Alain Jeannet, chief editor of the weekly, voices the fear that a generation war is developing. "It is still in its larval stage and people do not realise, but a situation of war between the old and young is taking hold. It is an awkward term because war has not been declared and it is not between goodies and baddies. But the figures are there. The coming generations know their retirement pensions will be less than what they paid into it. Young people sense their standard of living will be lower than their parents'. In France the current protest over the CPE [labour reform law, 'first employment contract'] is a caricatural expression of this malaise." Jeannet quotes German thinker Frank Schirmacher and author of 'Das Mathusalem Komplott' [The Mathusalem Plot]: "Whatever we do we will live for decades in a society where there is a chronic lack of young people." (07/04/2006)

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"In the last twenty years the situation on the labour market for young people has grown worse and it is understandable they should reject legislation that enshrines job insecurity and declassifies many of them," says sociologist François Dubet in an interview with François Armanet and Gilles Anquetil. Yet he does not believe that a generation war is about to replace the class struggle. "It does not mean the conflict of generations has become central. People who defend their retirement pension often do so unaware that it is at the expense of the young, and they use their situation to help their children and grandchildren. That strengthens ties between generations. And there are many other rifts running through the workplace, particularly between the sexes, people of different cultural background, and those with secure and insecure jobs." (07/04/2006)

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In an speech to the Young Foundation from which the business daily publishes an excerpt, British businessman John Brown recalls that older people are also the victims of discrimination and rejects any idea that pension may drive a wedge between the generations. "The world of work has changed. So has medical science. We live in a different world and we live in that world for much longer. But there is (...) the need for a civilised society to overcome prejudice. Slowly and imperfectly we have stopped judging people simply on the basis of their gender, religion or skin color. As with many forms of prejudice, attitudes to age run very deep. And they are reinforced by a culture in which the word 'young' is snynonymous with vitality and the future, and 'old' is synonymous with the past – the slow and the failed." (07/04/2006)

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Ursula März notes that for a long time now, the lack of children has topped the list of alarmist issues in German society. "It's us, the members of the German middle classes, who are panicking, and on top of everything we have the problem that this is not a genuine, natural panic, but a demographic, theoretical, fabricated panic, so to speak. You could even call it a tautologous panic. Paradoxically, this childless society, or rather the childless social classes, are suffering because they see that basically, they're doing very well without children. They're alarmed because they don't miss what they think they should be missing from an anthropological point of view." (06/04/2006)

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In an interview with Dominique Dunglas the Italian philosopher Marcello Pera argues that the Declaration of Human Rights is in crisis. "To what extent does Europe truly believe in such values? Why does Europe not defend them when they are denied? There is a series of episodes showing that, although Europe claims it promotes universal values, it does nothing to spread them. Worse, there is a relativism in European thinking whereby Human Rights are not universal but linked to our European or Western way of life and different from other kinds of rights in other parts of the world. That also reflects a lack of confidence in our own identity ... Human Rights are not those of the rich, educated Europeans. There can be no ethnocentrism, they are not our privilege." (07/04/2006)

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In a guest commentary for the Lithuanian magazine Naujasis zidinys-Aidai published by the newspaper, Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithania's first president following independence from the Soviet Union, presents two opposing "visions for Europe 2020". "Unfortunately, there are two scenarios: a positive and a negative. The positive one can be described as 'Europe plus'. This would be a genuine Europe constructed in the 21st century and united under a federalist structure based on a stable solidarity between the continent's nation states. It has no problems in its relations with the US." Landsbergis' pessimistic scenario: "Europe's unity has still not been achieved and continues to be the subject of heated discussion... There is racist and religious conflict, and each day we fear a clash of pan-European proportions." (07/04/2006)

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In an interview with Keith Tester, the Polish-British sociologist Zygmunt Bauman seeks to identify Europe's true substance. For him, all the attempts to unite Europe so far have relied "on weapons and slogans. They either failed immediately or were only short-lived. The current experiment is the only exception, as it involves neither violence nor slogans... Europe's 'substance' is bound up with its abundance and diversity of opinions. Europe is primarily a pluralistic culture. This is its strength, and perhaps what makes it special... Europe is the hothouse of universal man. In a wonderful way, it allows its inhabitants to transcend spatial and cultural divides and communicate with each other." (01/03/2006)

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For over 200 years, Belarus has maintained close ties with its Russian neighbour, writes Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian author currently holding a scholarship in Gothenburg. "Russia is neither a geographical area nor a nation, but rather an idea, a state of mind; a never-ending and unfinished project that feeds on myths and creates new myths about itself at the same time. It's difficult to tell what the future will bring, but one thing's for sure: Belarus's future depends on Russia and the course it takes. Those who want to save Belarus must do this by influencing Russia because Belarus is turned towards Russia, not Europe." (07/04/2006)

