The editorialist Yves Desmet considers that "the tendency in the Flanders region is clearly more rooted in the right [than in French-speaking Belgium]. Not so much through the presence of Vlaams Belang [Flemish far-right party] that is in recession. Even in the big towns, that party is in recession compared to 2003. This is already the second time that a magical rise has been cut short. One factor that explains this is the appeal of Jean-Marie Dedecker, who pulled off an electoral exploit following the Dutch example [of the Geert Wilders populist party], representing the capricious voters. 'The deep Flanders region' is hoisting its flag. We are paying them all due attention, but not without first saluting a government and Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, that have been far from the worst this country has known." (11/06/2007)

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The editorialist Laurent Moyse notes that in the light of polls leading up to the election "there was no big surprise, apart, perhaps, from the decline of the Flemish socialist votes, that was stronger than expected. In view of the loss of liberals and in keeping with predictions, it seems unlikely that there will be a renewal of the coalition in power composed of socialists of the sp.a/spirit party and the Socialist party on one side and the Open VLD and the MR [reform movement] on the other. Thus a change of government is on the agenda, though it remains to be seen which. Yves Leterme, figure-head of the Flemish christian-democrats whose party [CDV,The Flemish Christian Democrat Party] has managed to win over one in three voters in the North of the country, is in a good position to be entrusted with the mission of forming the next team in power." (11/06/2007)

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Cornelia Bolesch writes that despite the swerve to the right in its parliamentary elections Belgium is still a model state within Europe. "Why ? Because Europe has no cause to tremble every time Belgium holds its general elections. Because regardless of what the new government in Belgium will look like, it will consist of committed Europeans. Because the Belgian parliament voted in favour of the constitutional treaty with an overwhelming majority. Because both in Flanders and in Wallonia Europe is a fixed concept that is not continually called into question. Because Europe not only takes up a large part of the agenda of most parties, but is also the focus of constructive ideas. And because Belgium's complex internal structure never posed an obstacle to the development of the European Union. (11/06/2007)

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According to Regina Pöll, the results of the elections in Belgium will deepen the division within the country. She predicts that Yves leterme, current prime minister of the region of Flanders and tipped to become the new prime minister of the country, will take more decisive steps in strengthening the autonomy of the two regions than his predecessors. "This will be a thorn in the side of the Francophones of the much poorer southern region of Wallonia, which until now has benefited from the economically more advanced region of Flanders. Separatist tendencies will be reinforced by a series of factors. As well as the Christian Democrats, the separatist Flemish splinter party N-VA also forms part of Leterme's electoral alliance. And the far-right nationalist Vlaams Belang, formerly Vlams Blok, has now become the second-largest force in Flanders in national elections." (11/06/2007)

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The Italian film maker Bernardo Bertolucci deplores how the standard of culture in Italy has dropped and observes how politicians of all persuasions are neglecting this sector. "In all the speeches delivered by the politicians I was preparing to vote for a year ago [in the Italian legislative elections], I never once heard the word 'culture' pronounced. Did they merely forget it? Under estimate it? Or just let it go? I wonder for example why it isn't possible to create a television channel in Italy like Arte, [the Franco/German channel] that sees its viewing figures constantly increase, a channel, that is, that promotes current cultural events and a certain social intelligence. ... I am not thriving off the honey of nostalgia and illusion. We have to join forces and together seek the means to render our creative ground more fertile. But what to do? I don't know." (11/06/2007)

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Ágnes Heller, a philosopher from Hungary and professor emeritus at the New School for Social Research in New York, says democratic deficits are to blame for the present atmosphere of political crisis in Central and Eastern Europe: "The former semi colonies of the Soviet Union, which today are young democracies, are not paying sufficient attention to the rules of democracy. Each of them is battling with its own specific problems but they all have one thing in common. The politicians in these countries have no experience with the politics of democracy. Being a politician is a profession in the same way that being a doctor is. Professional competence plays a key role in addition to intuition. You wouldn't usually allow a second year medical student to perform an operation involving complex brain surgery, but this is exactly what is happening in politics. It's not the politicians' fault that they are having to acquire the necessary skills on the job. But it is their fault that they won't admit to it and always present themselves as all-knowing." (11/06/2007)

