"Bertie Ahern truly embodies the characteristics of Irishness. That is why people liked him: they saw in him a reflection of their own flawed selves," writes Kevin Myers in the Irish daily. "This culture of selective moral myopia has its uses. Most spectacularly, it enabled the peace process to come it its current status: and central to that has been Bertie Ahern's moral fluidity. Indeed, he was in the forefront in the creation of a political contract which has chosen to exclude terrorists from the consequences of their deeds. ... Yet we need not another second to say that the media class which has spent so much time seeking to destroy Ahern actually embodies the very same moral inconsistency of which it accuses him. But assuredly, it does not embody his virtues. For Bertie Ahern joined no lynch-mob, spoke ill of no one, thought himself superior to no man, and dedicated his entire life to public service." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Kevin Myers

"Mr Ahern's resignation suggests that he has lost his non-stick coating after nearly 11 years as Taoiseach," writes the daily in an editorial. "Mr Ahern's explanations have been unsatisfactory and evasive. Given his stated desire to ensure that the minutiae of his personal financial circumstances do not dominate the Irish agenda to the detriment of the issues that count in the long term and need to be addressed as a matter of some urgency, he was probably right to resign. He can now concentrate on his legal action and hope that the body politic can focus on what matters in Ireland. ... If history is to be kind to Mr Ahern, it will perhaps be for his role in Northern Ireland above all else. Ignoring for the present his personal troubles and their possible implications on this side of the Irish Sea, that would be a positive legacy." (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Ireland

Bertie Ahern's difficulties with his personal finances are trivial compared to those of other corrupt Irish politicians, writes Ralf Sotscheck, who points out: "In Brussels they will be delighted about his resignation. Ireland is the only country in the European Union which will put the Lisbon Treaty to referendum. It's true that all the parties, with the exception of Sinn Féin, are pushing for a 'yes' vote, but there was no telling what impact the scandal surrounding Ahern's finances would have on the results. The Irish already rejected the Treaty of Nice for reasons pertaining to domestic policy. In the second round Ahern got his way. Now his resignation paves the way for a 'yes' vote in the referendum scheduled for June." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Ralf Sotscheck

"It isn't necessary to be attached to the soil to be able to speak about 'roots', because they constitute a spiritual heritage that accompanies us wherever we go and they define us before everything else", writes the Spanish author José Luis Rodríguez del Corral. "They form the base of identity, or seem to, but are not individual: they refer to a social group and its traditions. ... 'Roots' are a nostalgic metaphor in an increasingly globalised world. As objects of affection, or as predetermined traditions, there is nothing wrong with them. But they can become dangerous when we convert them into imposed historical or cultural values. We shouldn't spend too much time looking into our 'roots' because we run the risk of literally transforming and becoming as immobile as a vegetable." (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Integration, » Global
All available articles from » José Luis Rodríguez del Corral

Author Navid Kermani writes about Cologne's multicultural Eigelstein district, which is right next to the central train station. "The dialogue among nations here takes place at four long bars on the borders of the Eigelstein district, where the world's ugliest hookers merrily and indiscriminatingly clink glasses with fat Germans and drunken Turks alike. These are the new centres. Here in Eigelstein, things are a lot less aggressive - you could even say they're idyllic - in comparison with other places. As if the people here were trying to take 'Colonia' back to its literal meaning, they behave like colonies of strangers who are unfamiliar with each other - the way they sit side by side at computers in the Internet cafés or stand in groups outside call shops. These are not marginalised societies. They sprawl out from the centre of the city. It's the fringes of the city that convey the impression of homogeneity. There, the city is divided along social lines. In the centre everything is all jumbled up together." (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Integration, » Minorities, » Social movements, » Weltanschauung, » Germany
All available articles from » Navid Kermani

At the NATO summit in Bucharest, the Balkan states Croatia and Albania have been invited to join the Alliance, whereas Macedonia's accession has been postponed as a result of Greece's veto. Sabina Fati comments: "Romania is indebted to NATO and the EU not only for its economic progress and improved living standards but also for the democratisation of its institutions. This process may be a slow one, but it's irreversible. ... NATO expansion in the Balkans could also help awaken these states from their slumber. They have long been surrounded by a different wall, and remain poor because they're cut off from the free market and are constrained by travel restrictions. They're unable to attract foreign investment because of security risks and democratic deficits - yet such investment is the only chance to strengthen the region. NATO's protective hand could serve to bring down this invisible wall." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Sabina Fati

Greece is expected to block Macedonia's entry into NATO because it objects to the use of that name. Alexis Papachelas writes that this move will not be popular at the NATO summit in Bucharest. "Greece will get slammed on a global scale. Few understand its position and no one, but no one, knows what we're on about when we start going a few hundred years back in history. Greece has strong arguments that do not need to be corroborated by archaeologists. As Archbishop Iakovos used to say – with that rare combination of Halki Seminary wisdom and Madison Avenue marketing smarts – 'Americans stop listening when you go back too far. Talk to them about business interests and security, and they'll get it.' ... Let us face Washington with the calm, confident manner of a country that has nothing to fear, and say, 'Sorry to ruin the party, but these are our interests and those are yours.'" (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Greece
All available articles from » Alexis Papachelas

A new border crossing opened today, Thursday, April 3rd, on Ledra Street, in downtown Nicosia, marking a new phase in the reunification process between the Turkish occupied north and the southern portion of the island. "It's historic ... but very real," writes Vassos Vassiliou. "This historical street becomes a symbol. The first symbol of a giant step towards the reunification of the island, divided for 34 years. A fence already replaced the wall a year ago. The ruined buildings that surround this border zone have been isolated, de-mined and restored. It's the second border crossing opened in Nicosia and the sixth on the island. ... But this remains historic for the moment. We will have to see if the Turkish army will finally leave the island and if the entire wall that divides the island will come down." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Vassos Vassiliou

