The daily Le Soir writes: "Things are worse than expected. The scenes that took place among the Socialists over the weekend will go down in the sombre annals of political history. ... After 'the stupidest Right' we now have 'the craziest Left in the world', one that will make you abhor politics while pretending to reform it. That really takes the biscuit! ... This is the last thing the French Left needs. When Lionel Jospin was eliminated from the presidential race by [right-wing extremist] Jean-Marie Le Pen, they were struck to the heart. And they still haven't recovered from this wound, perhaps because they have not learned all they could from this embarrassing defeat. ... The Socialist Party is split down the middle into two camps that hate each other and only remain under the same roof for one reason: for the time being they are both too weak to face the Right alone." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
All available articles from » Joëlle Meskens

The liberal daily The Independent believes the Socialists' power struggles are just plain stupid: "No contest between the Left and Right has been fought with more invective and more dirty tricks than this riveting contest between the Centre-Left and the Centre-Left. The poisonous hatred between the two camps was apparent long before the vote of Socialist party members on Friday night split almost exactly 50-50. The problem is not the narrowness of Friday's vote, nor the evidence of voting irregularities. Such practises have long plagued France's alternative 'party of government'. ... The real problem is that personal relations between the camps have grown so venomous that a de facto schism seems inevitable. A formal split into two parties of the centre-left is unlikely in the short term. It is no longer inconceivable. ... It used to be said that France had the 'stupidest Right in the world'. In that tradition, at least, France has moved decisively to the Left." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
All available articles from » John Lichfield

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica believes Aubry has the backing of the party heavy-weights because she doesn't want to become president of the republic: "The war between the two Socialist ladies, between the stern Martine Aubry and the untypical, over-glamorous Ségolène Royal, has produced only one winner so far: the president of the right, Nicolas Sarkozy. He is facing a left-wing opposition that is mired in a profound crisis, torn by internal conflicts that are difficult to overcome - also with an eye to 2012, when his own mandate expires. ... Everything revolves around this date. The party is conspiring against Ségolène Royal to ensure that she won't have another chance as its candidate. With Martine Aubry that post remains free ... Passion and rivalry only divide the party and won't help it to reach the political summit, the presidency. But it remains the same old traditional formation and refuses to desert those responsible [for its troubles] like a sinking ship." (23/11/2008)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
All available articles from » Bernardo Valli

The conservative daily Le Figaro sees a potential split of the French Socialist Party: "When you talk of comrades, you're talking about comradeship. That doesn't exist and hasn't existed in the Socialist Party for a long time. But up to now the 'elephants' had made an effort not to go too far in their rivalries. ... That's over now. The Royal supporters and the Aubry supporters have become two competing teams that take measure of each other, attack each other and level endless insults at each other. They're like the Capulets and the Montagues, the O'Timmins and the O'Haras. ... The most likely scenario is two socialist parties within the one: the 'PSS' (Socialist Party of Ségolène) and the 'PSM' (Socialist Party of Martine). This is a de facto split, but it has the advantage of preserving appearances." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
All available articles from » Paul-Henri du Limbert

Croatia and Serbia have accused each other of genocide during the war in the former Yugoslavia (1991 - 1995) at the International Court of Justice. Delo newspaper is particularly critical of Serbia. "If even moderate Croatian and Serbian politicians are now saying the mood of the 1990s once more can be felt in the Balkans, something is seriously wrong. ... But the genocide trials are not the only thing straining relationships in the region. Above all the attitude of Serbia, which for months has been declaring itself the major victim of the war, is causing strife. As if the war had been planned and waged from Ljubljana, Skopje, Sarajevo and Zagreb, and Croatian and Bosnian tanks had destroyed [the Serbian cities of] Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac. The way things look the admission that the butchery was planned by Serbia's political and military leaders will be a long time in coming." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Serbia, » Croatia
All available articles from » Rok Kajzer

