Obama symbolises "a multicultural ideal that since the 1990s seemed to be fading worldwide," writes the national newspaper NRC Handelsblad. "But his ambition to reunite the country conflicts with the progressive programme his party and progressive interest groups expect of him. ... The durability of the multicultural coalition will be put to the test sooner than people appeared to expect on yesterday's historical election day." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Tom-Jan Meeus

The Spanish newspaper El País writes: "It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the fact that the Americans have voted in a black president for the first time in their history. This is as surprising as it is revolutionary. And this word is by no means an exaggeration when you consider that just 50 years ago in the land of opportunity black people had to give up their seats to white people on public buses, while in other states the army had to escort black students on their way to school." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » U.S.

The daily Handelsblatt praises the United States' decision in the elections. "It is a skill for which the world envies this country: it is always capable of self-renewal. ... Where other nations confronted with crises and war prefer to play it safe and avoid risk, America does the opposite. It is putting its faith in a man who represents hope and change - with all the opportunities and risks this entails. Not only have the citizens of the US elected an African-American as president for the first time ever, they have voted for a break with the past and a new beginning." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Markus Ziener

The business newspaper Les Echos believes change is the top priority for the US now: "America has elected its new president, but the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new America. ... Last night's elections bore testimony to a desire for change ... [The new president's] task is to persuade and seduce rather than prevail. In short, he is there to give us back a more lovable America." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Henri Gibier

Martin Luther King's dream has come true with the election of a black US president, writes the daily newspaper De Morgen: "This dream promised that one day segregation and racism would be overcome, that change and improvement are achievable and that slowly but surely a more just and ethical world is possible. Obama's election doesn't spirit away the gap between the races, but it is an incredibly strong signal that America is still the country of unlimited opportunites for every individual." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Social movements, » U.S.
All available articles from » Yves Desmet

"Obama's victory has changed our image of America", writes the daily Ta Nea. "The impossible has happened. ... Obama's method has changed our view of politics, and this will have a profound influence on the fight for political power in every democratic country." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Alexis Kalokerinos

For the Swiss daily Corriere del Ticino, Obama's election offers new hope for the future: "In the midst of the financial crisis America ... has cast its vote. Meanwhile the military and political difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan ... have seriously damaged its conviction that it was the only superpower. Yet even in such difficult times, with this exercise in democracy America has reasserted its role as the cradle of courage for the West. America has made its choice and voted for change: for a young president, black and relatively inexperienced, who nonetheless is a symbol of hope and embodies the American dream." (05/11/2008)

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Blogger Miklós Tallián takes a dim view of Obama's election victory. "What had hitherto been merely conjecture became reality last night: America has elected the first black president in its history. But the fact that Obama is black is the least interesting thing about him. Much more interesting is where he will situate himself among the worst presidents of the 20th century, these being F. D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and of course Jimmy Carter. ... America is a strong and proud country, it has won two world wars, it has survived the presidents named above and it will also survive Obama." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Miklós Tallián

The liberal newspaper The Independent writes: ""Mr Obama comes to office with a fund of goodwill, at home and abroad. He may prove a disappointment, not least because expectations have been set unreasonably high. But the greatest presidents – George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt – were great precisely because they overcame huge challenges. Today's fraught circumstances mean Barack Obama has the chance to join their number." (05/11/2008)

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The daily Correio da Manhã sees Obama's victory as a triumph of democracy. It writes that these US elections were the "most important of this century": "It may be premature to say this because the century has only just begun, but without doubt they constitute an important cornerstone for this century. ... A country that has presented one of the best election campaigns in history, that has found solutions for the political and economic crisis, but above all that involved society as a whole in the debate about its future is a shining example for the world. ... In these presidential elections, in which the turnout was so great, the true victor is democracy." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Eduardo Dâmaso

Corriere della Sera newspaper comments on the attempt by the German CDU/CSU parliamentary groups to pass a document condemning Kristallnacht without the approval of the Left Party. "This unrelenting ostracism can be explained by the fact that the Left Party, which includes the successor party to the East German Communist Party, harbours renegade politicians who support anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli groups like Hisbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. ... For some time now we have been seeing the first tirades against the Left in German politics. ... In view of Germany's past, solidarity with Israel remains an indispensible requirement there. Politicians who participate in demonstrations where the Israeli flag is burned are not credible partners for the government in the fight against anti-Semitism. The CDU is endeavouring furthermore ... to show that under the guise of communism, the regime in East Germany was in fact anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Danilo Taino

