In the Swiss regional paper Tribune de Génève Jean-Noël Cuénod analyses the weaknesses of the social democratic parties following their poor showing in the European elections: "The victory of the Greek socialists … was the exception that confirms the rule: the Left has suffered a heavy defeat. The social democracy of our continent is falling into a coma that will mean brain death. And indeed the weakness of this political current has its root in the place where thoughts are formed. … Firstly, it has clung to its traditional creed: regulation of the economy through state intervention, but without taking ecological requirements or the consequences of globalisation into consideration. … When the present crisis began the social democrats gave the impression of wanting to use state influence when it was important to be liberal and being liberal when more state would have been necessary! … Does the future of social democracy not lie in social ecology?" (09/06/2009)

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The daily Dnevnik attributes the poor performance of the left-wing parties in the European elections to the low voter turnout: "Their defeat is not just obvious and catastrophic, it is also understandable. In times when the left parties should in fact be making themselves useful they are the political group with the fewest ideas within the Union. We should examine to what extent the Left contributed to the low voter turnout. In Eastern Europe and here in Slovenia citizens don't vote because for us the whole 'business of Europe' ceased to be relevant once we became EU members. Be that as it may, voters across Europe performed the largely make-believe democratic task of putting together the new Brussels Babylon, where much is translated but little understood, more under duress than anything else. The Brussels Babylon may … not have caused any damage worth mentioning so far, and is unlikely to do so in the next five years. But in the meantime we should consider whether this kind of European opinion poll … won't end up being the Union's undoing." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Dejan Kovac

Martin Weiss writes in the conservative daily Lidové Noviny that the European elections have shown up the weaknesses of the Left in the economic crisis: "This is a particularly interesting anomaly, because many people have tried to paint the recession as having definitively discredited Anglo-Saxon or neoliberal capitalism. Who knows why that made no difference on election day. Possibly the European social systems are so effective that they can fend off practically all of the negative consequences of the crisis on living standards. Maybe the voters noticed that the Left and the Right use rhetoric to mask how little their economic policies actually differ. Or it could be that the electorate felt that the Left has no better ideas about how to tackle the crisis than the Right. Everyone wants more regulation, but at the same time everyone is afraid to admit they haven't got a clue as to how to do it." (09/06/2009)

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The elections to the European Parliament made many things clearer, writes Agaton Koziński in the daily Polska: "The advantage of elections is that they give a clear answer to questions. The results announced on Sunday, for example, showed what condition Europe's Left is in: abominable. They also showed that the [anti-European party] Libertas has failed to catch the attention of the Eurosceptics with its programme, despite its strident campaign. They have finally shown that less and less people are interested in the European Parliament, because in the entire history of these elections voter turnout has never been this low." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Agaton Koziński

As opposed to in most EU states the Socialists have had a good showing in Greece. The daily Ta Nea explains the Greek paradox: "In defeating [the ruling conservative party] Nea Demokratia, the Greek Socialists constituted an exception in the European elections. In most countries the centre-right parties took the day. The Greek paradox no doubt has to do with the government's all-time disastrous performance in all areas, particularly its disappointing economic policy and its inability to deal with scandals. But it also has to do with the strengthening of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), which managed to overcome its introversion and ... is slowly regaining voter confidence. Nevertheless the tendency we've seen in the rest of Europe is also taking hold in Greece, and we must start asking ourselves why." (09/06/2009)

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Following the regional elections coalition talks begin today, Tuesday, in Flanders. They may last a while, despite the fact that the current ruling parties still have a majority, De Standaard writes, and adds that there's no time to lose in view of the many problems that require attention: "The uncomplicatedness with which the Flemish government was able to spend money for political goals has gone. We must learn to do more with less. … Secondly, the Flemish government must execute a strong and future-oriented anti-crisis policy. For instance the doubts about the survival chances of the Opel plant in Antwerp have not evaporated since June 7. … Moreover Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy will be begging the Flemish government for money to rescue his wobbly 2010 budget in three months' time. How will Flanders react under the new government to such urgent pleas? The answer to this question will determine the chances of survival of the federal government." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Bart Sturtewagen

