"After nine months, the baby was due", explains Yves Desmet, the daily's editor in chief. "The only alternatives were administrative chaos or new elections. But the baby has been brought into the world with forceps; it is premature and has little chance of survival. This governmental agreement is entirely based on postponement; all the conflict zones have been evacuated. ...  In Leterme's government the electoral fever has not abated. The top priorities of this team feature neither good management, nor a balanced and coherent compromise between the different ideological veins of the different linguistic communities. ... This government is burying its head in the sand, brushing aside problems and wallowing in promises. The bill will come later and the government is hoping it won't be the one who has to foot it." (19/03/2008)

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Brussels correspondent Alois Berger takes a pessimistic view of Belgium's new government under Yves Leterme: "Leterme is not just Flemish, he's Flemish pure. He's not interested in Belgium - at best he's indifferent about it. Otherwise, how could anyone seriously come up with the idea of forming an electoral alliance with a separatist party. ... Of course he ended up having to eat humble pie. He's stopped complaining about the Francophones and obediently gives interviews in French nowadays. But he did his utmost to bring the separatists into the government. The Christian Democrat Yves Leterme is not himself a separatist, but he could certainly imagine a Flanders without the troublesome Wallonia. It's this ambivalence that's so widespread in Flanders." (19/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Alois Berger

Michel Konen is glad to see that Belgium can at last count on a government, but doubts the new team is very efficient. "To speak of a program related to this agreement is excessive. Let us rather talk about a catalogue of good intentions. Just enough to address a declaration to Members of Parliament who don't wish to inflict any trouble on their freshly minted ministries. It is true that their promises are numerous. They have had no shortage of spending ideas. They have so many that they haven't had time to look for the savings necessary to carry them out. ... Leterme hasn't put the unresolved problems on ice, which is Belgium's traditional technique. He has just put them off until later, for a few weeks or months. He has paved his future with traps that will be so many occasions for arguments among men and women who have yet to demonstrate a deep desire to work together as a team. Is Leterme's first government a , 'no future' one?  (19/03/2008)

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None of the parties have been able to realise their goals, Jürg Dedial writes with reference to the new coalition government. "But Belgium is not doomed to failure because of this. It will be able to live with its unsatisfactory political institutions, in the not entirely unreasonable hope that a careful redistribution of wealth (from Flanders to Wallonia) and the continued strengthening of the European regions will eventually overcome linguistic and ethnic differences. Brussels, the metropolis, which has become more European than Belgian, will also play an increasingly prominent role in balancing out the internal situation." (19/03/2008)

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The journalist Magnus Linklater reflects on the legacy of the 1968 political uprisings. "In the course of that extraordinary year, a generation that had never particularly questioned authority or thought much about its ideology found itself radicalised by the reaction of those it sought to challenge. ... A global movement, mainly of the young, took palpable shape, driven by genuine causes: war in Vietnam or Algeria, Soviet tanks, civil rights in America. ... It is easy to deride the middle-class rebels who wore Che Guevara T-shirts or worshipped Malcolm X before going on to hold down executive positions or comfortable professorships in the bosom of the Establishment that they had sworn to destroy. But if, by the end of that momentous decade, it was no longer acceptable for a police force to beat dissenters to within an inch of their lives or a communist dictatorship to crush freedom of expression under its boot, then they deserve some of the credit." (19/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Magnus Linklater

Talking to Harry Nutt about social change and the end of the equalising state, Claus Offe notes that in the free market society opportunities and risks are increasingly unequally distributed: "The opportunities are accumulating on one side, without that side having to face serious risks. Those who, purely by chance, are at an advantage in terms of personal capital, personal qualifications, birth cohort, place of residence, having the right connections or the right experience abroad, are in a virtually unassailable position of secure prosperity for life. On the other hand are those who are 'left behind', or are at least not in a position to increase or even maintain their real income - whether they belong to the industrial middle classes or the downgraded employees. This is where the risks are accumulating." (19/03/2008)

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All available articles from » Claus Offe, » Harry Nutt

The new EU treaty strengthens the position of the Parliament, the newspaper writes on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the European Parliament (EP). But it adds that the dwindling interest of EU citizens is becoming increasingly apparent. "This is reflected in the voter turnout figures for the direct elections since 1997, which have gone down from 63 percent in 1979 to 45.7 percent in 2004. It's paradoxical that as the influence of the European Parliament grows, the willingness of EU citizens to cast their vote has dwindled. There have already been proposals for a joint election day. This is not a bad idea. But above all it's up to the parliament to prove its future value in order to underscore its right to exist in the long term." (19/03/2008)

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

Polish President Lech Kaczynski (PiS) has escalated the dispute over the EU treaty by announcing that he is prepared to sign his own ratification law, but not that of the Polish government. In a televised speech he also announced he would defend the "accepted system of morals in Poland" against the EU's fundamental rights charter, which permits, among other things, same-sex marriages. Head of government Donald Tusk (PO) has now held out the prospect of a referendum on the treaty. Wiktor Świetlik comments: "The major mistake was to reject a referendum. Tusk's explanation that such a referendum would be pointless because no one would read the treaty anyway can be interpreted in two different ways: either he's adopting the arrogant-politician-stance or we're facing a terrible state of confusion here. In that case it's all the more vital that we hold a referendum. It would allow both sides to explain what the treaty is about." (19/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Domestic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Wiktor Świetlik