With an eye to the meeting of the 43 states participating in the Mediterranean Union yesterday in Marseille, at which Barcelona was named the seat of the Union, the Irish Times comments on the problems which beset the European Neighbourhood Policy: "The new entity is inserted into the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which brings in relations with eastern European and Caucasus states such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Existing flexible arrangements allowing differentiated political, cultural and economic relations between the EU and individual Mediterranean ones will continue. The ENP is an unwieldy structure, which badly needs to be developed into a more effective instrument in coming years. That can best be done by linking it to the negotiations with Russia which are now set to be reopened after the Georgian conflict in August. This would provide a more coherent security, political and economic framework for organising relations with the EU's neighbours." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Russia, » Europe, » Central Europe, » Eastern Europe

The Dutch ruling CDA party has put forward a 15-point plan aimed above all at limiting Eastern European migrants' access to social benefits. The conservative news magazine Elsevier writes that the plan does not go far enough: "A nice plan. But too little and too late. For example, [CDA politician and author of the plan] Eddy van Hijum is against (partially) cancelling contracts, meaning it will be impossible to treat migrants differently than Dutch people. As a result his plan will have minimum impact. The CDA should have figured out that Eastern Europeans are also scheming cosmopolitans who given the choice will always prefer to live from social benefits in the Netherlands if not working here earns them more than a job at home. If van Hijum really wanted to achieve something he would put his foot down and stop [CDA Minister of Social Affairs and Employment] Piet Hein Donner from allowing Bulgarians and Romanians unrestriced access to the Netherlands." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Syp Wynia

The German left-wing daily die tageszeitung comments on the situation of the Roma in Hungary in the context of the current financial and economic crisis. "Although Hungary cultivates the romantic gypsy clichés and the fiddle-playing 'cigan' (gypsy) at restaurants for the tourists, the latter rarely get to see how the Roma really live. Even most Hungarians have never set foot in a Roma slum. ... The economic boom has passed by the East and the areas where the Roma live without a trace. The aggressive mood against the minority is magnified by the media. And local politicians can be sure of winning the approval of the majority if they promise to make community service a condition for Roma receiving unemployment benefits. ... The deeper the political and economic crisis in Hungary becomes, the more people turn to the right-wing extremist groups. Following riots during demonstrations some of the culprits of the violence were arrested, but their only punishment was a brief spell in prison. It's no wonder people don't expect to be prosecuted or punished for crimes against the 'gypsies'." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Ralf Leonhard

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended in 1995 under the aegis of the US with the Dayton Peace Accords. Richard Holbrooke, chief negotiator of the Accords, and Paddy Ashdown, former international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, warn in Delo newspaper of the country's imminent collapse: "Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, once the darling of the international community ... has [exploited] the weaknesses in Bosnia's constitutional structure, the international community's weariness and EU's inability to stick by its conditionality. Within two years he has reversed much of the real progress made in Bosnia over the past 13, seriously weakened the institutions of the Bosnian state, and all but stopped the country's evolution into a functioning (and EU-compatible) state. ... As a result, the suspicion and fear that began the war in 1992 has been reinvigorated. A destructive dynamic is accelerating, and Bosnian and Croat nationalism is on the rise. ... This tipping point is the result of the disinterest of the international community. ... The EU's foreign policy attention has recently focused on Kosovo, but it is Bosnia that has always been the bigger and more dangerous challenge. That country's decline can still be arrested, provided the EU wakes up, the new US administration gets involved, and both renew their commitment to Bosnia's survival as a state by maintaining an effective troop presence and strengthening the long-term process of bringing the country closer to the international community." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Paddy Ashdown

Thanks to the global financial crisis the myth of the strong state is experiencing a renaissance, György Ivány notes in the liberal left-wing weekly Élet és Irodalom: "It would be a mistake to see human nature as the cause of the crisis. Whether stockbroker or boilermaker, Afghan or African, that's just the way people are: when they think they can multiply what they have or believe they have, that's what they do. The actors on the market have simply - within the legal framework of the state and under its control - acted in accordance with their interests. The governments, legislators, central banks and bank regulating authorities, on the other hand, didn't do their homework. They failed to represent the long-term interests of the community against the interests of individuals - through laws, controls and regulations. In some cases it was even the other way round. They pursued short-term goals like sharks on the stock market. ... To master this crisis radical steps must be taken. ... Expanding the guarantee for savings accounts and giving banks cash injections may be more dangerous - to use the words of economist Milton Friedman - than the illness itself, but whether we like it or not the state must now intervene." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Global
All available articles from » György Iványi