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"The May 68 generation used to chant power to the imagination. Today power has gone to abuse in politics," writes editorialist Jean-Noël Cuénod after hearing insulting language from Berlusconi, Sarkozy, and Swiss parliamentarian Eric Stauffer. "Gross language is used too systematically for anyone to believe for a second in momentary loss of self-control, in a speakers's tongue running away his thoughts - if indeed he had any. Insult has in fact become a decisive weapon in the tactics of politicians. In this respect it has to be said that the hardline right-wing has built up a lead over the left. ... These offensive utterances clearly reflect the fathomless vacuum of political thought today. When the fight is no longer for ideas but seats, it is only natural to turn to insult in order to express oneself." (07/04/2006)

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Journalist András Szigetvari was looking forward to the Hungarian election campaign, but now he's disappointed: "This could have been the perfect set-up for an election campaign: on the one side the social democratic ruling party, the MSZO, which has joined forces with its liberal coalition partner SZDSZ to prevent the return of Viktor Orbán's Hungarian Civic Union to power. But the problem is that the ideologies of the Hungarian parties have become totally mixed up... Meanwhile, a new feature has emerged: provincialism. The EU has lost its appeal as an election theme – almost as if nothing had happened on May 1, 2004. During Wednesday's TV dual, child benefit and depopulated villages were discussed, but not the European Union. This is likely to change as soon as the EU demands budgetary consolidation and the new government – whatever it may be – has to sell a cuts package to the people." (07/04/2006)

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Arko Olesk looks back to Gerhard Schröder's term as chancellor and looks forward to a rosy future with Angela Merkel: "The change in German politics is remarkable, particularly if you compare Merkel's approach with that of her predecessor. He divided Europe over the war in Iraq, and his friendship with Putin and support of the Baltic gas pipeline project – without consulting Poland or the Baltic States – has cost him the last remnants of his already greatly diminished credibility in this region. As far as Estonian diplomats are concerned, Schröder and Merkel are as different as day and night. More attention is being now paid to the EU's smaller states, and Estonia is also being consulted. It would be premature to say that Estonia is Germany's new darling, but Estonia has certainly found a good friend." (07/04/2006)

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For six months now the national conservative party Law and Justice (PiS) has been governing the country with a varying majority and constantly threatening to call new elections. On April 6, its motion for new elections failed in the Polish parliament. As a result, the PiS is now looking for a steady partner. In an interview with Jaroslaw Murawski, political scientist Wawrzyniec Konarski rules out the possibility of a coalition between the PiS and the liberal right-wing Civic Platform (PO), but says a coalition with the populist right-wing Samoobrona (Self-defence) party would be feasible. Konarski predicts: "If the PiS and Samoobrona are not successful together, there will be new elections this autumn. The PO needs six months to get ready for elections and win them." (07/04/2006)

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Columnist Ronald Plastert pokes fun at the battle for leadership of the Netherlands' ruling party, the centre-right WD, between Mark Rutte and minister for integration, Rita Verdonk. "The television programme NOVA recently broadcast footage edited to juxtapose the language used by Verdonk with that of Pim Fortuyn. The aim was to show that she plagiarised Fortuyn, which soon become very clear. What also emerged was the difference in talent. If people are going to act, then they should at least do it properly! ... If politicians are going to work on their image, fair enough, but they should do it properly. They are so poor that one's toes curl in embarassment." (07/04/2006)

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"We music lovers live in a time of plenty that has made us lazy," writes columnist Dorian Lynskey. "We value music less and less," he adds, arguing that is because music is so easy to obtain. For Lynskey salvation may come from "a small band of devotees who put vast amounts of time and effort into rediscovering those unrecognised records that aren't just a mouse-click away." One such digger is Gareth Goddard, who "will spend hundreds of hours a year scouring charity shops, second-hand record stores and car-boot fairs to find records that have languished, unappreciated, for years." One of his finds was the track 'Faust 72' by French band Dynastie Crisis, which he put on a compilation. It later ended up on the soundtrack of the film 'Ocean's Twelve'. (07/04/2006)

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Daniel Bax portrays Barcelona-based musician Amparo Sanchez and her band, Amparanoia: "Amparo Sanchez is one of the key figures of the so-called Mestizo scene - the musical genre that blends reggae, ska-punk and Latin American sounds and has become hugely popular in Southern Europe and Latin America. So far she is one of the few women who has been able to make a name for herself in this genre. That's why for some people she's the 'queen of Mestizo'." (07/04/2006)

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