The daily Večer writes about Bush's policy in Iraq and Afghanistan: "The US president's ... first visit to these two countries was a 'fireworks' display. A fireworks display that was triggered by fighter planes, bombers and tomahawk missiles and in which Taliban and Saddam Hussein's soldiers, but above all innocent civilians lost their lives. ... With its war on terrorism the American leadership has also pulled [other] countries into the hell of terrorism ... - starting with Spain and the UK. In 2003 and 2005 the terrorists orchestrated terrorist attacks in these countries. And because of the American leadership countries became involved in disputes with each other, both within the EU and at an international level. Bush leaves a legacy of ... political devastation. He has passed on to his successor Barack Obama the heaviest burden a newly elected president has ever been confronted with: the task of ending two wars without admitting defeat." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Europe, » U.S., » Iraq
All available articles from » Vojislav Bercko

"The American president continues to defend the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq to this day", writes the Czech newspaper Pražský deník. "A different attitude is hardly to be expected now that the Americans have forked out over 100 billion dollars to get the job done. And that is not the end of things, Bush has also signed an agreement whereby American soldiers will remain in the country another three years. ... The money for bombs, provisions and the soldiers' pay is not lost. After all, someone has written out a receipt for them. The 'only' thing that is really lost is human lives. But there is no excuse for that. For incurring these dead Bush has earned a lot more than an Iraqi's shoe. He also deserves the insults of Americans. For examle that someone at [the US news broadcaster] CNN spits at him during an interview. No doubt he wouldn't laugh at that the way he laughs at this Iraqi insult." (16/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Ivan Hoffman

The daily Trouw compares the shoe attack on Bush with the enthusiasm of the Iraqis at the beginning of the war: "Back then they could not have imagined that the country would be pushed to the edge of an abyss, that nothing would come of the promised reconstruction, that the violence [of the war] would cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives and force millions of Iraqis to flee. It is just a matter of time before Iraq breaks apart. The war in Iraq has not made the world safer, as Bush and his allies had promised. On the contrary: it has only served to increase the numbers of those who support militant and terrorist organisations. This is the legacy that President Bush has bequeathed to Iraq. The Iraqi journalist ... could do nothing but use his shoes to express his deep contempt in the name of millions of Iraqis. It is an act of the powerless." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Middle East
All available articles from » Cilay Özdemir

The Financial Times writes: "George W. Bush, who ducked a volley of shoes from an enraged Iraqi journalist at a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, professed to be perplexed. This was an epic insult intended for a serial bungler. But, like the shoes, it too went straight over his head. Mr Bush, who has buried America's reputation throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds in the ruins of Iraq, did not, does not and will never get it. The Bush administration, on a false prospectus, broke the state of Iraq, scattered its middle classes across the Middle East, proliferated jihadism and uncorked a sectarian war that will haunt the region for a long time to come. By invading Iraq it also made Iran a regional power." (16/12/2008)

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The shoe attack on Bush has symbolic power, writes the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "The shoe Intifada that spread yesterday from the Shi'ite stronghold Sadr City to many Iraqi cities where the shoe-throwing journalist is being hailed as a hero and where his portrait is being carried in processions through the streets runs the risk of becoming the indelible stain of what many Westerners and Americans consider to be the worst presidency in the history of the United States. ... The mockery in the media is compounded by the political damage. For on the same day a study was presented revealing the billion-dollar fraud committed in the reconstruction of Iraq. ... There can be no doubt that the Iraqi journalist supplied a plastic translation of the anti-American sentiment that is widespread not only in the Arab world but in all developing countries. All the surveys show that America's popularity has hit an all-time low. This is the worst legacy that George W. Bush, who was able to dodge the shoe but won't be able to dodge history's judgement, leaves behind for his successor Barack Obama." (16/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Paolo Garimberti

Romania's prime minister designate Theodor Stolojan stepped down in a surprise move on Monday, a day after a grand coalition was formed in the country. The daily Evenimentul Zilei writes: "Even if the threats by various politicians that they would step down has long become a bad joke, what Stolojan has done breaks every political code and shows he lacks the sensitivity needed for the job. Right out of the blue the former prime minister decided he no longer wanted to lead the government. It's true that the prospect of leading a coalition of Liberal Democrats (PD-L) and Social Democrats (PSD) had him shaking in his boots, but no one would have forced him to sacrifice himself for the country. ... Stolojan's behaviour is inexcusable. It is outright infantile, that of a spoiled child deprived of his favourite toy. Stolojan cannot now try to pass himself off as innocent. He has flouted the people who had placed their trust in him and put the entire political class in an embarrassing situation." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Florian Bichir

The news blog Rue89 criticises Switzerland's asylum policy, widely regarded as Europe's strictest: "The Swiss have passed the toughest legislation on asylum and immigrants in Europe. So are they racist? It's not that simple. In a country of direct democracy the people have the final say. ... This affair is symptomatic of the climate that prevails in a country where the humanitarian tradition is being eroded. Switzerland has toughened its asylum and immigrant laws and NGOs are complaining that the new regulations are in breach of human rights. Or should we say 'the Swiss'? After all, it was indeed the [Swiss] people who expressed their will in a referendum on September 24." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Isolda Agazzi

Many Swiss take advantage of the agreement on freedom of movement between Switzerland and the EU and migrate to EU countries. It would be "a catastrophe" if the agreement were to come to an end as the result of a No vote in February 2009, the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes. "According to the authorities, should the rights of residency and employment of Swiss citizens in the EU enshrined in the agreement cease to apply, they will be replaced by the national regulations of the member state in question. It is likely that in a number of cases these regulations will be at variance, and that in many cases it would be left to the authorities to decide whether these rights are extended, which would considerably increase legal uncertainty." (15/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Claudia Wirz