The daily Dziennik expresses surprise at the consensus between the Polish government and the opposition on the question of holding a referendum on the introduction of the euro. "At last the [ruling] Civic Platform (PO) and the oppositional PiS have found some common ground. ... It is highly likely that the PO and PiS will be able to agree on a date too. One possibility would be June 7, when the Euro-elections take place. Naturally the whole issue is still uncertain. A lot can change between now and then. ... The PiS supports the idea of a referendum, but it will be a pretty risky business for the party. The party of [former head of government Jaroslaw] Kaczynski has to be a little for and a little against it because its voters are not a homogenous group. ... The unambiguous views of the PO on this issue are a source of comfort for that party. But according to the most recent surveys the crisis has scared the Poles and it is possible that they could vote against the introduction of the euro." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Poland, » Europe
All available articles from » Piotr Gursztyn

The Romanian cultural magazine Dilema Veche reflects on the fact that fewer and fewer Romanian emigrants are coming back home although the country's politicians are calling on them to return. "It is clear that many have decided to remain abroad for good. This is not a new phenomenon: that's how it was with the Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese who left their homes in the 1950s and 60s for the richer countries of Europe. ... That's why it makes no sense to keep inviting these people to return home. ... The motto 'the country needs you' is an appeal to feelings of patriotism, and not a calculated analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of returning home. One of the biggest of 'our country's needs', namely the balance of payments, has in fact been compensated for years by the billions of euros sent home by those abroad. ... Why should these citizens of a united Europe have to come back home when they have the right to live where they are better off? ... It should no longer count where people decide to settle down, because wherever they go they are 'at home in Europe', or aren't they?" (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Migration, » Integration, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Mircea Vasilescu

Owing to the financial crisis many Poles who had sought work in Ireland and the UK have now returned to Poland but the same is not true of Latvian workers, writes the daily Latvijas Avize: "Poles are being lured back home by rising salaries and a higher standard of living. But the Latvians in Ireland and the UK are not yet packing their bags because it's not worth their while to come home. Perhaps when he next visits Dublin President Valdis Zatlers will call on his countrymen to come home, but that is hardly likely. ... Even the Hungarians, who are now going through a difficult crisis, at least have a right to free education and medical care, while in Latvia you have to think twice before calling an ambulance when your heart starts to race or if you bang your head and don't have at least 20 lat on you." (05/11/2008)

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The abolition of tuition fees in Austria from next summer semester on will not be a boon for social justice in the country, the daily Die Presse writes: "A particularly grotesque aspect of the current situation is that polytechnics will be allowed to charge fees as well as impose limits on courses of study. And despite, or perhaps precisely for this reason, they, as well as private institutions some of which charge very high fees, are experiencing a sharp rise in demand for places. The fact is that the 'no-barriers' free university education model cannot make up for the lacking infrastructure at universities, the overcrowded auditoriums and invisible teaching staff. Such problems will only intensify as a result of the recently decided and totally nonsensical increase in the number of medical students. After all, one can't simply extend the 'patient population' for these training courses at will. ... Thanks for easing the burden of the middle classes, but couldn't one have found a more sensible approach?" (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Martina Salomon

The declaration of solidarity by eleven internationally acclaimed writers with Czech author Milan Kundera, who stands accused of having denounced an anti-communist agent to the authorities in the Stalinist Prague of 1950, is incomprehensible, writes the conservative daily Lidové Noviny: "Why are the writers so stauchly supporting Kundera, who himself has remained silent, although they have no knowledge of the facts? ... For a long time we were told that in coming to terms with the past we must follow the example of Germany, where just twenty years after the war the youth started asking questions about their parents' involvement in the Nazi regime. Those were uncomfortable questions, certainly. Now, almost twenty years after the Velvet Revolution [virtually non-violent system change in November 1989], the younger generation here is questioning their parents. And what happens? They are being chastised by their country's intellectuals - including Václav Havel - and by the leading lights of the literary world." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Zbyněk Petráček