"We thought the matter had been cleared up for good. Then the ÖVP gave 95-year-old Otto Habsburg the opportunity to talk dangerous rubbish in parliament (!) to commemorate 1938," Hans Rauscher sums up yesterday's commemorations marking Austria's annexation. "Naturally the Austrians were partly to blame for the annexation. Among other things, because although the state leadership back then fought against the Nazis, it used weapons that guaranteed defeat. The 'great patriot' Dollfuß (Habsburg) destroyed the democracy and social democracy he would have needed to put up effective resistance. [Ex Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang] Schüssel corrected Habsburg after his speech, but Habsburger's playing down of the crimes ... which were greeted with laughter and wild applause by the ÖVP audience, shows how little has really been clarified." (12/03/2008)

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"Austria, since the end of the Second World War, continues to have the hardest time coming to terms with this dark period of its history. [For the commemoration of the Anschluss], however, the Austrian government has really tried to put an emphasis on the 'repentance' of a people for their active collaboration with the 3rd Reich, and the elimination of their elites. Despite these good intentions, the heart, apparently, is lacking", writes Maurin Picard, Vienna correspondent for the paper. "Is this because '60% of Austrians didn't live through the war' as Vienna's mayor Michael Haupl claims? Or because bringing up those hard times is still difficult for most people? ... For Austrian authorities, regularly accused of dragging their heels in paying reparations to Nazism's victims, and of letting known war criminals live in peace, the road to 'repentance' is still a long one." (12/03/2008)

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Michael Frank claims Austria has gained a new sense of self-confidence that enables it to deal better with its past: "The emotional process of Austria coming to respect itself as a nation was only completed a short time ago. Two further elements sustain the new self-confidence of what is today an illustrious little republic. Its immense economic success, the concept of Austria as a small, exquisite delicatessen among mass discounters, has propelled the country to the top of the list of rich countries. It has EU membership to thank for this. Strangely, unified Europe has a bad reputation with the Austrians, even though it's thanks to Europe that they can hold their own with anyone in the world today. ... Thanks to that Community of Equals, that toxic issue, the German question, has evaporated, and with it Austria's feelings of being too small and weak. It no longer needs its big brother - neither as a role model nor as a bogeyman." (12/03/2008)

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In Hungary, a referendum held last Sunday in which government reforms of the health and education systems were rejected is being described as a step backwards. Economist Peter Bauer is even more pessimistic. He sees the referendum as a consequence of the populism of the last decade: "Until now we thought we were living in a parliamentary democracy, but we must have been mistaken. The voters can reverse decisions made by the parliament they themselves elected whenever they come at a price. ... The referendum is not only a step backwards: we've lost an entire decade and also the hope of creating a more pragmatic and just country in the near future. The opposition has managed to generate such intense feelings of anti-capitalism and anti-competition and revive the idea of the strong state that takes care of anything, that now Hungary cannot fail to lag behind other countries in the region." (11/03/2008)

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Following the recent parliamentary elections, Rodric Braithwaite, the former British Ambassador to Russia, asks whether Russia will ever be democratic. "Many people argue that the Russians have no democratic tradition, that they prefer the iron hand of the autocrat, that the place is too big, too heterogeneous and too disorderly to be ruled any other way. Vladimir Putin is more subtle: he believes that the Russians are not yet ready for democracy, that they need to be brought to it by a managed process ... To argue that [Russians] cannot go on to construct their own version of democracy is a kind of racism. It may take decades, even generations; the construction of democracy always does. ... [This position is] blissfully ignored by our policymakers who, like latter-day Christian missionaries, believe that we have a duty to spread the gospel of democracy, if necessary by military force (for which they are unwilling to pay). Not only Russians find that proposition distinctly suspect." (12/03/2008)

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Several Romanian government representatives are suspected of corruption. The constitutional court has now ruled that investigations against ministers and parliamentarians require parliamentary approval. Robert Turcescu is appalled: "This means that the investigations against [former Prime Minister] Adrian Nastase or [former Minister for Economic Affairs] Codrut Seres or [ex-Minister of Transport] Miron Mitrea or [current Labour Minister] Paul Pacuraru require a vote by MPs and senators. Here's a question: take the current parliament everything revolves around alliances between the social democrats (PSD) and the conservatives (PC) or at the moment around the coalition talks between the PSD and the liberals (PNL). These are the parties the suspects come from. When do you think they will vote in favour of criminal prosecution? Correct: never! The truth is we've gone back to where we began. The constitutional court is sending us back to the days when the parliamentarians were demi-gods." (12/03/2008)

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The Czechs are looking enviously to Poland, whose prime minister, Donald Tusk, has persuaded US President George W. Bush to promise long-term aid to modernise the Polish army in return for Poland's participation in the controversial US missile defence shield programme. The Czech Republic, on the other hand, will have to make do with economic and technological cooperation with the Americans in return for allowing the US to set up a radar base on its territory. Peter Morvay puts things in perspective: "Czech critics can accuse Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek of not driving a hard bargain, but the positions of the two countries are different: Poland lies on NATO's outer border and has historically-based fears regarding Russia. The Czech Republic, on the other hand, is not under threat from any of its neighbours, and for the Americans the Polish army was always more interesting than the Czech army anyway. Yet in the long term, cooperation with the Americans could be worth more for the Czech Republic than a guarantee of security that the country doesn't even need." (12/03/2008)