The liberal Italian daily Corriere della Sera publishes an open letter by former world chess champion and Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov which reads like an indictment of Europe. "On March 2, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was voted in as Russian president. It is difficult not to write the word voted in quotation marks. In Russia, democracy and votes are not to be put on a par. On the following day things got even worse. Leading politicians in the West applauded Medvedev's fraudulent rise to power. ... We in the opposition had hoped the Western democracies would sharply criticise the return of arbitrariness and despotism in Russia. ... But the free world made it clear that democracy is a fiction, a disguise behind which business can be done. ... The highpoint of Putin's immunity was the Russian invasion of Georgia the moment South Ossetia provided the chance. Putin had no reason to fear the West's reaction. The true catastrophe that allowed him to shed innocent blood came on March 3 when the international community missed the last opportunity to sound the alarm at Putin's dictatorship." (16/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Garry Kasparov

Portugal's former prime minister Mário Soares explains in a commentary in Diário de Notícias why France, Spain and Portugal have cause to worry about the riots in Greece. "In Greece it's not marginal groups who are rioting, as it was in France. It's the sons of the bourgeoisie, who are badly hit by the crisis. France was the first country to start getting worried, and rightly so. When the middle class is hit by crisis, any excuse will do. That's how it was in 1968. .. Spain also has every reason to be alarmed, with rising unemployment, a general unease in the wake of an almost unprecedented period of growth and growing tensions between several regional governments and Madrid. Portugal should also keep a close eye on Greece. Growing social inequalities, spiralling unemployment that will continue to rise in 2009, exemption from punishment for criminal bankers and logjams in the police and judiciary all lead to mistrust and turmoil. Nothing good can come of that. ... Soon things will explode. France, Spain and Portugal are not Greece, it's true. Every country is different. But here no help can be expected from the European Union." (16/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Mário Soares

In the left-liberal newspaper Népszabadság poet and essayist Ákos Szilágyi reflects on the difference between the holy aura of the kings of the past and the media charisma of modern politicians. "Nowadays it is the media that sanctifies politicians - or in other words plucks them from the masses and separates them from the profane world - if only for a fleeting moment and naturally without a trace of spirituality. ... So it is no wonder that modern politicians who lack the charisma of the holy kings of old rush into the arms of the new Church - the media - to take part in the 'sanctification' of the electronic image and thus themselves become stars - modern-day saints. ... This is why any self-respecting politician behaves like a king crowned by the media. ... The miracle- performing politician at least has one great advantage over the miracle-performing king of old. When he fails to heal by the laying on of his hands he still has the option of doing the reverse: withdrawing his hand from the patient. Thus the politician takes his hands off the economy and miraculously it recovers; he takes his hand off the public purse and miraculously it refills; he takes his hand from society and it breathes a deep sigh of relief, and so on." (16/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Ákos Szilágyi

The price of crude oil has fallen by 66 percent in the last half year while petrol in Spain has only gone down by 32 percent, El Mundo newspaper writes, and calls on the country's cartel office to step in: "The representatives of filling stations say that the oil companies control pricing policy, based on exclusive contracts they have had to sign for years. The possibility for competition is limited, as the filling stations may not turn to other suppliers. This situation requires urgent intervention by the national anti-trust agency to assess whether the practice goes against the rules of competition." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Economic Policy, » Spain

Germany should make a greater contribution to the European economic stimulus programme and abandon its isolated position within the EU, writes the weekly Die Zeit. "[German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [Financial Minister Peer] Steinbrück are telling everyone who doesn't want to listen that Germany's extra expenses abroad are 'evaporating'. This may be true, but first of all 'abroad' is mainly the EU and therefore more like an extension of Germany and secondly it's not the done thing for an economic superpower (number one in Europe and number three in the world) to talk like a loser. As the world champion exporter, no other country profits more from Europe. Therefore the Germans should invest more in Europe than the smaller states. ... One more complaint: In times of crisis the big players are called on to act. The two second-largest, England and France, have seized the opportunity whereas the number one has let it pass as if in a state of mental blackout. Has it forgotten its power? Let's say rather that it forgot its duties." (11/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Germany, » Europe
All available articles from » Josef Joffe

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has petitioned that the German language should be enshrined in the Basic Law, Germany's constitution. "Has ever a language been so underappreciated?" asks The Independent ironically: "The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V thought it only good for giving orders to his horse. Mark Twain called it 'awful'. But now the Germans are standing up for their much-maligned tongue. The Christian Democrats hope to add a line to the national constitution affirming that 'the language of the Federal Republic of Germany is German'. Quite right too. Think of the joy the language of Goethe and Schiller has given, not just to Germans, but the rest of us too. How would we describe the sensation of taking delight in the misfortune of another without the delicious Schadenfreude? Realpolitik sums up the true nature of international relations perfectly. And how on earth would we chat about advice on applicable legal remedies without, er, Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung? Yes, the wonderful German language must be preserved. Alles klar?" (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » History, » Germany

Horst Tappert, the German actor who for almost a quarter of a century played the character of Detective Inspector Stephan Derrick on German television, has died. For the liberal daily Sme Derrick was a "cult figure for several generations. He was different from most police detectives. He wore big thick glasses, had even bigger bags under his eyes and had a predilection for strange suits he would combine with a trench coat. But despite all this he was very charismatic and for many viewers he was just as immortal a figure as the British or American stars of the silver screen. Derrick had his own image and his own methods. He never shouted; he was never 'in action'. His main weapons were the telephone and personal conversations. His 'Harry, get the car' line is still a classic in Germany. ... Derrick was broadcast in over 100 countries. It's no wonder the Federal Republic of Germany conferred him its highest honour for promoting Germany's image abroad." (16/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Germany, » Global
All available articles from » Oliver Rehák