The Spanish daily El País sees the fusion between Forza Italia and Alleanza Nazionale to form the "People of Freedom" party in Italy as paving the way for a "post-Berlusconi" phase: "[Gianfranco] Fini, one of the best or perhaps the best speaker in Italy's political class, has done the country a great service by pulling together all those who were wallowing in nostalgia for [Benito] Mussolini, anti-Semitism and authoritarian leadership and have now conformed to become part of a liberal mass. This leads us to conclude …, that he is counting on becoming the legitimate successor to his boss, the exotic and eccentric Cavaliere [Silvio Berlusconi], who despite all the implants and surgery can't expect to live forever. The future of Italian politics, caught in a constant transition from post- to post-, should be working towards a solid two-party system. Centre-right and centre-left. And this is what Fini wants. Not a bad idea." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy

The liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera asks whether the merger between the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale (AN) and the conservative Forza Italia (FI) can work: "Not even Silvio Berlusconi can say whether the fusion will create a solid, homogenous formation that will be able to overcome the inevitable obstacles on its path and remain intact. For this is no ordinary amalgamation of two parties that despite taking different directions belong to the same species. The FI and the AN belong to entirely different species. The former is an authoritarian party whose ideological cohesion resides in the personality of its founder (Silvio Berlusconi). The AN is a classic 20th century party. It has an ideology which, thanks to its leader Gianfranco Fini, has become increasingly blurred over the years but still lives on in the form of a nostalgic sense of a useless past that nonetheless is still entrenched in the minds and hearts of its members." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy
All available articles from » Sergio Romano

Commenting on the merger of the post-fascist party Alleanza Nazionale (AN) with Forza Italia, the French daily Le Figaro writes that the AN has succeeded in establishing itself as a democratic force: "This is both a realistic and a courageous move by this party, which asserts its nationalist identity. ... Will the Alleanza Nationale survive this change without losing its soul? Its boss Gianfranco Fini is convinced that it will. ... It seems a long time ago that Silvio Berlusconi declared in November 1993 that if he lived in Rome he would vote for a neo-fascist candidate - the then almost unknown local politician Gianfranco Fini - in the city elections. Over the years the AN has established itself as a democratic and responsible mainstream force, which is fully integrated in the institutions." (23/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy
All available articles from » Richard Heuze

The liberal daily La Stampa writes that the founding of the new "People of Freedom" party in Italy brings head of government Silvio Berlusconi closer than ever to his goal of becoming president: "If Silvio Berlusconi manages to succeed Giorgio Napolitano as president, the Republic will resemble a monarchy. A monarchy which is unlike any other monarchy. … Free of all the institutional conventions and parliamentary controls and regulations which are a constant source of annoyance to him and which have fortunately limited his powers so far, Berlusconi will rule Italy without restrictions, solely on the strength of his charisma. … If he is denied the presidency Berlusconi will continue to govern for ever. One thing is for sure: Silvio Berlusconi won't step down at the next elections in 2013." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy

The daily La Voix du Luxembourg comments on the vote of no confidence that led to the downfall of Czech Premier Mirek Topolánek: "Showing the Czech government and the EU Presidency the door in the middle of the financial crisis has discredited Czech diplomacy's entire strategy and perhaps also the country's image for a good while to come. ... Ousting Topolánek in the middle of the EU Presidency means judging a government on the basis of a situation that no one can really explain properly. But it also means that the gravity of the problem and the necessity of sticking together have not been understood. It is more a question of irresponsibility than of euro-scepticism. ... The social democratic opposition in the Czech Republic announced yesterday ... that it could imagine holding new elections early, although not until 2010. ... And that only in order to give Topolánek's popularity ratings - which have received a new boost since the beginning of the presidency - time to fall again." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Thierry Labro

The business newspaper Figyelõ believes that following the announcement that Premier Ferenc Gyurcsány plans to resign new elections are in the air in Hungary: "It is highly unlikely that the socialists will support at all costs a prime minister who has the country's long-term interests in mind and will pay the price of painful social consequences in order to finally put Hungary's economy on a health footing. ... Should the new government leader lack the determination to lead the country out of the crisis, he won't have to wait long for the market's response. Hungary may lose its creditworthiness, or else the Hungarian currency, the forint, may plummet and the country may find itself on the verge of bankruptcy. ... However you look at it, the prospects of a government of experts that is capable of action are poor. Instead new elections look ever more likely." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Hungary

In Austria files have come to light that allegedly prove that former mayor of Vienna Helmut Zilk worked for the Czechoslovakian secret service between 1965 and 1969. The conservative daily Die Presse comments on the case: "To be sure, Zilk is a plaster saint of Austrian internal politics and he has indisputably done great service to the city of Vienna. … But it is not implausible that there is a dark chapter in his past, and it is not an irreverence to investigate this. Or is the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) afraid of embarrassing headlines in the midst of the upcoming election campaign? But perhaps double standards apply in Austria. Just imagine the scandal if there were evidence that a conservative or even right-wing populist politician - dead or alive - had behaved inappropriately or committed a criminal offence. Would there be speculation about a 'plot' or conspiracy in the media? Or would a premature wave of condemnation ensue? One can assume that the latter would be the more likely scenario." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Martina Salomon

