Commentator Miriam Zsilleova praises the German Chancellor's skills in foreign policy. "In Washington, she boldly brought a renewed sense of trust into German-American relations without holding back her criticism of Guantanamo Bay or glossing over differences in opinion regarding Iraq. This could catapult her to the position of moderator between Bush and Europe. In Russia, she made it clear she would not be taking up the attitude of uncritical friendship adopted by her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder. The first woman to take office in the German chancellery is beginning to make her mark. Central Europe, which regards Germany as its advocate, should also be pleased with her performance. Germany has a head of government with some clout in the world once more." (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Germany
All available articles from » Miriam Zsilleova

"Within the space of a few weeks, Mrs Merkel has proven that she knows how to cut a 'good figure' abroad and that she is capable of dealing with such diverse characters as Silvio Berlusconi, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac," publisher Berthold Kohler writes. "She has discarded Schröder's 'German path' without giving up Germany's right to play an independent role in world politics. Under the guidance of the East German chancellor, the pendulum of Berlin's foreign policy seems to be swinging back towards a central position. From this perspective, America gives no greater cause for concern than Russia." (17/01/2006)

» to the homepage (external link, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Germany
All available articles from » Berthold Kohler

Berlin correspondent Bartosz Wielinski observes the end of the Putin-Schröder era with satisfaction, seeing it as an opportunity for Europe. "Angela Merkel adopts a different attitude when she talks to Vladimir Putin. She broaches the subject of Chechnya, despite it being taboo for Putin. She supports the Russian non-governmental organisations that play the role of the opposition. This is a sign to Europe as a whole that authoritarian practices – violations of the rule of law and freedom of opinion – should be openly opposed. Upholding such values could serve to unite Europe. We must defend these values and not let them be reduced to commodities that can be traded with Russia in exchange for oil and gas and with China in exchange for goods and services." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Germany
All available articles from » Bartosz Wielinski

The daily praises Angela Merkel for raising controversial issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin during her inaugural visit to Moscow. "Her brief businesslike trip was in striking contrast with the male bonding sessions Mr. [Gerhard] Schröder, George Bush and Tony Blair have all held over a few beers with Vladimir Putin. None of them have been as forthright as they should have been on issues as important as human rights, the Chechnya war, media freedoms and the Yukos affair. So it was impressive to see the German Christian Democrat chancellor talking of a 'strategic partnership' but still doing publicly what the Social Democrat Schröder (who called Mr Putin a 'flawless democrat') never did privately - meeting Russian NGOs to register objections to laws restricting their activities. Encouraging democracy, civil society and stability is in the interest of Russia's neighbours." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Europe

In an essay, British historian Niall Ferguson travels in time to the year 2011 and then looks back at what triggered the Great Golf war between Iran and Israel in 2007. "Just as it had done in the 1930s, the West gave itself up to wishful thinking. People thought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was simply indulging in a bit of sabre rattling to boost his weak position in domestic politics. Perhaps, the West hoped, his political rivals in the clergy wanted to get rid of him. The last thing people in the West thought they should do was take a hard line with him, because they believed that would only strengthen his position and stir up the people's anger. So in Washington and London, politicians simply crossed their fingers and hoped for a deus ex machina, or in other words, a homemade change of government in Iran." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Middle East
All available articles from » Niall Ferguson

Marco Politi, an editorial writer and Vatican specialist, read the encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI that is due to be published on January 25. "Ten months after his election, the Pope is set to publish the document that will mark the true start of his papacy. Certain loose tongues are suggesting that, unlike the encyclicals of his predecessors, which were more like policy statements, it seems clear that Ratzinger is seeking - by way of a theological reflection - to pitch a message to the faithful across the world. (...) The Pope is concerned about contemporary man's need for love, a love based on faith, rather than on Eros which Benedict XVI considers to be passion-based love, Godless love, and which amounts to little more than sex and turns man into a commodity."   (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Philosophy, » Italy
All available articles from » Marco Politi

"It is time for Tony Blair to recognise that the tide has turned decisively against his plans to establish a national identity cards scheme," the progressive daily writes after the House of Lords called on the government to clarify the costs of the scheme to register and store citizens' biometric data. "Since [the London attacks of] July 7, the cards have been presented, once again, as an anti-terror measure. But this justification is as misleading as it ever was. There is no reason to believe the July 7 attackers would have been thwarted by the existence of ID cards. The bombers were home-grown extremists, not foreign jihadists. What evidence is there that they would have been picked up earlier by the security services if they had held some form of personal identification? (...) And let us not forget the Government's lamentable record when it comes to high-technology projects." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom

"Without succombing to excessive Orwellian-style paranoia, the growing number of ways for identifying individuals raises legitimate concerns and questions," observes Jacques Hillion, an editorial writer with the weekly. "Under cover of technological progress and the need for security, the pressure on individuals is rising steadily. (...) A person's intrinsic and personal characterists are these days increasingly necessary to open doors and borders. A case in point: Europe is eliminating the mention of one's religion on Greek identity cards, but is accepting the biometric passports demanded by the United States. Religion is thus part of the private sphere while fingerprints belong to the public domain, even though both define an individual. And even if one identifier lasts forever, while the other can change in the course of a lifetime." (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Luxembourg
All available articles from » Jacques Hillion

The daily looks at the state of relations between Spain and Israel twenty years after they first established diplomatic ties, and as Spain's diplomatic chief, Miguel Angel Moratinos, pays an official visit to the Middle East. "Moratinos is not only Spain's current foreign minister, he is someone who served for several months as Spain's ambassador to Tel Aviv before being appointed as the UN special envoy to the peace process. In fact, some people accuse him of having an unhealthy obsession with the Palestinian question, as if Spanish foreign policy were limited to a conflict which is clearly far from being the only threat to international peace and stability. But it is nonetheless one of the most important conflicts - and, historically, one of the most unresolvable."  (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Spain