For the first time in Spanish history, a court in the Castilian city of Valladolid has ordered the removal of crucifixes from classrooms at the Macías Picavea state school. According to La Repubblica this ruling in favour of freedom of religion "could spread from a local to a national level and cause a chain reaction that harmonises with the image of a secular state promoted by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The crucifix is on trial, the charge is violation of the basic rights of equality, freedom of religion and freedom of belief guaranteed by the state. After 40 years of Franco dictatorship and Catholicism as a state religion, the democratic constitution adopted in 1978 and its judiciary were aimed at establishing secularity and freedom of belief. It is owing to the ambivalent stance of the Socialists, who are reluctant to fan the conflict with the Church, that religious symbols are still present today. But where politics remains silent the magistrates have passed sentence, and this ruling could be just the first step." (24/11/2008)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Spain
All available articles from » Alessandro Oppes

In the Netherlands the sale of soft drugs is legal in so-called coffee shops, but it is illegal to grow and supply these businesses with the drugs. In a bid to fight criminality and drug tourism Dutch mayors now want to see the cultivation of hashish put under state control, too. De Volkskrant daily welcomes this initiative: "The calls for an experiment with state-regulated hashish cultivation are a logical step if you want to decriminalise its sale. The closure of all coffee shops [by 2011 43 coffee shops are to be closed in Amsterdam] would curb drug tourism but would also push Dutch consumers back into crime. It will take a lot of diplomatic skill to convince other countries that regulation is not the same as legalisation, but the Christian Democrat mayor of Maastricht, Geert Leers, ... is quite right in saying that the government can no longer close its eyes to reality." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Public Culture, » Netherlands

US president elect Barack Obama is going about putting together a new cabinet in an exemplary manner, writes the Austrian daily Die Presse. "Barack Obama has opted for a logical but seldom used approach: He's simply getting the best brains together. ... Naturally, the new US president is surrounding himself with people he trusts and people who have supported him. Yet it is still impressive to see the calibre of the people he has chosen to be at his side, including a former rival like [Hillary] Clinton as secretary of state. No one can say at this point whether Obama's all-star team will harmonise and take the right direction. Bush was also impressive at the outset when he hauled in professionals like [former secretary of state] Colin Powell, [US Vice-President] Dick Cheney and [former secretary of defence] Donald Rumsfeld. But apart from this by no means trivial reservation: Could we please have an Austrian chancellor who puts together a team comprising the best brains? We've had enough proportional representation of amateur troupes in accordance with federal and state higher mathematics." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria, » U.S.
All available articles from » Christian Ultsch

We are seeing a return of Keynesianism in the current economic crisis, writes Jean-Marc Vittori in the business paper Les Echos: "This is the return of John Maynard Keynes and the second death of Milton Friedman. The crisis that is rocking the global economy, ... is also shaking up global economic theories. John Maynard Keynes, hero of the 1930s, is once more being read in earnest. ... After the burst of the biggest financial bubble in history, asset prices, real estate and share prices are all plunging. People lack funds and bankers are having to plug the holes in their financial statements, which puts a damper on their lending fervour. Consumers, for their part, hardly want to borrow. Demand is sinking and no longer provides for full employment. We are really in a 'Keynesian' situation which justifies strong public intervention. The state must spend far more to avoid a catastrophe, and the sooner the better. ... In this hullabaloo the supporters of the free market are not being heard. People want to see the economy rescued according to the prescription of Doctor Keynes. Milton Friedman, in the meantime, remains in his role of architect. His laisser-faire may help us construct a more efficient system when the economy is in good shape, but not when it is almost suffocating." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Consumers, » Financial Markets, » Global
All available articles from » Jean-Marc Vittori