The Catholic Church in Poland recently completed its so-called lustration (illumination) during which all priests were investigated for possible collaboration with the communist-era secret police. The commentator Piotr Zaremba thinks this was a bad move, because it has undermined trust in the Church. "Did the prelate Henryk Jankowski work as a secret information source for the communist state security? It looks very much as if he did. Of course, for those who oppose examining the material from that time he is simply a victim of the IPN [Institute of National Remebrance]. But even if they turn a blind eye ... , reality will not cease to exist. It will still be there. I'm not saying that the masses will leave the Church for this reason - there are other grounds for the trend towards secularity. But I do believe that the Church has provided us with a further reason for not placing complete trust in it, and that is sad." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Poland
All available articles from » Piotr Zaremba

The German police spent years looking for a woman traces of whose DNA had been found at the scene of numerous crimes. Now it transpires that the cotton buds used to take the DNA samples were probably already contaminated with genetic material. The left-wing liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung comments: "And even if an accused person had thrown away his cigarette butt at the scene of a crime, that merely proves he was there but not that he committed the crime. In their obsession with DNA investigators often forget this. In the USA there are apparently hundreds of cases that have been reopened because DNA samples had been used too rashly to convict innocent people. In Germany legislators have taken the opposite route. Acquittals are in future to be revoked if traces of DNA are discovered. Here the cotton bud case should serve as a warning: a DNA match is a piece of circumstantial evidence, but nothing more than that." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Science / Research, » Germany
All available articles from » Heribert Prantl

Left-wing anthropologist Vesna Godina writes in the daily Večer that people should finally wake up and realise that capitalism is not the only option: "Capitalism is a social manifestation, and all social manifestations eventually fade, including capitalism - perhaps not right now, but soon. It will come to an end, and this will prove the leftist intellectuals right and the 'right-wingers' who believe capitalism is everlasting wrong. History will eradicate capitalism, even if we ourselves don't live long enough to witness this. History will put capitalism where it belongs: on the scrapheap of human history - as a Western European excess that is short-lived and not particularly universal. For society is not the same thing as capitalism. Human society is much more than capitalism and at the same time entirely different. If the West would only make a small effort to look beyond its own horizons it would already be able to see this . … Communism is more … than the project of a concrete society. It is a fundamental stance." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Philosophy, » Weltanschauung, » Western Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Vesna Godina

The weekly Rheinischer Merkur sees the Pope's scepticism about the use of condoms as a way of preventing Aids in Africa as justified: "Now the Pope has got support from a scientist who is an expert on the subject and regards himself as a 'liberal' - Professor Edward Green, director of a research project on Aids prevention at Harvard. Twenty-five years of research have shown that there is no evidence of a connection between wider use of condoms and a lower HIV infection rate. Africa will not recover without doing something itself. Take Uganda as an example. There the government ran a campaign propagating marital fidelity, and the HIV infection rate fell by two thirds. Following the condom campaign by western Aids fighters the rate rose rapidly again in 2004. The reason, according to Africa expert Green, is that the easier condoms are to get hold of, the higher the infection rate. This is because people take more risks in their sexual activity when they use condoms. Aids programmes therefore need to aim at getting people to change their behaviour. That was one of the messages the Pope was trying to get across." (26/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Africa
All available articles from » Rudolf Zerwell

The weekly Kapital examines the tensions between the US and China in the run-up to the G20 summit in London next week: "The rumblings can be heard not only on the military but also on the economic front: First China's Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern about the stability of the dollar, then the governor of the central bank Zhou Xiaochuan published an article in which he argued in favour of an alternative global currency. The statements of these two major representatives of an economy which holds around two trillion dollars in currency reserves has caused great anxiety in Washington. The very next day [US President Barack] Obama announced that confidence in the American economy was 'particularly high' and that he saw no need for a new global currency." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Ognian Georgiev

In order to underline the necessity of a new European constitution, 52 poets have written their own poetic European constitution. It is not intended as "a remake of a political fiasco," they write in the daily De Standaard, but rather aims to make Europe a topic of conversation again among its citizens. "If the European institutions fail to inspire the people, to enthral them, to move them, to touch them or, if need be, to make them angry, then we will do it instead. Europe lurches from one crisis to the next, suspended somewhere above the heads of its citizens, sometimes suffering from its citizens' arrogance, at other times from their hypocrisy, and at other times still from their confusion and fear. No, what we want to do for once is to think about who and what Europe can be. Let us ask ourselves the question which past we need to remember and which future we can still dream of. How proud we are, and how we are still able to grieve." (27/03/2009)

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

Unemployment awaits many artists once they complete their education. The Dutch government therefore plans structural reforms at universities to improve the prospects of artists. The daily NRC Handelsblad instead argues in favour of promoting amateur art: "Amateur art creates a market. People who paint are more likely to go to museums. The [recently set up] fund for cultural participation aims to make art more accessible and calls for closer cooperation between amateur and professional art. This implies a growing need for professional guidance and this opens up opportunities for artists who have taken a degree in art. Without being deprived of their artistic autonomy they can teach their craft and convey their passion to art lovers of all age groups. Their personal art would perhaps even develop further in such a context. Interaction with amateurs could expand their horizons and trigger unexpected thoughts about their own work." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Netherlands

The daily Expressen takes a self-critical look at how journalists handle opinion surveys. It believes caution is in order in interpreting the results: "We in the media have a special responsibility to look at what is behind a message. It is tempting to seize on the results of surveys as sensational news and make journalism out of them. But that is the cheap and lazy option - a kind of fast food for journalists. And it is also a temptation we should resist. As citizens we can also do our bit to counter the hidden PR methods of vested interests. Next time an opinion survey institute calls, ask who is paying for the survey. You have a right to know the answer." (27/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Online media, » Sweden