With its black-green - or CDU-Green Party - coalition, the city of Hamburg has opened up a new political door, Birgit Baumann writes. "Twenty-three years after the first red-green coalition (in 1985 in Hessen), the first black-green alliance has been formed at a state level. And of course this Hamburg debut will have an impact far beyond the city limits - even if some are afraid to say this out loud. It's a step towards dissolving the political blockades in Germany and towards more competition between the parties. Basically, all the parties have already recognised this. ... The new rules of the game are that either all parties overcome their qualms and form new alliances or Germany will be ruled forever by an unpopular grand coalition." (18/04/2008)

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"Black-green is perceived as a combination in keeping with spirit of the times," Heribert Prantl writes. "The SPD is no longer as red, the blacks [the CDU] no longer as black and the Greens no longer as green as they used to be. And then there's a new party, the Left party, that acts as provocatively as if they were the Greens of today. The Left party is politically as alternative as the Greens once were. The children who once ran away from conservatism are returning to it now, older and wiser. The Greens will be the junior partner of a party they once regarded as the party of a boring, superficial and ignorant bourgeoisie. And Ole von Beust [CDU], the head of government in Hamburg, is making it easy for them because he has a big heart: he once did it with the right-wing extremist Schill party and now he's doing it with the Greens. It isn't that he lacks principles, it's just politics." (18/04/2008)

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With reference to new political constellations in Germany the daily considers whether one day a closer cooperation between the liberal FDP and the Greens could be possible. "The two parties agree as far as lifestyle issues and their concept of the individual are concerned. Among sympathisers with the Greens there are certain voters who used to vote for the Liberals. Together these two parties could achieve a powerful position in German politics and become an attractive partner for both Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. ... In a government coalition with one of the major parties the Greens and the FDP could be a driving force in questions of values and economic reform." (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Germany, » Sweden

The American-Czech agreement for the construction of a radar station for the US's missile defence shield is ready to be signed. This prompts journalist Petr Fischer to analyse the Czech Republic's debate culture: "Firstly: we're incapable of debate. Instead of debating we just polemicise. Secondly, we don't use arguments, we use misinterpretations. Any kind of criticism is suppressed. Those who oppose the radar support the Russians; therefore they are enemies of the Czech Republic. And worse still, they back the communists. And those who are communists are criminals. In short, one shouldn't listen to critics; their views are not valid in a democratic society. Thirdly: the doubts remain. A debate that isn't a true debate generates more questions than answers. It remains unclear whether the missile defence shield will become part of a joint defence initiative with NATO. So far all the energy has focused simply on finding a way to integrate the radar into something that doesn't yet exist - a joint system of defence." (18/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Petr Fischer

Columnist Jacques Julliard deems that "times are hard for the European left that dominated the scene during the 1990s. ... Faced with this situation, it's all too easy to play smart and put on a pitying face. It would be better to take in the fact that what we ask of them today is superhuman: to guarantee to citizens, caught in the centre of the globalisation storm, all the protections of the welfare state, with a few more conquests thrown in with regard to the environment, immigration, feminism, disabilities, etc. ... Such a achievement isn't completely impossible, as we see in the Scandinavian democracies. ... Only the left is capable of bringing about this program in its entirety and, in doing so, preventing the decline of our societies." (17/04/2008)

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According to Joanna Staręga Piasek, director of the Warsaw Institute for the Development of Social Services, and Irena Wóycicka of the Research Institute for the Market Economy in Gdansk, Poland's biggest problem is its lack of social cohesion. "A policy of ignoring poverty and a populism promoted by poverty are two sides of the same phenomenon. ... The weakness of Polish democracy lies in its lack of social cohesion, the most important aspect of which is the great disparity between incomes. There are two Polands: the competent Poland and the helpless Poland. There is no communication between the two, no common values, no sense of solidarity. As long as Poland fails to use its entire human capital, Polish society will not be able to compete with other world societies. (17/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Joanna Staręga-Piasek, » Irena Wóycicka

"The Iraq war debacle with up to one million dead should sound the death knell for militarism. Instead, the Lisbon Treaty promotes militarism and will mean the death of Irish neutrality," writes military researcher Edward Horgan. "The hidden agenda in the Lisbon Treaty is that it is part of a continuum of European and international developments that promotes militarism and erodes neutrality as a peace maintenance option. ... The EU army, with comprehensive Nato overlap (interoperability), is being crafted to project European economic interests and power on the one hand, while enhancing 'Fortress Europe', to keep the 'others' out. ... Voting no is not a vote against the European Union. It is a vote against the militarisation of Europe and for a Europe that should be working to reform and strengthen the United Nations, not undermining it." (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Ireland
All available articles from » Edward Horgan

"Mr Brown is a long way from winning the battle for American hearts and minds,” writes columnist Con Coughlin on British PM Gordon Brown's three-day visit to the USA which started April 15th. "Under Mr Blair, Britain was a key ally in prosecuting the war against terrorism... . Mr Brown appears incapable of providing the clear and incisive leadership necessary for achieving success. Not surprisingly Mr Brown faced some sharp questions yesterday from American media commentators... . The New York Times yesterday went so far as to suggest that Mr Brown's Basra policy threatened the future of Britain's position as America's closest post-War ally. ... Given the amount of political capital Tony Blair invested in both the transatlantic alliance and in Iraq, it is hard to imagine Britain's military involvement being reduced to such a sorry state if he were still prime minister." (18/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Con Coughlin

