For the journalist Sophie Shihab, the Turkish general staff has "no choice but to bow down". "The balance of power has changed to the disadvantage of the Generals, none of whose tactics applied during the crisis appear recyclable. The threatening memorandum published by the army on its website [on April 27th, it threatened to intervene if the state's secularism were endangered] certainly impressed, the Constitutional Court has however since shown that it will hitherto resist any more of this type of manipulation. The mass pro-secular rallies ... that the general staff called, at the risk of enflaming Turkish-Kurd antagonism, were a patent failure. Above all, the Turkish army, whose legitimacy rests on its prestige, which is constantly under the scrutiny of the surveys it commissions, cannot block a candidate that has been virtually elected by plebiscite. The army no longer has the means to prevent the election of Abdullah Gül, current Minister of Foreign affairs as president." (04/08/2007)

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The weekly recalls that "Mr Gül withdrew his candidacy, and Mr Erdogan called early elections, after the constitutional court upheld opposition claims that a first round of balloting for the presidency had been invalid because parliament lacked a quorum. Parliament ... must choose a new president by mid-September, or fresh elections will be held. Mr Gül is campaigning for the top post once again, backed by AK's Islamist rump. Mr Erdogan is in a bind. Endorsing Mr Gül puts his government back on a collision course with the army; General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of general staff, said the army stood by its views (and thus its opposition to Mr Gul) 'with conviction'. Yet, if Mr Erdogan bows to the army's demands, he risks splitting his own party. 'Erdogan can block Gül and lose a few MPs, or back him and lose power altogether,' says a seasoned Turkey-watcher. That is, unless Mr Gul bows out." (02/08/2007)

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Wolfgang Günter Lerch traces Turkey's development since the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. According to Lerch, the country has completed two phases of development. A third phase began in 2001 with the foundation of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and in his view could become the era of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "He represents the group that emerged with Turgat Özal: an elite with a religious background but in the process of modernisation. We have taken to referring to them as 'black Turks' to distinguish them from the traditional Kemalist elite, the 'white Turks'. If the AKP's success story continues and Erdogan moves cleverly over the next few years, avoiding challenging or offending the other camp, he may gradually manage to have genuine secularisation take the place of today's government-prescribed, often artificial-looking one. This would reconcile Turkey with itself." (06/08/2007)

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Political scientist Benedict Anderson, interviewed by Isolde Charim, talks about the global phenomenon of diasporas. Anderson points out that with it, a new form of nationalism is emerging: "Today we have the long-distance nationalism of those who live in other countries and don't feel they are members of a fully accepted minority in their host nations. They often try to compensate with an exaggerated sense of pride for the country they come from. Mass communication has made this much easier than it once was. People can listen to the radio stations of their home countries, watch DVDs, make telephone calls home, use cheap flights to visit regularly and so on... These people often want to participate in the politics of their countries of origin but don't have to obey the laws or pay the taxes. In a way they're free agents. People who engage in long-distance politics don't have to assume responsibility for its consequences." (06/08/2007)

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French essayist Jacques Attali deciphers the castigation doped athletes are subjected to. "Since Homo Sapiens Sapiens supplanted his rivals (the other hominids), his physique has stopped evolving. ... He is reluctant to authorise research that could lead to the improvement of limb performance and especially the creation of prothesis-men or projecting-men specialised in throwing objects. All research aimed at improving intellectual and artistic capacities is however endlessly encouraged. ... Thus Man seeks to maintain his past physical reality whilst admitting that his future lies in becoming an intellectual artefact. It is as if he believes that his reality is anchored only in his natural dimension; as if effort were the last sanctuary of primitive humanity. As if sport were the last safety net, the ultimate archiving for human purity, soon to be carried off by the fascinating tsunami of our own excessiveness." (01/08/2007)

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Russia has laid claim to the North Pole seabed, which is rich in natural reserves. During an Arctic mission, two Russian mini submarines planted a Russian flag on the Arctic seabed over four kilometres beneath the North Pole. The newspaper reflects on the future exploitation of the Arctic Ocean: "The investments this heroic industrial project would entail and the technological challenges it presents are huge. The time and money would be better spent on switching to renewable energies. ... Melting glaciers and icebergs have become a symbol of the enormous destructive forces set in motion by industrial capitalism. When the race for energy reaches the Artic - it won't be long before an American flag is planted on the seabed too - the picture of madness will be complete. The hunger for profit is now making itself felt under the melting ice." (04/08/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Russia, » Global

Czech political expert Jirí Pehe laments the fact that young Czechs with a critical attitude are quickly labelled anti-American. "As a result of the dominance of the US, many young people instinctively associate the negative aspects of current developments with the failures of American policies. The younger generations experienced neither communism nor the bipolar world, but they're seeking a new world order in which the US plays a more constructive role than it does now. It's unfortunate that this is being described as anti-Americanism. ... Many young people doubt the project [of setting up a US missile defence system in the country] will contribute to improving the world order because they didn't grow up in the times of the Cold War. This has nothing to do with irrational opposition to America." (06/08/2007)