"And what if we allowed those who are most affected - young people - to have their say?" proposes the editorial writer Pacal Aubert, in response to the government's announcement of a specific work contract for those under 26 with fewer guarantees against being fired. "Do young French people view the workaday world through the same prism as union leaders, or as employees with long-term contracts worried at the idea that tomorrow might not look like yesterday? Nothing is less certain. Young people - university - educated or not - have long understood that the world is changing and, with it, the very notion of work. (...) While they have a clear vision of things, young people are not necessarily disillusioned or bitter. They simply confront today's working universe with a very different mindset than their elders did. (...) Insecurity is something that people with a secure job fear even though they are not familiar with it; young people are familiar with it, but don't fear it." (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Economy, » France
All available articles from » Pascal Aubert

The Slovenian government's decision to send four Slovenian soldiers to Iraq has triggered a lively debate. "It's a peculiar decision coming at a peculiar time. Even the English, who are so fond of the US, have announced the withdrawal of their troops from Iraq," Janko Lorenci observes. "The possibility that the Americans under Bush's command may suddenly withdraw their troops – regardless of the situation in Iraq – can't be ruled out. Iraq could then turn into another Vietnam. Is that what it would take for Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa and Foreign Minister Rupel to admit that their decision was wrong and against the interests of the Iraqi state?" (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Janko Lorenci

Pádraig Walshe marks the start of a four-year term as the new president of the Irish Farmers Association with an opinion piece stressing "the vital role of an EU agricultural policy with common funding after 2013. (...) In the past year, the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] has been subjected to an onslaught of criticism, led by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and their agent in Brussels, Peter Mandelson. Their fellow travellers in Ireland - Oxfam, Trócaire [the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland] and, disappointingly, some of the Catholic bishops - preach the same misinformation. We know that this criticism is unfair, simplistic and self-serving, but unless farm leaders in Europe present the counter-arguments to European governments, to the EU Commission and the general public, our position will be continuously weakened." (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Pádraig Walshe

Magazinet, a Norwegian Christian newspaper, has reprinted the controversial Mohammed cartoons first published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Postens. Tor Billgren sees this as a provocation as, according to him, the discussion of the past few months was not just about freedom of opinion, but also about respect for other religions and cultures. "This is the same strategy employed by the Red Army Faction in West Germany in the 1970s. The object of its terrorist attacks was to escalate the confrontation between the police and the authorities so that 'the true face of fascism' would be revealed and the nation's proletarians would rise up and revolt. In the same way, fundamental Christians are trying to provoke Islam into showing its 'true face' in order to strengthen people's opposition to Islam." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Media, » Norway
All available articles from » Tor Billgren

TV journalist and Eastern Europe expert Paul Lendvai, who has lived in Vienna since 1957, has publicly accused several former Vienna correspondents for Hungarian newspapers of spying on him for the Hungarian secret police. The newspaper comments on the correspondents' alleged ties with the secret police. "We don't want all those who used to work on an unofficial basis with the Ministry of State Security to be immediately fired, but editorial departments should be more cautious in their dealings with them in future. We still want to read their analyses of foreign affairs. After all, the state financed their visits abroad for years. But they should not be allowed to take sides in domestic policy disputes or to play the role of arbitrator in moral issues." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Media, » Hungary

Frédérique Fanchette interviewed Charles-Henri Favrod, the former director of the Elysée Museum for Photography in Lausanne and author of 'The Time of Colonies', an anthology of the imagery of colonisation. According to Favrod, "colonisation coincided with the discovery of photography. (...) In the years from 1850-1860, images of distant countries such as India or China began to circulate. Then with the widespread use of photography, it became the medium for celebrating colonial virtue. At the end of the century, this triumph of the image culminated in the exotic postcard, which was all the rage well before the Colonial Exhibition of 1931." Asked about the controversial part of the law of February 23, 2005 stipulating the 'positive' role of colonisation," Favrod says he finds the text "anachronistic and aimed at attracting votes."    (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » France
All available articles from » Charles-Henri Favrod

Steve Rose hails the work of the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. "With the new Opera House of Valencia, it is appropriate to speak of a 'Gaudí effect'. This seductive new building, designed by one of the world's most famous architects, could do for Spain's third city what Frank Gehry's Guggenhiem did for Bilbao. (...) And in the same way that Gaudí's curvilinear works are synonymous with Barcelona, Calatrava's designs could become a real asset for Valencia. (...) It is not to exaggerate to declare that Calatrava is a genius. But are we talking about an architectonic genius? The only reservations that one might be able to have regarding his talent concern his way of thinking, which resembled that of a mathematician. It is often said that his genius is  more about clever architectural design than adaptation to everyday use. And it is not surprising that his most beautiful achievements are bridges."   (17/01/2006)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Culture, » Spain
All available articles from » Steve Rose

Over 35 years ago, Danish hippies occupied an old military barracks in the centre of Copenhagen and founded the autonomous "free town" of Christiania. Since then the authorities have repeatedly tried to return the area to normal, but have met with the opposition not only of the occupants but also of the people of Denmark who, over the years, have come to regard Christiania as an expression of cultural diversity and Danish liberality. Recently, the authorities demanded the demolition of 53 houses, saying they wanted to restore an old city rampart built in the 17th century. "It would be totally crazy to get rid of a tourist attraction that contributes to cultural diversity and attracts people from all over the world. Denmark needs more, not fewer, attractions, unique areas and cultural spaces which contribute to our country's character." (17/01/2006)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Denmark