An attack blamed on the militant Basque separatist organisation ETA struck a Socialist Party office in Bilbao on Thursday, April 17th. A bomb exploded, injuring seven police officers and causing some material damage. The Portuguese daily highlights the importance of a united front against terrorism. "ETA decided to make itself heard just as the new Spanish government came to power. Explosively, as usual. ... Faced with this permanent challenge posed by ETA, the only possible alternative for Prime Minister Zapatero - who believed in the virtues of negotiation with the Basque separatists - is firmness. But he also needs to reconstruct a united front against terrorism based on an action agreement with the People's Party [(PP), right-wing], the largest opposition party." (18/04/2008)

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In Budapest, the employees of the public transport companies are striking in protest at staff cutbacks and the closure of certain routes. Endre Aczél asks why the trade unions of the state companies have the courage to paralyse the country with strikes but one hardly ever hears of similar measures in the private sector: "I want to live in a world in which employee awareness is not just restricted to those who work for a state that 'pays miserably', but extends to the sector where most of our gross domestic product is generated. ... However I'm not optimistic, because if it's true that we're locked in a race to attract investors with our neighbouring countries, the stigma of being a 'nation of strikers' would hurt our chances. A couple of self-confident trade unions suffice to prompt the capital to flee the country and head to places where there are no unions." (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Hungary
All available articles from » Endre Aczél

France Télécom has announced its interest in a merger with Swedish-Finnish telecommunications firm TeliaSonera. Björn Sundell examines whether such a fusion would make sense: "One argument against a Franco-Nordic merger is that it wouldn't produce any synergy effects. The overlap is too small and there are too few possibilities for cutting costs. Moreover, France Télécom is still saddled with huge debts arising from its last shopping spree. This will make it difficult for the company to come up with the 30 billion euros it needs to purchase its stake. One alternative would be for the French to pay with their own shares, but why would the Swedish and Finnish states want to trade their shares in their local telecom companies for those of a state-controlled French company?" (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » France, » Finland, » Sweden
All available articles from » Björn Sundell

After the announcement this week that Delta and Northwest airlines would merge, the Spanish daily writes that "the union between companies is the only path that commercial aviation can see to overcome the reoccurring crises. ... In the United States, the problem is more complex. European companies still have nationalistic nostalgia, and they operate according to the old concept of 'flag-bearers'. Look at recently elected Silvio Berlusconi's insistence that Alitalia should stay in Italian hands, regardless of its looming bankruptcy. ... The merger of European airlines is only a question of time, but it will, without a doubt, be accelerated by American commercial aviation consolidation, where it was accomplished without negatively affecting competition." (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Corporations, » Europe, » U.S.

Didier Pourquery reacts in an editorial to the death of French poet Aimé Césaire on April 17th in Fort-de-France, Martinique. "During his struggle, along the verses of his poems, the champion of 'négritude' incarnated, beyond his declared origins, a call. A universal call on human dignity. Aimé Césaire called his fellow humans awake wherever they were, called on them to find their forgotten identities and called on their responsibility to do so. First and foremost, it's this that was his strength. But at the same time, he recognised himself: 'I accept my origins, but what can I do with them?' He proved via his political career that what he discovered and lived helped him to call on others who wanted to change the world. ... Césaire's greatness was also in rolling up his sleeves in dealing with the problems that resulted from colonialism and solving them everyday, without fail. Poet and Member of Parliament, mayor and visionary, Aimé Césaire was a man of culture in action." (18/04/2008)

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In an interview conducted by Sergi Doria, Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón argues that commercial art isn't necessarily of inferior quality. "We must get over the rigid classifications of the last forty years. Readers are people who could as easily go to the cinema or watch television as they could read literature. It's an audience with varied tastes and who has its own criteria. There is also the reader who defines his identity with a specific cultural product, but that's just snobbery. These days, we can enjoy the television series 'The Sopranos,' a hardboiled detective novel and a comic book. Mixing brings vitality. In the same way that cinema was enriched with literature in its golden age, today it's the opposite which happens. Literary classics were popular novels in their time." (18/04/2008)

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All available articles from » Sergi Doria, » Carlos Ruiz Zafón

A new dispute over monuments is brewing in Prague: preservationists want to have the old statue of the Bohemian aristocrat and most successful Austro-Hungarian military leader Count Joseph Radetzky set up on its former site on the Malostranka square. Martina Klapalová writes: "The Association of Czech Freedom Fighters sees the scheme as an effort to rehabilitate the house of Hapsburg, and the Czechoslovakian Union of Legionnaires is even more critical. Its deputy head argues: 'Radetzky is not one of us; he was an Austrian through and through.' The National Museum, for its part, rejects this view: ''Radetzky was as Czech as a Czech can be.' And historian František Dvořák contends: 'The speeches about our servitude [under the Hapsburgs] are empty communist rhetoric. The Austrians opened up our path to the world and also left us our own culture - Bohemian Baroque." (18/04/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » History, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Martina Klapalová

The weekly makes an argument for Tony Blair as the first President of the European Council, to be designated before the end of 2008. "Last year Mr Sarkozy hinted that he would back Britain's Tony Blair for the job. ... But like all front-runners, [Blair] has met opposition: because he joined America in Iraq, because he comes from a big EU country, because he is not pro-European enough, because Britain is not in the euro or the Schengen passport-free zone. ... The idea of a permanent president of the European Council was resisted by many smaller countries. But now it is being created, it would be ludicrous to fill it with a minor figure; a Juncker or a Schüssel. To the outside world—India or China, say—the president will speak for Europe. If the EU wants to be a serious global actor, that points to a world figure. Unless Ms Merkel steps forward, which is improbable, the only such person in the running is Mr Blair." (17/04/2008)

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