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Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom recently prevented former Foreign Minister Gyula Horn from being awarded the nation's most prestigious honour. This has reignited the debate about Horn's contribution to the system change in 1989 and above all about his role in the communist regime and during the 1956 uprising in Hungary. Horn took part in the crushing of the uprising as a member of the so-called "padded jacket brigade". Bjarne Nitovuori comments from a Finnish perspective: "It was Horn who in his capacity as Foreign Minister together with his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock cut through the barbed wire between the two countries on 27 June 1989. According to the myth prevalent in the West, this facilitated the escape of thousands of Eastern Germans, which in turn led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. ... One should not forget that the transition from a one-party system to a democracy would not have been as peaceful without the support of reforming communists like Horn. Hungary and Poland are examples of a revolution which was achieved at the negotiating table." (06/08/2007)

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Latvia is the sixth EU member state to have filed a law suit against the European Commission to contest the European system of exchanging quotas of greenhouse gas emissions (ETS, the Emissions Trading Scheme). Thus it is joining Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Estonia. "These countries consider it discriminatory to have enforced upon them limits that were not imposed on other western countries when they were developing", explains the daily. "The EU, as was decided at the last G8 summit in Germany, wants to lead the struggle against global warming. It wants to convince the big polluters, like the United States ... or China to adopt constraining resolutions to slow down global warming. But Europe's authority may well suffer from the fact that some of its members are using arguments similar to those used by developing countries elsewhere on the planet to refuse resolutions for the reduction of pollutant gases." (06/08/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Northern Europe

The daily comments on a new law on immigration in Portugal according to which immigrant entrepreneurs will automatically be entitled to residency papers. "What the law considers 'immigrant entrepreneurs' is misleading. ... A Chinese immigrant who opens up a shop will not be entitled to regularisation. The intention behind the law is to attract big companies who wish to invest in Portugal and already have funds or bank credit. ... It excludes all those declared as 'public works entrepreneurs', which is how most immigrants entering Portugal are classified. It is interesting to note that this law is also bringing us closer to countries that have managed to benefit from foreign energy to develop themselves. The United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom and France were all built with this kind of energy." (03/08/2007)

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Gabriele Detterer reports on the scandal involving an "Arte e Omosessualita" exhibition in Milan. "Around 150 works of art showing how the fine arts deal with the subject of homosexuality were to go on show in the Palazzo della Ragione [in Milan]." But Detterer explains that the exhibition, which was organised by the city's head of cultural affairs, just opened a few hours before being cancelled after Milan's conservative mayor Letizia Moratti exercised her right of veto against three exhibits. "'Miss Kitty' is the title of the piece that triggered the scandal. This sculpture depicts a half-naked transsexual with more than a passing resemblance to Pope Benedict. According to the mayor its creator Paolo Schmidlin overstepped the limits of the ethically acceptable. The scandal that erupted on the eve of the opening, turning the show into a 'Mostra delle Vergogne', is a clear indication that without political consensus Milan's cultural policy is careering out of control." (03/08/2007)

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In an interview with Ketty Aredia, the composer Goran Bregovic, who has just given several concerts in Italy with his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, discusses one of his works, 'Karmen with a Happy Ending'. "There is a tendency to consider gypsies as humanity's dustbin. I tried to save the gypsy soul and its taste for freedom by giving it a happy ending. ... My Karmen, as opposed to Bizet's, ends with a big marriage, because life is too heavy a suitcase to be carried single-handed. ... I want my work to be really popular and open. And with this in mind I intend to post my musical scores on my website, so that all orchestras can use them if they wish." (04/08/2007)

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The Polish University of Lodz is opening an outlet in London to offer degree courses in Polish to the Poles who have moved to Britain since their country entered the EU.The daily welcomes this initiative. "The Polish impact has been multiple and varied. It has led to notably higher attendances for the (Roman Catholic) Church, some much needed competition in the home improvement sector, and an explosion in bars, delis and clubs which serve the particular but enticing tastes of those from Warsaw and Gdansk. There has been a boom in Polish-language newspapers with an encouraging revival in the use of the letters k and z. ... Portugal might be Britain's oldest ally but Poland is a distinctly natural partner as well. The University of Lodz will doubtless do brisk business in the capital. It is doubtful, though, that it will be swamped by applicants born and bred in Britain who are confident enough to embark upon a degree in Polish." (06/08/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » United Kingdom, » Poland

Catalan nationalists have dismantled an advertising board in the shape of a black bull in order to "humiliate" and destroy this well known Spanish symbol. In a press release, an organisation called 'The black Flag' protests against this 'Horned Spanish filth', which according to it, sullies the 'sacred' mountain of Montserrat, in Catalonia. "Fanatics always end up finding a Buddha to blow-up", deplores Carlos Colón. "The Islamist fanatics blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas [Afghanistan 2001] - World Heritage - to prevent the worshiping of 'false idols'. Nationalist fanaticism is a modern substitute for religious fanaticism. It acts by making sacred the union of territory, race and culture. ... Unfortunately for us, Spain is the last place in Europe to experience this type of fanaticism." (06/08/2007)

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An Esperanto congress that recently took place in Slovenia prompts Vinko Oslak to reflect on the languages of the EU: "Today there are around 6,000 languages worldwide. The EU has 23 official languages, for which 300 translations are necessary. This accounts for 30 percent of the EU's total administration costs. In concrete figures that adds up to just under a billion euros. However that billion euros guarantees the equality of all EU languages only on paper. In linguistic reality we have a situation similar to that under the Hapsburg Empire, where German was the dominant language. In the EU English is the dominant language today." (03/08/2007)

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