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Asked by Philippe Delaroche about the role of writers facing global warming, the French author Erik Orsenna considers that they have "More than a role, a duty, in so far as a writer's purpose is to create better understanding of both humans and the world they live in. Writers have more time, are more general in their approach. Specialists belong to the category of people who don't have time. Writers have what is termed 'general culture'. They are preoccupied with the Earth they live on. If not, they aren't very honest and are passing on an insufferable Earth to their children. Part of their mission is to involve themselves with the planet. It is up to them to spread and develop knowledge: 'the job of living' as Cesare Pavese put it, is also 'the job of the Earth'. My heart is set on understanding the human species, on knowing what the Earth is and how to stop it from becoming unbearable. ... Writing in an ivory tower is not my way of life." (01/06/2007)

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Laurent Joffrin, director of the daily, comments on the large victory of the right (39,5 % of votes) in the first round of the French legislative elections on Sunday, June 10th. The vote was marked by record abstention. "Almost 40 % of voters didn't consider it worthwhile to go out of their way. The blue wave wasn't accompanied by a civic victory this time. Some were self-assured, others resigned, all stayed at home. There are six days of campaign left to balance out the situation a bit [before the second round]. Abstention is the worst possible attitude to adopt in the light of the future we are faced with. Provided, that is, the left is prepared to put up a fight. It is being said that the country has swung massively to the right. Nothing could be less certain since 47 % of the voters supported the left in a difficult battle [in the presidential elections] and the harshness of the liberal system will not fail to give new arguments to a modern and social opposition." (11/06/2007)

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Lotta Fogde calls for a clear separation between centralised EU powers and those of the individual member states. She accuses the Swedish government of failing to support an EU constitution based on this model. "There is a high level of acceptance of a powerful EU that intervenes in all areas. No one in government is questioning the move to abolish the member states' power of veto. No one opposes the handing over of increased powers to the European Parliament. Sweden has taken on the role of the lapdog and is putting Angela Merkel's timetable above the contents of the constitution. Perhaps they believe this will qualify them for the hard core of the EU. This is a mistake that will have far-reaching repercussions." (11/06/2007)

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The American president George Bush paid a visit to Albania on Sunday, June 10th. He expressed his desire for the United Nations to swiftly grant independence to the Serbian province of Kosovo which has a population that is 90% Albanian. He added that if Russia persists in opposing this, western countries will act accordingly. The daily considers that "Bush's words have not fallen at the most opportune of moments. ... Moscow does not want to create a precedent for secessionist territories within it's sphere of influence ... . But Russia is not the only country that believes independence for Kosovo will in effect open up a whole can of worms. Slovakia and Romania both have strong Hungarian minorities within which radicals urging for the modification of borders are carrying more and more weight. In interviews, Putin also likes to refer to the cases of Catalonia and the Basque country that would benefit from trend-setting in Kosovo." (11/06/2007)

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Was the G8 summit in Heiligendamm really a success ? asks Uwe Vorkötter: "In terms of international diplomacy there's no doubt it was. In this respect it's notable that George W. Bush is no longer brushing off the Europeans' goal of a long-term reduction in greenhouse gases, as he has done over the past six years. From this perspective it's a success that the United Nations was even mentioned in the closing statement and that the respective ministers will have some kind of briefing for negotiations for their next conference in the autumn in Bali. This is the way international diplomacy works - slowly, painstakingly, one tiny step at a time." (11/06/2007)

