The business daily publishes a long analysis by journalist Tony Barber. He argues that the Prodi vs. Berlusconi match only fuels long-standing divisions without offering any solution to the country's most urgent problems. "What is most striking about the two sides' programmes is the number of questions left unaddressed - above all, how to raise Italy's productivity and restore its international business competitiveness. ... The ambiguities and lacunae in each camp's electoral programme also reflect their uncertain identities, as broad coalitions of distinct and sometimes clashing political interests. At the same time, the fragmented nature of the two coalitions reflects various cultural and historical tensions in Italian society : left against right, north against south, Catholic against secular, rich against less well-off, city against country." (04/04/2006)

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Political journalist Curzio Maltese examines how the two candidates performed in their television debate on Monday. "After a shaky start, diesel-engined Prodi eventually won this second show-down more emphatically than the first. Berlusconi played his part. ... The duel confirmed that he is a great communicator worthy of the Wild West. ... Otherwise, he snivelled for one-and-a-half hours about his allies, malevolent ennemies, and the economic situation over the years. ... The abolition of local taxes [which he proposed at the end of the debate, so ruling out any reply from Prodi] was a trip down memory lane to the Berlusconian dream of 2001. It was a last-ditch attempt to revive his chances in a match he felt he was losing." (04/04/2006)

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Per Nyholm portrays the two opponents in the Italian elections. In any other country Romano Prodi would win easily, he imputes. But Italy is Italy and functions according to its own rules: "They're both authentic characters, both are very Italian... Prodi is the slightly confused academic, a famous economist who rides a bicycle and is a little too honest; a little too boring; not exactly what you would call a vote catcher. Berlusconi is the opposite. He's a great performer – elegant, superficial, witty, incisive – a little too Italian as far as Italy's neighbours are concerned. He compares himself to Churchill, Napoleon and Jesus... Prodi is clever and earnest – you love him, but you don't admire him. Berlusconi is the advertising man, the TV man, always manipulating – you admire him, but you don't love him." (04/04/2006)

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Hans Raucher is appalled that Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel wished Silvio Berlusconi "all the best, dear Silvio" in the election campaign. "Berlusconi is a bad European because he doesn't care about Europe but is only out for his own interests. If he is re-elected, it will be a disaster for Italy, which is already tottering on the edge of democracy, and also for Europe because it would set a bad example. What could possibly have induced Schüssel to give this dangerous charlatan such a warm-hearted recommendation in the election campaign? It's all the more shocking if you take into account that most other Christian Democratic parties are giving Berlusconi the cold shoulder in view of the fact that his rival Romano Prodi is an upright left-wing Catholic who's succeeded in repairing Italy's finances and getting the country ready for the euro." (04/04/2006)

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"If Berlusconi loses, the Italian Left will collapse like a house of cards," Piotr Kowalczuk predicts. "Prodi's coalition is a melting pot of parties and groups that have only one thing in common: their hatred for Berlusconi. When there is no one left to scare voters, a war will break out. Prodi's coalition is an unbelievable mélange of Chrisitan Democrats, reformed and non-reformed communists, anti-globalisation activists, liberals and anarchists... If Prodi wins, Italy will inevitably swing to the left, weaken its ties with the US and strengthen its ties with France and Germany. And its friendship with Putin's Russian will continue to flourish, because the Italian Left's love for Russia is programmed into its genes." (04/04/2006)

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Editorialist Fedele Mendicino notes that the candidates have overlooked the mafia as a campaign issue. "There are the regular subjects: taxes, jobs, growth. Plus some some murkier ones like the impending come-back of Stalinism and the death of the Italian race at the hands of homosexuals in league with illegal Chinese immigrants. More demagogic than pragmatic, the campaign for the Italian parliamentary elections on Sunday has cast its net wide. (...) What do the politicians propose? Not much. Berlusconi still promises gigantic civil engineering works, like the bridge over the Straits of Messina joining Sicily and Calabria. Yet he knows that unless there is close state surveillance, the contracts will go to companies controlled by the mafia. (...) Lack of courage, possibly because local politicans and the mafia are in cahoots, explains the mafia's absence from debate in the campaign." (04/04/2006)

