In his inaugural speech the new US President Barack Obama has demanded moderation of US citizens, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Make yourself small so that others will feel big. That is Obama's leadership principle, which is what makes him very big indeed. No word sums up his style better than responsibility, by which he understands 'duty'. Responsibility, the key term in Obama's mental universe, stands for an attitude of servitude, a classic virtue free from the pall of arrogance or megalomania. With the word responsibility Obama's summarises Kennedy's famous phrase, also spoken at his inaugural address: Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. With this call for responsibility Obama returns the burden of his office to the voters, and gives American politics a new direction. This change of direction is the new president's most dramatic message." (21/01/2009)

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All available articles from » Stefan Kornelius

For the left-liberal daily The Guardian, Barack Obama did well in his inaugural speech to reign in expectations, rather than cater to them: "Those who expected Mr Obama to take the oath and then promptly deliver the most easy-on-the-ear speech in American public life since Abraham Lincoln may have been disappointed by yesterday. But that misses the point. Mr Obama is president now, not a campaigner. His job is to harness the expectations, not to pander to them. He knows that America faces an immense economic crisis while fighting difficult and dubious wars. For that reason the absence of a stardust line in the speech may turn out to be another piece of clever politics. A serious man for serious times is rightly careful to lower unrealistic expectations." (21/01/2009)

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The new US president must make people believe that a new era has dawned, nothing more and nothing less, writes the daily Der Standard: "It may be true that Barack Obama has no 'master plan' for dealing with the crisis, as economist Jeremy Rifkin pointed out in a recent interview with this paper. But the question is, does he really need one? If it's true that psychology is one of the most important causes of the crisis even an Obama without a master plan could be the right president for these difficult times. ... 'Yes, we can' was yesterday; 'Yes, we do' is today. If the 44th president of the United States does indeed manage to restore the legendary pioneering spirit of the bewildered Americans, whatever the expectations may be, he will have performed a great service." (21/01/2009)

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The left-liberal daily La Repubblica comments on the religious content of Barack Obama's inaugural address: "The oath sworn on the Lincoln Bible, which contains many references to God, the long sermon which preceded the new president's speech, the unwavering patriotism and the sublime feeling of a national, specifically American mission must have seemed somewhat strange to many Europeans. ... The speech is in keeping with an important rhetoric tradition that is quite rightly described as America's civil religion. ... In view of the profound emotional power of this language (saturated with religious references) and its ability to set national priorities, Obama made extremely clever use of the reservoir put at his disposal by Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The new president seeks to take full advantage of the power of this tradition as a contrast to the nationalist rhetoric employed by George W. Bush and put it at the service of his new and completely different programme." (21/01/2009)

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The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt writes in his blog that the new US President Barack Obama benefits from enormous moral credibility, but that the symbolism of Obama's inauguration outweighed his message: "As I followed the address I saw that Obama's policy was embodied in his person more than in his words. The presidential inauguration of an African American from a humble background whose middle name is Hussein: this is the most radical change one could possibly imagine. And it is this change, more than the policy measures Obama will possibly or probably introduce, which endows American politics with new potential and power." (21/01/2009)

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Commenting on the new US president's inaugural speech La Vanguardia writes: "The swearing-in of Barack Obama signals the beginning of a new era. His inaugural address as president of the United states marks a radical change in the policies of the most powerful country on Earth. In brief words full of hope Obama promised to usher in a new era of peace founded on cooperation and mutual understanding, as well as a new era of progress based on hard work, effort and individual responsibility." (21/01/2009)

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During a visit to Brussels the Turkish Prime Minister threatened to reconsider the country's support for the European Nabucco pipeline project if the EU continues to block Turkey's membership negotiations. The daily Dnevnik sees this as an inadequate means for exerting pressure. "Not that a politician like [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan would miss the opportunity of showing the Europeans who's boss when it comes to gas from Iraq, or in future from Iran. However there is a major snag: How much gas would Turkey receive and where would it come from? It's clear that Russia has a 25-year contract for the export of virtually all of the gas Turkmenistan exports to Europe. It was supplies of the blue fuel from this central Asian republic that triggered the second Russian-Ukrainian gas war. ... The performance Erdogan delivered in Brussels can be seen as a tactical manoeuvre. But when you take a closer look at the Nabucco project it becomes obvious that it's not really a trump card for Turkey in its EU membership talks." (21/01/2009)

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Once again a critical journalist and a human rights lawyer have been murdered in Moscow. NRC Handelsblad surmises that the two murders are political and demonstrate the disdain for democratic principles of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev: "One consequence of the financial crisis is that Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev are confonted with a budget deficit. ... They must economise on the social programmes which had until now made things easier for the population. This is the third time in 20 years that Russians have experienced a significant decline in their standard of living. The impending crisis weakens the position of the two. In view of the material interests at stake ... it is probable that the current regime will decide for self-protection through repression and against social dialogue. Strictly speaking the murders do not spell this out. But they do show that critical voices are becoming outlawed in Russia." (21/01/2009)

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The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for Russia to be included in the US missile defence shield project in the Czech Republic and Poland. The conservative daily Lidové noviny rejects this proposal. "Washington spent months seeking to include Moscow in the project but Russia flatly refused this. Anyone who adopts an attitude (like Merkel's) in view of this situation arouses the suspicion that they have no interest in the project. If that is the case it would be better to just say so openly. Frau Merkel should tell the Czech prime minister that her government doesn't want Prague and the Americans carrying on an exclusive affair that is beyond the control of the European family, or in other words Berlin and Paris. ... The whole thing has a deeper background: Germany has long seen itself as Putin's main ally in the West." (21/01/2009)