The daily reacts to the Turkish constitutional court's decision to hear the case seeking to ban the ruling party, the AKP, which stands accused to threatening democracy by attempting to build an Islamic state. "Erdogan [Prime minister], Gul [President] and the AKP's big 'crime,' which has brought the defenders of secularism to claim that the red line has been crossed, is having allowed university students (but not their professors) to wear the Islamic veil in class. ... A rapid, logical and consensual resolution must be found. A decision against Erdogan and his team would ban the prime minister, the president and their party from politics, just as it happened in the past, as dictated in the constitution imposed by the military in 1980. The EU cannot allow such an outrage to occur on its doorstep, in a country that is negotiating it's entry into the organisation." (03/04/2008)

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

Air France-KLM announced on April 2nd that it was cutting-off negotiations with the Alitalia unions on the company's buy-out. Massimo Riva writes that the deal would have been suicide for Alitalila, and lays the blame on the right-wing which has done everything to keep the negotiations running. "The decisive day for the future of Alitalia began with the unions more ready than ever to march into battle, ready to slam the door on Air France's proposals. The same day ended with Mister Spinetta [CEO of Air France-KLM] getting up from the negotiating table and slamming the door behind him ... . We don't need the Alitalia case to recognise that Berlusconi is a master of fantastic and unfounded promises. His positions on this matter respond to the demagogue's electoral base, something that Air France understood since the beginning." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Massimo Riva

A fusion between Denmark and Sweden's state-owned postal services is to produce a listed Nordic logistics company. The majority shareholder in the new company, which will have around 50,000 employees, will be the Swedish state. The Swedish daily criticises the move: "Postal services should be regarded as a natural monopoly which is not subject to market mechanisms. Their activities are far too important for that. Moreover, they are part of the national identity, which rests on ever fewer common symbols but which is necessary for the democratic functioning of a country. This is why I was grieved to see Sweden deregulate its postal system in 1993, before most other countries did. The liberalisation resulted in a series of blunders: gigantic lump sum settlements and pensions for general managers who went on to become CEOs, and employees who are exposed to increasingly difficult conditions." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Göran Greider

Rik Torfs, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), argues that the Belgian media, especially the Flemish, pay less and less attention to the Netherlands. "It's even more curious that for quite a long time, Holland was the country of reference for many of us. ... In Flanders, we have abandoned the Netherlands. It's a country that is apparently well known, and thus uninteresting. Flemish television focuses on China or Latin America. ... But in forgetting about the Netherlands, costs us a lot. China is so foreign that it doesn't really help us understand the problems in our society. The Netherlands resembles us. How can we explain the rise of the extreme right-wing in a country that deplores extremism? What can we say about the failure of multiculturalism, which has cost dearly successive governments? ... He who isn't interested in small differences will never understand great diversity." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Rik Torfs

253 Swedish historians yesterday presented a letter of protest against plans for the state-run 'Living History Forum' to shift its emphasis from the crimes of the Nazis to the crimes committed in the name of communism. The daily points out that the idea of a connection between communist ideology and genocide is still controversial. "A few years ago a survey showed that 90 percent of Swedish schoolchildren didn't know what a gulag was. 43 percent believed the number of people killed by communist regimes was under a million - in fact it's almost 100 million. This indicates a shockingly poor knowledge of history. However it's up to the schools to close these gaps in knowledge. The state and its authorities should refrain from interfering in the writing of history, which is the task of researchers." (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » History, » Science / Research, » Sweden, » Global

The art museum in the city of Solingen has turned itself into a 'Museum of persecuted arts' for a couple of months. Its exhibition is based on the collection of exile researcher Jürgen Serke, who has been investigating the fate of poets persecuted under both the National Socialist and the communist dictatorships. Klaus Podack reports: "An exhibition that focuses on books and their authors could potentially be incredibly boring. This exhibition doesn't just present individuals and their personal belongings in lexical order. ... It tells stories, stories that are mostly long but not boring. ... In both the exhibition and the catalogue, the collection creates a connection between names and the stories behind these names, which are not usually counted among the persecuted but somehow belong to this category in an ambiguous and in some cases obscure way. ... This is one of the great attractions of this unique exhibition: it doesn't repeat what we already know or thought we knew. It connects even familiar figures with their ambivalent histories." (03/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Literature, » History, » Germany, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Klaus Podack

The last car made by the traditional Czech carmaker Tatra rolled off the assembly line in 1998, but the brand still has its fans all over the world. Now Tatra wants to start producing some of its legendary models again, as the general manager of the company Ronald Adams explained to Josef Gabzdyl: "'I'm convinced that there's a great market for these replicas of the old models. We're not planning to return to serial production. The goal is basically to get the Tetra brand name back in circulation all over the world.' The current plan foresees limited series of at most 400 cars per year. Moreover, Tatra would produce only the bodyworks of its classic models. Other renowned carmakers would be contracted to supply the substructures and the engines." (03/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Josef Gabzdyl, » Ronald Adams

The Bulgarian newspaper expresses its amazement at the Finns' appalled reaction to the scandal involving former Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, who was forced to resign because he sent hundreds of text messages from his official mobile phone to a female stripper. "And all this because of a few silly text messages. This is without doubt the biggest political blunder yet in Nokia land. The Finns are famous for their coolness towards women and their love of alcohol. When the centre-right government found the right man, he was chased away by his envious fellow party members. It's a disgrace. What normal man wouldn't send such messages after seeing the blonde Johanna's website ? This scandal proves just one thing: the Finns missed out on the sexual revolution." (02/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Bulgaria