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Disappointed with the lack of Western support for the opposition in Belarus, Polish author Andrzej Stasiuk harshly criticises Western Europeans for their indifference towards the EU aspirations of Eastern Europeans: "What has Europe to gain from Belarus? (is there really such a place, anyway?) Why does it need Ukraine, that traitor who accepted the world's expressions of solidarity, blankets, sleeping bags and TV reporters and yet for a year – a whole year! – has made no attempt to make itself more like Luxembourg. Considering the mountains of sleeping bags and all the camera teams you would at least expect Ukraine to try. What has Europe to gain from Bosnia-Herzegovina? They just want to split up again anyway. And what good can Serbia do us with its complicated alphabet and its inborn thirst for blood? The mere thought of it... The true Europeans are those who uphold European values and know how to fight for them – those willing to sacrifice their own lives and freedom for those values. If it's something else that makes a European a European, then we can forget the old Continent." (04/04/2006)

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Hungarian author Peter Nadas questions in an essay whether it's at all possible to do responsible journalistic reporting under a dictatorship, and analyses among other examples reports filed out of Nazi Germany by American journalist William L. Shirer, who used ambiguous wording to fool censors: "Every sentence with a double meaning is a triumph, a joy for the human mind which has once again succeeded in deceiving the police state. Yet it's still not clear how far a foreign correspondent should go with this dodging game, how long it makes sense to exercise oneself in inventiveness and at which point this turns into an irresponsible behaviour. Take someone in Boston sitting in his kitchen, pouring sweet maple syrup over sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs. Do they understand from such ambiguous sentences how deformed the thoughts and actions of someone can become who for years has used their mother tongue for hiding thoughts rather than for expressing them? How meaning slips around in the shadow of words, hissing through the gaps in their definitions?" (31/03/2006)

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Jurek Kuczkiewicz looks back at Jacques Chirac's walk-out at the EU summit meeting in Brussels on March 23 because a fellow Frenchman spoke English. "The incident was glaringly futile compared to the problems currently besetting France," admonishes the editorialist in a reference to the turmoil over the youth labour law, the CPE. "The pointlessness is disturbing from both the strictly French and European viewpoints. ... Francophobes now have a slightly richer storehouse of anti-French clichés, but like it or not, the European engine cannot restart without the French engine. For six months in 1965 General de Gaulle leaned heavily on the EEC with his 'empty chair policy'. Forty years on Chirac...has dozed off in his 'empty policy chair'. (04/04/2006)

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One year ago Jörg Haider left the FPÖ to form his own party, the BZÖ. According to Andreas Wölzer, this strategy hasn't brought him any closer to his goals. The BZÖ, Wölzer says, has "not been able to take the lead in any of the major issues, with the exception of the anti-issue 'Tempo 160' and the regional debate on bilingual signposts in the Austrian province of Südkärnten. The orange Justice Minister attempted to pose as a champion for same-sex marriages and the orange Minister of Social Services portrays herself as a fan of the multicultural society by attending Turkish barbecues. Yet despite the fact that Haider has been pampered by the media – especially the newspapers owned by the 'News' publishing group and the pro-government newspapers, he just doesn't seem able to boost his credibility and with it his popularity." (04/04/2006)

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A group of former politicians, who include the ex-leaders of five political parties from the far left to Protestant fundamentalists, have come together to condemn the government's immigration policy and the xenophobia that currently prevails in Dutch society. "The confidence and open-mindedness of the Dutch have given way to despair and laments over a 'neglected nationalism' and 'lost identity'. International regard for the Dutch model, seen as uniquely tolerant and based on concerted action, has crumbled. There is now amazement at the sight of a polarised society [pitting people of Dutch stock against those of immigrant descent] where social interaction has hardened. The Netherlands has lost its innocence, its sense of respect, and its status as a role model. How have we come to this pass?" (04/04/2006)