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The daily Neatkariga Rita avize rejects comparisons between the riots of 13 January 2009 in Riga and the fight for independence in 1991: "Back then we were simply fighting for Latvia, as crude as the barricades were back then. At that time our state was still in its infancy, and we ourselves were also children. And at that time we could not imagine our innocent thoughts and hopes would be abused by others for unlawful gain. But are we not also guilty? When times were good we let ourselves be lulled by the European bureaucrats. We closed almost all of our factories because Europe was only interested in us as consumers. We scrapped our ships because Europe already had enough fish. And we sold our land, lured by the promise of so much money in return. Is that what we manned the barricades for in 1991?" (21/01/2009)

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Social scientist Olivier Roy outlines the motives behind various Islamist movements, recommending a policy change for the new US government: "Barack Obama's new government faces two types of Islamist movements between Gaza and Kandahar: those with a global programme (Al Qaeda and its local groups) and those with territorial and national priorities (Taliban, Hamas, a majority of the insurgents in Iraq, etc.). There is nothing to negotiate with the global Jihadists. But the Islamist movements with a national base can be neither ignored nor liquidated. ... The so called 'war on terror' waged during the Bush years blurred this fundamental distinction by labelling all opposition to governments supported by the US as terrorist. The very concept of the 'war on terror' prevented a political approach to these conflicts and relied on military victory which proved very difficult to achieve. But where political strategies were implemented, they functioned. The comparative success encountered in the strengthening of Iraq was implicitly based on renouncing the official doctrine of a 'war on terror'. The rebellious local movements were recognised as more or less legitimate, and not lumped together with foreign-led militant movements which put no stock in the national interests of Iraq." (21/01/2009)

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In his column in the daily Turun Sanomat Seppo Kimanen, who works with the Finnish embassy in Tokyo, takes a look at how Europe is dealing with the immigration issue. "Migration to Europe has increased owing to the catastrophic conditions in many countries. ... [But] the problems [of immigrants] only begin with immigration. There is not enough work for all of them and shattered dreams have led immigrants in France's suburbs to riot, while in the UK religious fanatics have staged terrorist attacks. Alarming cultural differences ... have come to light. The best thing would be to improve efforts in the area of development aid and achieve a more even distribution of wealth. But at the same time we must overcome the automatic attitude of rejection towards immigrants and learn to accept them so that everyone benefits. Europeans must develop a new way of thinking and reacting. Mankind did not come into being in Europe, nor did it develop there in its early stages. We are all descendants of immigrants. ... Children, the disabled, marginalised groups, immigrants and other minorities often possess a remarkable sensitivity and still have their own visions. To ignore them would represent a loss for mankind." (21/01/2009)

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The liberal daily La Stampa describes the takeover of 35 percent of the ailing US carmaker Chrysler by the Italian Fiat group as a milestone. "The contract, provided it's signed, would be an excellent result for Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and his team, who in the space of a few years have completely revamped Fiat and made it globally competitive again. ... But the competition is also revving up. Germany is now prepared to help out Opel, BMW and Volkswagen, and France yesterday announced a cash injection of 6 to 7 billion euros for Peugeot, Citroën and Renault. ... It's clear that this approach will distort competition. We really need to find a way of coordinating the rescue plans at least on a European level. To do nothing would be the worst alternative. And this is precisely what is happening in Italy at the political level." (21/01/2009)

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Guillaume Bachelay, responsible for industrial policy in France's Socialist Party, comments in Le Monde newspaper on the crisis in the automotive sector in France and Europe: "What if the car simply vanished in 2009? Of course we will continue to build and sell cars far into the future. But if we don't act swiftly and resolutely, this year could be the beginning of the end in the West for this business sector. In Europe car sales are plummeting. In France factories are closing, order books are empty, inventories are piling up, suppliers and subcontractors have been bled dry. ... The crisis has heightened the fragility of the sector, but it didn't create it. ... It is time to act on the European level. Unfortunately France failed to make use of its EU Council presidency to this effect, but there are still paths to explore. We could found an agency for industrial innovation ... or foster enhanced cooperation on European patents." (20/01/2009)

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The squat toilet on Czech artist David Černý's controversial Entropa sculpture in Brussels was to be dismounted at the request of the Bulgarian foreign ministry. Instead it was covered with a black cloth. The daily Dnevnik writes: "This makes Bulgaria look like a combination between a black sheep and a black hole. The mourning cloth not only covered the toilet but converted it into an installation with an even more ambiguous and, as far as the 'patriots' are concerned, offensive message. ... Bulgaria's vehement reaction ... deserves such an emphasis, for it stands in contrast to its demonstrative passivity and lacking competence in much more important affairs of state. There are reasons for Bulgaria being seen as a black sheep in Europe. Only recently, while Slovakia decided against putting the decommissioned Bohunice [nuclear power plant] back into operation, Bulgaria insisted on restarting reactors 3 and 4 at the Kosloduj plant. The difficulties its judiciary is still having fighting organised crime in its second year of EU membership show that it's also a black hole." (21/01/2009)

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Mikołaj Lizut sympathises in the liberal newpaper Gazeta Wyborcza with those laid off at the state television broadcaster TVP 1, writing that many journalists are victims of "political purges": "I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to all of my journalist colleagues associated with the public television of the so-called IVth Republic. Above all my thoughts go out to those sacked for financial motives, prestige motives or because of the political situation. I especially sympathise with the presenter Joanna Lichocka. I can't avoid thinking that her sacking from the programme Forum ... simply reflected the political interests of Piotr Farfała, the new head of TVP [a politician with an extreme right-wing background]." (21/01/2009)

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