The daily Helsingin Sanomat looks toward Italy in dismay: "In his long and many-sided career, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has also worked as an entertainer and producer. Now it seems he's come back to this occupation once more. This time his style is burlesque, rendering even the most serious things ridiculous. ... The leisure time of the most powerful political player stops being private when he starts appearing in the company of masses of women, all bribed in one way or another, and when he is no longer able to give an honest answer when questioned about the nature of these relationships. ... Berlusconi, who will play host to the G8 summit in Italy next month, is one of the EU's best-known statesmen and for that reason also a highly visible representative of the so-called European values in the world. A poor role model. In Berlusconi's third term in office it is clear that apart from women he also sees the legal system and freedom of opinion from one perspective: his own." (25/06/2009)

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The liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera complains that the personalisation of politics in Italy has taken on "pathological dimensions": "A general void … has taken the place of cultures and political parties. All that is left is people, naked people (in the truest sense of the word!). From this point of view [head of government Silvio] Berlusconi is far from being the disease. He is just the symptom. … This Italian deviation is a return to antiquity. Politics is evaporating, only to be replaced by an Italy we thought we had long left behind us: a country in the hands of the few, of oligarchies who are interested only in their own power. A country on the wayside which, cut off from the rest of the world, has lost a sense of a common destiny and been left with neither ambitions nor projects for the future. A country that does not love itself and which seems incapable of demanding anything of itself. A country that in the emptiness of its politics has exposed something else, something that very much resembles a lack of will or a moral void." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Italy
All available articles from » Ernesto Galli della Loggia

The Berlusconi affair has also put the Church in an embarrassing situation, theologist Vito Mancuso writes in the left-liberal Italian daily La Repubblica. Don Antonio Sciortino, chief editor of the Catholic weekly Famiglia Christiana, has called on the Church to clarify its position: "[This] means a public condemnation of the behaviour of the current head of government in view of his disregard for Catholic morals. … The answer [of the Church] depends on which of the two sides of the Church's soul prevails - the political or the prophetic. … It is likely … that the political soul with its accommodating stance will triumph. … The head of government will continue to count on the discreet and stout support of the Church hierarchy, and will not fail to reward it accordingly. But one thing must be clear: the words of the Church will hardly seem credible if it dares to defend the family [yet again] in the future." (25/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Vito Mancuso

In the daily To Vima the columnist Lori Keza pokes fun at the love life of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: "Uncle Silvio has certainly managed to do one thing: at 73 he's got the whole world talking about his supposed love life. ... Women, women, women. Does the old man perhaps want to send out the message that he's still sexually active? Medicine provides the answer. At his age he's a dud at best; and if he takes too many pills his heart'll explode. It makes no difference how much plastic surgery he has, how much hair he has implanted or how many gifts he distributes. His sex organ just won't play along, and will call a quick halt to whatever adventures Berlusconi may have in mind. That is amply shown by the statistics. ... It seems that part of the population admires him for his conquests. ... Although the papers cast him in the role of an aging satyr [a lecherous figure from Greek mythology], he is topping popularity charts. Not in the surveys, but where opinion really counts, at the polls." (25/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Laurie Keza

The Irish poet Seamus Heaney reminds us of the grandeur of the European project, writes Timothy Garton Ash in his blog for the left-liberal daily The Guardian. Healy reads a poem in a video for the new Ireland-in-Europe campaign: "In a rare and moving intervention, Ireland's greatest living poet, Seamus Heaney, has come out plainly for a yes to the Lisbon treaty and raised the whole debate to a different level. ... Heaney says ... 'There are many reasons for ratifying the Lisbon treaty ... but the poem speaks mainly for our honour and ­identity as Europeans.' And then he reads his verse, which includes this great line: 'Move lips, move minds and make new meanings flare.' ... It takes an Irish poet to remind us of the essential grandeur of this project we call the European Union, where nations born in so much blood work together freely in a commonwealth of democracies. It takes only a stroll round the centre of Dublin to remind you of the lived reality behind those large phrases, with the Polish food shop (Samo Dobro) sitting cheek by jowl with the Irish pub (The Metro, established 1861) on Parnell Street, and with young Irish, Brits and Poles working and living together on entirely equal terms - and taking this for the most normal thing in the world. A prose of everyday life almost as moving as the poetry." (24/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Ireland
All available articles from » Timothy Garton Ash