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Columnist Teresa de Sousa believes that one of Portugal's major problems is its waste of EU funds. "The way we use the next batch of European funds will be decisive...if we are to revive the Portuguese economy's development model and not drift away from Europe as we have been doing for five years. ... Taking the example of total expenditure on education, we see an obviously high level of waste. According to the OECD, Portugal devoted 5.9% of its GDP to education, compared to Spain's 4.9%, France's 6%, and 7.3% in the US. The conclusion is that public services are dreadfully inefficient, not because they lack resources, but because they are not rational or efficient, and do not set objectives." (04/04/2006)

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Kai Luehrs-Kaiser is deeply impressed by the young conductor Kirill Petrenko, who has achieved fame at Berlin's Komische Oper. "A pessimist in the limelight ... This star conductor, who is only around 1.6 metres tall and whom nobody had heard of four years ago, can barely peek his bearded head over the orchestra balustrade. Yet within four years he has achieved a position in which he can hold his own with the likes of Daniel Barenboim. Born in 1972 in the western Siberian town of Omsk as the son of a concertmaster and a programme announcer, this man has set a new trend in the Maestro business. Petrenko is giving the Maestros lessons in modesty. He has self-doubts like Woody Allen, and all the charisma of a ginseng root. Sitting at his desk in the conductor's room, he looks like a discontented exam candidate. 'I want to do it too perfectly,' he says summing up the tragedy of his insecurities." (04/04/2006)

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The conductor and musician Daniel Barenboim is particularly famous for his commitment to promoting peace in the Middle East through classical music. He is delivering this year's Reith lectures on the BBC. Columnist Thomas Sutcliffe says that Barenboim's first lecture is more akin preaching than teaching. "Barenboim, a believer in the power of music to instruct us about life, rather than just distract us from it, is not so much giving lectures as delivering sermons. And the people best placed to judge the success of his entreprise are not going to be musicologists or neuroscientists but students of homiletics. Sutcliffe nevertheless urges us to lend an ear: "But either way you'll propably find yourself succombing to the charisma of the priest - the gnomic elusiveness of his aphorisms, the wit with which he sidesteps awkward paradoxes. He's as much guru as maestro." (04/04/2006)

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The legendary Herbert collection is currently on show at Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art, MACBA. Journaliste Guy Duplat stresses just how important the event is. "There is not enough room in the 2,500 square meters of temporary exhibit space [designed by US architect Richard Meier] for the complete collection amassed by Anton Herbert. This Belgian art enthusiast with the very self-styled look is regarded as a key figure in contemporary European art. He is an absolute benchmark for avant-garde collectors. ... What is striking about his unspectacular, intellectual, and elitist collection is the rigour behind it and how it mirrors a whole period of contemporary art. As much as the works themselves the show is about the collector's guiding principles and his aesthetic and intellectual explorations." (04/04/2006)

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Estonia is well positioned in the competition between ferry companies operating on the Baltic Sea. An accident – a passenger on a ferry belonging to Estonian ferry operator "Tallink" fell overboard during a crossing between Tallinn and Stockholm – has led to a dispute between the countries on the Baltic. Swedish newspapers criticise the ferry for not stopping after the accident was reported. The Estonian ferry operator defends its actions. Urmo Soonvald suspects that vested interests are involved in the row. "Tallink has long been a major player on the Baltic. The Riga-Stockholm line is due to start operating the day after tomorrow, and Tallink plans to acquire Finnish operator Silja... The Estonian company's success is a thorn in the Swedes' side. They make a big scandal about any accident in which the Estonian company is involved, while anything negative on the Swedish and Finnish side is covered up." (04/04/2006)

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The world-famous auctioneers Christie's agreed on Tuesday March 4 to suspend the sale of five carved wooden beams from the Great Mosque of Cordoba. One of the most greatest examples of Umayyad architecture (785-987), the mosque was converted into a cathedral in 1236. "The cathedral's chapter argues that it is the rightful owner of the beams and that they cannot therefore be auctioned," writes the paper. "It has agreed to compensate the current owner of the beams, if it can be proved he/she acquired them in good faith and that he/she will lose money if the auction is stopped. Christie's says it has postponed the auction only in order to start talks, whereas the mosque's chapter hopes to buy back the pieces." The Spanish government has asked for the auction to be suspended, and ordered the police to investigate the provenance of the beams. (04/04/2006)

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