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel ended a three day trip to Israel on March 18th. This highly symbolic journey was programmed a few weeks before the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the Hebrew State. "During this visit Angela Merkel acted with great sensitivity, showing a lot of humility and sincerity", considers the daily. "She delivered an historical speech before the Israeli Parliament, recognising that the Holocaust fills the German people with shame. And she went on to explain that the cooperation and friendship between the two countries are among the miracles of history ... . It is now possible to say, as the [Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert himself has underlined, that special relations between Israel and Germany are a clear example of humanity's capacity to get back on top of things." (19/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » History, » Germany, » Israel

The journalist Dave Hill comments on London's mayoral campaign, which officially commenced on Tuesday, March 18th. The election of a new Mayor will take place on May 1st. "Policy differences between the leading contenders - Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and Conservative challenger Boris Johnson - lie more in emphasis than ideology. .... In the end, it may come down to something simple: whether weariness with Livingstone outweighs wariness of Johnson ... Equally difficult to gauge is the impact newer media will have. For bloggers, the London race presents great opportunities for campaigning. The candidates know this, too, and Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem contender, has been making the most of online social networks to mobilise support and make up for his lack of profile. He maintains he's the only candidate able to beat Livingstone because Johnson can't be taken seriously, although some polling evidence suggests he might be doing Livingstone more harm." (18/03/2008)

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On Monday, March 17th, French justice confirmed that the law forbids doctors from accompanying assisted suicide, or from making any gesture leading to the death of a patient. It thus rejected the request formulated by Chantal Sébire, who is suffering from an incurable tumour. The daily examines the opportunity to adopt new legislation authorising euthanasia. "The current law, unanimously adopted in 2005, has allowed major progress to be made. ... Refusing to allow doctors 'make die' it authorises doctors to 'let die'. This is recognition of a French style of passive euthanasia. Should things be taken further? This question should not be taken lightly. First of all the 2005 law often goes unheeded by patients as well as medical staff; and yet it provides precise answers to most end of life situations and would be largely beneficial if better known and properly explained. ... It would be a grave mistake to legislate with an emotional sense of urgency ... ." (19/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health and Medicine, » France

Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu wants to make Romania Europe's second-largest producer of agricultural products after France. During a visit to Romania's poorest region, Moldavia, he urged farmers to make more applications for European subsidies. Florian Bichir comments: "The hope that Europe's Eldorado will solve the problems is a cheap political promise. Do you know any normal farmers who know how to gain access to European funding schemes? How many of them have Internet access? So much money has been taken back simply because people didn't apply for it. ... Romania's agriculture is in a state of ruin. The property reform has split the yields into tiny pieces; the destruction of the irrigation systems has created new deserts. While dry countries like Greece and Turkey are reaping good harvests, our crops are failing. There are no subsidies and no Romanian products in the supermarkets. Can one still talk of an agricultural sector under such conditions?" (19/03/2008)

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The main Alitalia unions expressed their opposition to the Air France -KLM takeover, an operation that can only be carried out with their consent. Piero Ottone deplores this situation. "On the one side there are the French cousins, calm, sure of themselves, masters of the situation, playing their cards right without backing down. On the other side there is wailing along with accusations and insults, all the signs of impotence... . It is true that the Alitalia company is mortified. But in other countries, when a company is faced with a grave crisis, all the politicians and unions, management and workers' representatives join forces with good will and humility to pull through. With us it is war, threats, ultimatums, insults and above all intransigence." (19/03/2008)

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Entrepreneur Vjatsheslav Leedo is suing the Estonian online news portal "Delfi" and calling for offensive readers' comments on articles and in blogs to be censored. According to Ervin Makko, this is the wrong approach: "The constitutional state grants everyone the right to express his opinion, but it must also give others the chance to defend themselves. This responsibility should not be left to Internet portals, because they lack the necessary resources. One solution would be to forbid anonymous comments in future. Anyone who wants to make a comment should have to register with the portal in question, log in using his name and sign the comment with his name. This way, there would be no restriction of freedom of speech but everyone would be forced to assume more responsibility for their comments." (19/03/2008)

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Sweden has no official language to date. The government now wants to change this and introduce a new law stipulating Swedish as the main language. The daily considers this a good idea: "The status of the Swedish language in Sweden is no longer as clear as it used to be. In certain circles - particularly among people with a high degree of training in technical and medical professions and the sciences - Swedish has been almost completely supplanted by English. This is referred to as loss of domain. Those who want to protect the language fear similar losses over the coming years in certain sections of the work world and in politics. ... In Sweden, the ability to speak another language must be perceived as an opportunity, not an obligation." (19/03/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Sweden

Risto Karajkov underlines the difficulties of managing a booming bear population in Macedonia and Slovenia. "Over the last few years the number of bears has increased in the western, mountainous part of Macedonia. ... Some of the roughly 300 bears in Macedonia are likely migrants - or more precisely refugees - from Bosnia. They fled the high Bosnian mountains in the 1990s, frightened away by the explosions and violence of war. Many headed north, toward Slovenia, but some went south [toward Macedonia]. ... Slovenia, ... has in the last few years become a big exporter of bears to other EU countries, including Austria, Italy and France. Its bear population had exceeded 500 and was becoming a problem - bears need a lot of space. When they start getting too close to villages, things can get risky. The European Commission also had a problem with the annual culls that the Slovenian government was ordering." (19/03/2008)

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