The Irish Independent comments on the rekindled debate over the Treaty of Lisbon: "The battle lines have been drawn again in the Lisbon debate and we can now see them with a clarity denied to us before the June fiasco, when the 'No' campaigners befuddled so many voters with their garbage about sovereignty, abortion and the detention of three-year-old children. Nothing less faces us - and Europe - than a choice between liberal democracy and the unholy alliance between the 'economic right' and the fundamentalists. ... We have already experienced a diminution in our standing which may never be repaired. However, this is small potatoes compared with the worst-case scenarios for Europe and Ireland. The EU could fragment, becoming starkly exposed to disastrous economic and security consequences. In such a scenario, the large countries would protect themselves. They would have little interest in protecting Ireland. Our economy would be wrecked. Our currency would become worthless, like that of Iceland, unless we managed to stay in the currency union. And our security and economic dependence on Britain would increase. In other words, we would lose the independence Irish political leaders laboured for in the past. Does anyone want that?" (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Ireland, » Europe
All available articles from » James Downey

The British government is planning to lower value added tax. Germany should follow suit, writes the Frankfurter Rundschau. "The British government has already set the tone once in Europe with its rescue plan for banks. Now London has taken stock of the situation and has announced it will sink value added tax. When times were better, Germany's coalition battled consumption with the biggest tax hike in the history of the Federal Republic. Now it has the elbow room to correct this mistake. It could lower value added tax for a period of one or two years. This would make it clear that more debts must be shouldered on the short term. The idea is not to dry out the state, however, but to strenghen the domestic economy in the biggest economic crisis of the past 80 years." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Germany, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Markus Sievers

The economic crisis may also have a good side, writes the daily Evenimentul Zilei: "Perhaps there will be those who decide against buying a third car or decide to live with their wives in a normal apartment. ... Perhaps there will be nothing left to steal in the West and those who made money in Spain by burgling and other little dirty deals will return. This would improve Romania's image in the West because there would be only industrious and clever Romanians living abroad. ... [Romanian] politicians could be forced to take action against the crisis, even if it costs them votes. They would finally have to deal with the really relevant issues in society. Perhaps this crisis will mean a return to normality in Romania. Or perhaps not." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Consumers, » Spain, » Western Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Silviu Sergiu

Workers in the heavy industry sector and older investors in insurance companies are those hardest hit by the financial crisis, writes the Bulgarian daily Sega. Because of the financial crisis they are now facing the prospect of their incomes not even keeping up with inflation. The speculators who, prompted by record profits, pumped millions into insurance companies have taken out their money again and are waiting for better times. ... But the losers for the time being, the old people, don't have that much time. It's true that private pension funds are a voluntary investment and that everyone takes their own risk. But the state and the companies could have cushioned the impact on the oldest section of the population by setting up multi-funds. In addition to pensioners, workers in heavy industry are also directly affected by the crisis. From 2011 they are to receive only fixed-term pensions from private funds, without the portion contributed by the national insurance institute." (24/11/2008)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Cvetelina Sokolova

The online library Europeana crashed shortly after it was launched last Thursday due to an overwhelming number of visitors. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments: "The vastly differing level of investment in the project by the 27 EU member states reflects a phantom of Europe. France stands at over 50 percent, followed by the UK and the Netherlands at 10 percent each. German participation makes up one percent of Europe's cultural cerebrum. This huge brain is capable of managing every detail of the accumulated manuscripts, drawings, first prints, and photographs. The fact that it only overlooked one detail only makes it more likeable in our eyes: it did not anticipate its own success. Such a content-oriented Europe is reminiscent of Europe, the lost old dreamer. Three weeks of downtime is not too high a price to pay for that, especially as it's all the easier to dream in front of an empty screen." (24/11/2008)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Cultural Policy, » Europe

The victory of the Spanish tennis team at the Davis Cup is the culmination of a hugely successful year for Spain's athletes, who also won the European Football Championship and the world's most important cycling races. The Spanish daily El Mundo writes that these victories in the realm of sport have been good for Spain's struggling national identity: "It is truly somewhat paradoxical that in the midst of rising regional nationalism and the demands of the autonomous regions for their own national teams Spain has achieved its greatest victories, many of them in team sports where the teams were composed of members from all over Spain. At any rate, after years of failure Spaniards are once again growing accustomed to seeing their flag as a symbol of success. The dose of self-confidence, pride and healthy patriotism this provides will do the country no harm in these times of doubt." (24/11/2008)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Sport, » Spain