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Italian businessman Giuseppe Ciarrapico, owner of several newspapers, is a senatorial candidate for Silvio Berlusconi's party in the upcoming elections on April 13 and 14. He openly describes himself as a 'cultural fascist'. Massimo Franco comments on an interview that has caused a stir in Italy. "On March 11th, the maverick was forced to admit that he still celebrates liberation day on April 25 [the anniversary of the fall of Mussolini, in 1945]. This shows what a mess Berlusconi has gotten himself into by wanting to win the elections at any price. ... This polemic could have an unforeseen effect: the image Berlusconi's party gives the international community, starting with the European Union, isn't the one of a conservative force, but of a muddled populist front." (12/03/2008)

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Spain commemorated the fourth anniversary of the Madrid attacks on Tuesday, March 11. The Spanish daily considers it "deplorable that those who insist on contesting the judicial investigation persist in their obsession. [Several conservative media sources and the Spanish right] have built up a wild conspiracy theory. Again yesterday, they [among others, the daily 'El Mundo' in an editorial] continued to attack the trial's verdict [that definitively ruled out the possibility that Basque terrorists were responsible]. The threat of Islamic terrorism is too present in Muslim countries and Western societies for all of society's attention and energy to be wasted on baseless presumptions. ... This creates a fatal confusion that, in Spain, has succeeded in influencing no small portion of public opinion. Among the democratic countries affected by Islamic terrorism, we are an exception." (12/03/2008)

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Vienna correspondent Júlia Szászi discusses the current political situation and hopes that the crisis Austria's grand coalition is experiencing will soon come to an end: "The solution is typical of the Austrians: gain time for reflection. Over the next few days Austria will be focused on remembering its annexation with Hitler's Germany 70 years ago, then comes Easter, and then the final preparations for the European Football Championship. That leaves no time for early elections, which 70 percent of Austrians don't want anyway. Moreover, none of the parties has anything attractive to offer. And the idea of a minority government is tragicomic: if nothing works even within the coalition, what support can the social democrats expect from without?" (12/03/2008)

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Naples' garbage won't be going to Geneva. Under public pressure, the government of the canton of Geneva rejected the plan on March 11. Editorialist Yelmarc Roulet questions the decision. "Emotions are calmed with this decision. Just like common sense. What could be more stupid at first glance than to transport household garbage - this essentially local product - across half of Europe? The reason isn't, perhaps, as easily satisfying. The household waste market is an economic reality on a worldwide scale, and it won't be undermined by Geneva's decision. Is this trade any less legitimate than that of fruits and vegitables, or that of construction materials ? Household waste is a primary resource that is valuable because it can be turned into energy after being processed in technologically advanced plants, managed by experts." (12/03/2008)

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Sören Kittel writes about an initiative by the Reporters without Borders organisation, which calls for people to join an Internet demonstration on its homepage today: "The protest is aimed against global Internet censorship in countries like China, Cuba, Egypt and Tunisia. With just a few mouse clicks you can design an online figure which you then place on a virtual surface. And to add to the symbolic character of this simple initiative, places like Tiananmen Square in Beijing or Revolution Square in Havana provide the virtual backdrop. Is this really a good way to get through to states that already censor their internet anyway? ... It remains a battle with the wrong weapons. In the worst case, governments will recognise the practical side of online protest and forbid all other kinds of freedom of expression." (12/03/2008)

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From March 14 to 19, Israel will occupy the seat of honour at the Paris Book Fair. Several Arab countries are boycotting the event, a position which frustrates editorialist Dominique Quinio. "It is particularly unjust that the opposition to Israel targets books and those who write them. All literature ... is universal; it weaves connections; translated, it transcends borders. Israeli literature, which consists of many books inspired by the experience of the Holocaust, ballasted with an incomparable weight of humanity, speaks to all of us. Many Israeli writers - notably the ones who will be present at the Fair - argue for peace, for the existence of a Palestinian state, and are ardently opposed to their government's decisions. The places where ideas meet, and the occasions for peaceful debate aren't predominant enough that we should be satisfied with a policy of empty seats. To have people speak about books rather than arms: the world would benefit." (12/03/2008)

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Uldis Smits welcomes the plans of German and Polish politicians and historians for a joint history textbook, despite widely diverging interpretations when it comes to the question of expulsions. "For academics, whose duty it is to remain objective, such a task is difficult but not impossible. German researchers take a very critical view of the history of their own country and it would be silly to attempt to convey all the different views. But there is a unifying thread: that of the common European values that reject all forms of totalitarianism, to use that hackneyed phrase. This is why it's possible for the Poles to compile a joint history book together with their former hated enemies, the Germans, but not with their 'Russian liberators,' as Kremlin propaganda has it." (12/03/2008)

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The daily consecrates an editorial to criticising the recently published government report on how to promote British citizenship. "The fundamental problem with this project is that a sense of national identity is not something that can be imposed. Consider the issue of national symbols, which Mr Brown first highlighted two years ago when he urged people to 'embrace the Union Flag'. The Prime Minister might not have noticed but there has been a resurgence of enthusiasm in Britain for flags in recent years. The trouble is that it has been for those decorated with the George Cross, the Saltire and the Red Dragon, rather than the colours of the Union. No amount of exhortation from Downing Street is likely to change this preference. ... The whole exercise smacks of posturing and seems driven by hysteria about the supposed failure of ethnic minorities to 'integrate'. Rather than embarking on this nebulous quest to define 'Britishness' for the 21st century, Mr Brown should concentrate on governing Britain." (12/03/2008)

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