Following the miserable performance of the ruling Labour Party in the European and local elections the calls for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step down are growing louder. According to the Dutch daily Trouw he only survived the confrontation with his party on Monday because Labour has no alternative at present: "The fear of being swept away should elections be held in the next couple of months is great. Yesterday evening that fear seemed greater than the desire to put an end to Brown's suffering. 'The prime minister staying [in office] is the lesser evil', said one discouraged MP in advance. In a bid to appease his critics Brown will postpone the controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail [postal service]. In addition he will finally give in to the pressure to hold an inquiry into the Iraq War. But whatever the case the truce agreed yesterday is highly likely to prove to be only a very uncomfortable pause in the fighting." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Maaike Veen

The daily Le Monde criticises the EU's track record on economic policy in the wake of the European elections: "Europeans have only one thing on their minds: the crisis. That can explain so many people's indifference for Europe. Brussels played almost no role in managing the trauma that broke out last autumn. Nor did it become active later on when measures were being worked out to get the situation under control. The Eurozone has a common monetary policy, but there is no common recovery plan or coordination of economic policy among the 27 member states. ... If the aim of those who refrained from voting was to punish institutional Europe for its lack of action in the crisis, they have the wrong target in their sights. Parliament is not to blame, [Commission President José Manuel] Barroso is. The man who lacks any hint of political charisma or economic imagination. Meanwhile the governments are getting ready to propose him for a new mandate as President of the Commission. That is very bad news for Europe." (09/06/2009)

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The Spanish daily La Vanguardia comments on the results of the parliamentary elections in Lebanon: "The victory of the pro-Western March 14 Alliance led by Saad Hariri in Lebanon's elections last weekend was a relief for the US and its strongest allies in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. The opposite outcome, a victory for the opposition alliance formed by Hizbollah and the parties it is close to, supported by Iran and Syria, would have destroyed the fragile balance in the region. The highest leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attached a lot of importance to the elections. … The first words [of election winner Hariri] were that there was neither a winner nor a loser because only Lebanon and democracy had won. Only time will tell whether this is true for this small and complex country which plays a key role in the mosaic of interests in the Middle East." (09/06/2009)

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In the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria the government is promising a "secure" health system, offering adequate care. The daily Klassa is outraged: "How can you maintain a health system on a budget of only around four percent of the GDP? That is criminal. The financing of this sector is nothing less than derisory. And it's the people's health that suffers. The lack of money results in corruption and other negative phenomena. ... The reform must go forward at all costs, and it must be coordinated with all of the institutions connected with public health: the Ministry of Health, the Finance and Social Affairs ministries, as well as patients' representatives." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Zvetan Raychinov

For the first time, the right-wing extremist British National Party (BNP) has garnered two seats in the European elections. The Financial Times writes that its success can be put down to the inability of the mainstream parties to speak to the white working class: "There is no chance that the BNP will win a seat in the Commons, much less a position of national authority. This election is not a milestone on the road to serfdom. But the BNP foments - and relies on - local racial tension. Even a long way from power, the party is a deeply malign influence on British life. Reducing the damage the BNP can do will require the UK's mainstream parties to overcome their inability to reach the white working class. This, in particular, means making sure that the welfare system is believed to be fair. Perceived injustice is the root of the hatred on which the BNP relies." (09/06/2009)

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The Hungarian right-wing extremist Jobbik party won 15 percent of the vote in the European elections, thus obtaining three seats in the EU Parliament. News portal Hírszerző blames the established parties: "For twenty years the established centrist parties used the fascist trump card and were thus able to gloss over the fact that they had nothing of substance to say. The strategy behind this was to mobilise the masses through emotional blackmail. … In addition the centrist parties thought that in view of the Nazi threat it was only a minor peccadillo to be corrupt, reform-lazy and inconsistent in power. They tried to fool the voters and made unholy demons out of insignificant marginal figures so often that in the end, when the Right was indeed gaining ground, no one was ready to believe the dark visions. … Jobbik's triumph bodes ill for the guardians of democracy." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » László Tamás Papp

Bernardo Valli explains in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica why there is no paradox whatsoever in the fact that the creators of the crisis, the representatives of neoliberalism, emerged as the victors in the European elections: "Because the social democratic Left, which began the test in the dock and ended it in the losers' cage, simply failed to present itself as a credible alternative owing to the fact that it still hasn't adjusted to the new global situation. … Moreover the Right took it unawares. It was not squeamish with the budget, it put up with deficits to guarantee social benefits, it attacked the tax havens, lost no time setting up new market rules and nationalising banks. … Right-wing neoliberalism has become super-Keynesian. The world champions of deregulation have … forgotten their past and essentially appropriated the principles of social democracy. They have stolen them and left the Left empty-handed by forcing it to polemicize about the content of the measures and depriving it of the chance to present serious arguments about who was originally to blame." (09/06/2009)

