the globalised financial markets endanger peace. Already the internal protests are taking on an increasingly violent character, and it cannot be ruled out that a further weakening of democratic structures will promote instabilities and threaten inter-state peace. ... The 'salutary triad' of prosperity, democracy and peace has defined post-war Europe's success. Now the challenge is to preserve it." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Dirk Leuffen, » Hanno Degner
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Czechs' attitude to Europe in the current crisis is irrational, laments the French political scientist Jacques Rupnik, himself a native of Prague, in an interview with the business paper Hospodářské noviny: "It is also in the interest of the Czechs that a solution to the crisis be found as soon as possible. If the Eurozone were to collapse it would have major repercussions for the country. But this isn't just a question of finances, the consequences are above all of a political nature. They concern the question of our long-term orientation, where we want to belong. If we depart from the European mainstream we can't turn around later and complain: 'What's going on? Now others are making decisions for us!' We've got to decide: do we stay in Europe and have a hand in the decision-making, or do we exit and watch what happens from the sidelines? But by no means can we say: 'I may be outside but I also want to have my say'." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Jacques Rupnik
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » Europe's speed

The US has turned down the IMF's call for more money in the battle against the European debt crisis. Now the IMF must turn to the emerging economies for the funds, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "In the Republican primaries, every candidate could expect thunderous applause for the call 'No bail-out for Europe'. Obama would hurt his election chances if he joined in with the IMF recapitalisation initiative. So the remaining potential allies are - in addition to non-Eurozone states like the UK - China, India and Brazil and the emerging economies whose influence in the IMF the Europeans had sought to limit until recently. The nouveaux riches will demand a price for bailing out the old elite. China, for instance, will likely demand the lifting of the weapons embargo. ... This gives an idea of how far-reaching the impact of the European debt crisis that has been escalating for three years really is." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Nikolaus Piper
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The French lingerie label Lejaby will close its last manufacturing location in France, the company announced on Wednesday. The company was recently bought out by an international consortium. The closure of the factory in Haute-Loire is a bad sign, writes the daily Libération: "It is a metaphor for the collapse of the French industry, which has lost 750,000 jobs in the past ten years. It is the tale of an artisan family that developed into one of France's most successful labels in just four generations, and now has fallen victim to the haywire mechanism of industrial relocation. ... No one will be safe if the rules of the game don't change, not even the factory in the Tunisian city of Sfax where Lejaby's new owners have relocated production. ... A barrier set up at a European level based on the values of the Union, as well as targeted, flexible, well-negotiated wage agreements could constitute an effective first response to this problem." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Labour, » Economy, » France, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Vincent Giret

The Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón has been on trial since Tuesday for perversion of justice. While other media say the trial is politically motivated the conservative daily ABC believes the charges are the result of the judge's excessive ambition: "Garzón is not the victim of a conspiracy against him but of his own rashness, ambition and tendency 'to cut corners', as the Anglo-Saxons say. Whether he deserves to be punished for this is for the second chamber of the Supreme Court to decide. Not the journalists nor the demonstrators nor even the legal experts who have leaped either to his defence or against him. Naturally this only applies if we live in a truly authentic constitutional state - something one may doubt sometimes, even if the doubt is quickly banished because it is a sickening thought." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Justice, » Spain

Almost 55 percent of all Poles have a negative attitude to Islam, 30 percent more than four years ago according to a survey by the marketing research company TNS Obop. This Islamophobia is difficult to explain and above all harms Poland's reputation abroad, writes political scientist Klaus Bachmann in the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "And this in a country that didn't have a single conflict with Islam in the last century, and where Muslims were even a much-appreciated religious minority. They were eligible for being raised to the peerage, and in general Muslim immigration was only minimal. It's hard to explain where the Poles' aversion to Islam comes from. ... We are the ones who stand to lose the most from such an attitude. Polish Islamophobia will be a major obstacle to taking advantage of the trust that Poland enjoys in North Africa, where our country is seen as a successful example of democratisation."  (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Minorities, » Poland, » Africa, » North Africa
All available articles from » Klaus Bachmann

The US camera and film manufacturer Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy on Thursday. This is the end of an era but no reason to cry, writes the daily La Stampa commenting on Kodak's decision: "Anyone who connects his digital camera's memory card to the computer and sees almost instantly what he has just photographed perhaps can't understand the frisson of anticipation that the ritual of picking up your photos from the photo lab once provoked. ... But one shouldn't demonise digital photography because it offers the advantage of taking as many pictures as you like. Ultimately it's just the moment of decision that has shifted. In the Kodak era you had to decide in the instant you released the shutter whether that moment was a memorable one and should be preserved or not. Nowadays that decision is made when you save the pictures. Because whether it's on paper or on screen, the number of moments that are worth reliving is not unlimited." (20/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Photography, » Corporations, » Global
All available articles from » Rocco Moliterni

In the wake of the phone-hacking scandal involving the discontinued British tabloid News of the World, Rupert Murdoch's publishing company News Group Newspaper agreed on Thursday to pay compensation to 36 victims of those who suffered the consequences. The daily The Guardian praises the people who fought for compensation: "These people changed everything. ... A whole industry of deception, in other words, has crumbled thanks to the people who are to be compensated - and thanks to their predecessors who settled earlier, notably Sienna Miller. ... And as for ordinary people whose phones had been hacked, you might think they had nothing to lose by suing, but think again: this is a company that employed private investigators on an industrial scale. Would you be happy to have every aspect of your private life secretly investigated, and if the slightest blemish was found - perhaps involving a vulnerable relative - to have that exposed in the press?" (19/01/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Publishing houses, » Print media, » Ethics, » Crime, » Media, » Society, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Brian Cathcart