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The daily considers that Gordon Brown has a funny way of showing that he is as pro-European as he claims to be. "Under Tony Blair, the Downing Street adviser on Europe has always been a senior Foreign Office diplomat. ... Last week Mr Brown took the No 10 Europe job away from the Foreign Office and gave it instead to a senior Treasury official, Jon Cunliffe. Mr Cunliffe's appointment is a resonant act. It reminds us that Mr Brown dislikes the Foreign Office. It confirms that he prefers to surround himself with people he knows. ... Putting a senior man from Whitehall's most consistently anti-European department, whose CV includes a key role in Mr Brown's anti-single currency campaign, in charge of Europe policy sends a signal that would be perverse to ignore. It tells the watchers that the new prime minister intends to play Europe as a pre-eminently economic rather than political issue." (11/06/2007)

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Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Latvia agreed last year on a joint venture to build a new nuclear power station in Lithuania to take the place of the Ignalina power station, which is soon to be shut down. Initially the plan was hailed as an important step towards reducing energy dependence on Russia, but scepticism is growing in Latvia. Juris Paiders calculates that Latvia's part in the project is continually shrinking, while Lithuania is the main beneficiary of the flow of investments in its infrastructure. "Perhaps Latvia should invest the billions of euros here, in our own country, instead. All the funds we are sending to Lithuania are boosting its economic growth and reducing ours, and if the differences in opinion regarding the project continue to grow, Latvia should waste no time in looking for an alternative. Unfortunately, there is real cause for concern. It would be much safer to continue modernising the thermal power station in Riga which has already begun." (11/06/2007)

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Following a trip to Poland the Hungarian writer Péter Esterházy concludes that Polish politicians are unacceptable, but in other respects the country is in much better shape than Hungary. "I was pleasantly surprised by the vitality of the intellectual life and the non-political spheres of society there. In Poland I witnessed a colourful world, independent of party politics. In Poland I met people who are intellectuals in the truest sense of the word. I have never met so many competent journalists, some of them very young. Warsaw is making wonderful progress. And in Poland there are even liberal intellectuals among the Catholics ! (This phenomenon is inconceivable for Hungarians)... Perhaps if I didn't come from Hungary five days in Hungary would be just as fantastic?" (11/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Péter Esterházy

In an interview the Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska tells film critic Tadeusz Sobolewski why she gave German actress Julia Jentsch the leading role in her new film "33 Scenes from Life", which was made in Poland: "Why should we let language limit our choices ? Thanks to the European actors the film has a chance to attract foreign audiences... For me the main thing is that our film receives as much attention as possible, so why should one barricade oneself off with borders, language or nationalities ? People talk of Polish cinema - we make Polish cinema, they say, and they like it to be about our heroic history and our suffering. But I want Poland to be seen as part of Europe and not as a strange, exotic country. We come closer to this idea with a film in which Polish actors act alongside German and Danish actors." (11/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Tadeusz Sobolewski, » Malgorzata Szumowska

The journalist Ricardo Tavares reacts to the appeal launched last week by the Portuguese association Republica e Laicidade (Republic and Secular State) in which it demands the withdrawal of crucifixes and images of saints from public health establishments. "Portuguese society is profoundly catholic and this is why it should demonstrate tolerance, accepting the idea that State hospitals, which are secular [according to article 41 of the Portuguese Constitution], should take the crucifixes off their walls. What the State, which is secular, cannot and should not allow is bad treatment and long waiting lists inflicted on the sick, whether catholic or not. Those are crosses that no Portuguese person should have to bear." (10/06/2007)

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Although the ban on homosexuality in Romania was lifted in 2001, it's still a taboo subject. During a gay parade which took place last Saturday right-wing extremist youths threw stones at the participants and chanted: "Romania is not a gay nation". Emilian Isaila comments on Romania's homophobia. "It's nothing new that we are a nation that has problems with its minorities, from the president to the last football player. But why is it that each year the gay parade causes a scandal ? This parade brings out all our social prejudices. Romania is a homophobic country and it will be a long time before this attitude disappears." (11/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Emilian Isaila