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"The lesson the [European] elections teach us is clear: Europeans do not long for more integration", writes Petr Kamberský in the business paper Hospodářské Noviny. "Consequently there is no reason to strengthen the Union. ... There is no European nation. The United States of Europe is a dream born in the literary cafés which has nothing to do with reality in the foreseeable future. The only people who are on the move are students, a handful of business people and professionals. They commute back and forth over continents, because their unique services are everywhere in demand. The rest of Europe stays put at home, aside from the ten weekends a year it spends in Porto, Ljubljana or Prague, that is. However people's dislike for unity doesn't mean they have no interest in Europe and its four cornerstones. The problem is that decisions on the free movement of people, goods, services and capital are made by the undemocratic European Commission, not the Parliament. All Parliament does is pass one surperfluous resolution after the next." (09/06/2009)

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Romania receives an increased amount of EU funding since its EU accession. It is entitled to withdraw a total of 30 billion euros by 2013, or eleven million euros daily (calculated for seven years). But so far, the daily Gândul points out, it has only called up 0.5 percent of the available funding. The newspaper takes a closer look at the country's agricultural sector: "The supervisory systems governing what farmers have to declare when they spend EU money are inefficient. For sure, it's not easy to establish an effective mechanism for financing the agricultural sector. It took even the Germans nine years to get theirs going. It's impossible to say how long Romanian politicians will need to accomplish the task, because when a party or coalition takes power here in Romania their first concern is to dismiss those who had kept it functioning up to that point - for incompetence. … In Romania more is being torn down than is being built because our rulers' main priority is to serve their political clientele." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Gheorghe Cercelescu

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on the decision by the European Commission that in future rosé wine must be made exclusively from red grapes: "No one is going to want to stop tramps from swirling together a sour white with a raspy red one. ... But the same does not apply to the EU Commission, which was ready to let loose such 'rosé' produced by its member states on wine drinkers. One has to wonder whether Europe has no more pressing worries. Bacchus be praised, the Commission has now changed its mind, but only after desperate resistance on the part of winemakers. ... Rosé is wine made exclusively from red grapes. Calling a cheap mix of red and white wine a 'rosé' is label fraud. But it shouldn't be all that hard for the Commission to find a solution. To distinguish whether it's rosé in the bottle or some other swill, all they need is another appellation, for example 'brown bag vintages' or 'one buck chuck'." (09/06/2009)

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The British musical Billy Elliot has won ten Tony Awards at the American Theatre Wing's annual ceremony in New York. The Independent celebrates the musical's success: "What better story for a time of recession than the heart-warming tale of a boy from the strike-ridden coal industry finding himself and his community's loyalty in pursuit of a career as ballet dancer. Art triumphs over life, hope over despair. Hollywood produced its greatest era of light comedy in the Depression. Maybe this time of recession will also embrace the power of fantasy and dreams. Defeat needs not mean pessimism. ... The performing arts have always understood this, none more than the musical which America has made so much its own. Maybe New Yorkers didn't altogether understand the politics of this passionate celebration of working-class values against the depredations of Margaret Thatcher's free market economics. But they clearly understood the human spirit of the piece, which is ultimately what the musical is all about." (09/06/2009)

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"The most recent sex scandal from the villa of the Italian prime minister has aroused much interest among guests to the upcoming G8 summit in Abruzzo - above all in the Ladies' Programme. The term takes on a whole new meaning when spoken by Berlusconi," writes the Financial Times Deutschland in an ironic comment. "This explains the anticipation on the part of individual summit participants that the Ladies' Programme will be at the centre of the political agenda. For his visit to Italy on Wednesday, Libya's revolutionary leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has already expressed the wish to speak in front of 700 women representatives from politics, business and culture, including Italy's Minister for Equal Opportunity and ex-model Mara Carfagna. In the end the prospect of Berlusconi swinging the protocol sceptre could also strengthen the regular Ladies' Programme. Last year, for example, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was conspicuous by her absence. This year the wife of the French president may well want to stay at her husband's side - provided of course that he takes her with him in the first place." (09/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Andre Tauber