Georgi Gotew, who voted in Belgium for a Belgian politician in the European elections, writes about what that means for him in the weekly magazine Kultura: "I have the feeling that in this way I managed to escape a mould. For me the decision to vote for a Belgian candidate was the first step in freeing myself from stereotypes. The second was that I didn't vote for any Francophone candidates although I speak French and not Flemish and live in a Francophone district of Brussels. ... My biggest joy came two days after election day when the name [Guy] Verhofstadt [MEP and former Belgian prime minister] was announced as an alternative to José Durão Barroso [as president of the European Commission]. ... Perhaps in a few years Europeans will vote the holder of this office in directly. Until now the decisions of the heads of state and government have been taken behind closed doors, with the positions of big states like Germany and France being given special weight." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Elections, » Europe
All available articles from » Georgi Gotev

The French Centre National de la recherche Scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research or CNRS) is having a conference in Geneva today, Thursday, at which the ongoing reform of the institution is to be approved. The business daily Les Echos welcomes the measures: "The meeting of the governing board of the CNRS which takes place in Geneva today marks a turning point. This venerable institution, a pillar of government research and a symbol of the old guard that any modern politician should replace in a natural process is finally concluding its reforms. Its conversion into a holding which presides over nine subordinate, thematically organised institutions has the goal of giving French research an efficient profile. Despite the recognised quality of its researchers it suffers from antiquation and a demotivating accumulation of inflexible structures. Now all that needs to be done is to breathe life into the reform, but that's a whole different story." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Science / Research, » France
All available articles from » Daniel Fortin

Gábor Miklós writes in the left-liberal daily Népszabadság that many international actors will welcome the failure of the Iranian protest movement. "The short-lived rekindling of the revolution in June has not changed the world. … The Russian press, for instance, seemed uneasy about the whole thing right from the start. In recent days this unease has culminated in the following thesis: The West has failed yet again with a 'coloured revolution'. … Naturally, in large sections of the Arab world there was a sigh of relief. … The Western public has watched the events in Iran with great interest and empathy. Nonetheless I suspect that Western governments are relieved to see the revolt lose momentum. … A civil war in Iran would have driven oil and gas prices to astronomical heights. Not to mention the imponderabilities of security policy that a heavily armed Iran sinking into chaos would entail." (25/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Gábor Miklós

The state commission of enquiry charged with investigating the Danish PET, or Security and Intelligence Service, submitted its report to the country's justice minister on Wednesday. According to the report, although the PET was not a state within a state during the Cold War, there was a tendency to withhold details on operations from the government and parliament. The daily Berlingske Tidende writes: "The report of the PET commission could pave the way for developing a professional control system which on the one hand recognises the necessity of secret service work and on the other ensures that the service's activities do not take place in a democratic vacuum. Such a control organ should be independent of both the PET and the government. The PET's most pressing task is to protect the population. But we must also protect the agents who are navigating in mined waters." (25/06/2009)

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

The US will maintain their military base in Kyrgyzstan, which plays an important role in US operations in Afghanistan. For the daily Diena Russia is the big loser: "Moscow wanted to show the US who's boss in the so-called post-Soviet zone, even if it meant turning a blind eye to the risk that the Taliban could advance northward from Afghanistan. But Kyrgyzstan put a lot of thought into the matter. After all, it will get threefold rent increases and a modernised airport from the deal. Turkey and Afghanistan also wanted the US base to be maintained. Official reactions from Russia have been rather reserved. The Foreign Ministry has even stressed Kyrgyzstan's right of sovereignty. Moscow has lost the game, and its attempt to downplay things is a bid to at least save face." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Russia, » Asia, » U.S., » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Askolds Rodins

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has predicted that the economy of the Czech Republic, which is currently in recession, will return to growth next year. The conservative daily Lidové Noviny points out that the Czech economy is hugely dependent on developments in Germany, which continues to fare poorly: "In view of this dependency we can't expect any miracles in the coming years. Sinking exports to Germany can perhaps be compensated for on other markets, but only to a small extent. … What's interesting is that the OECD's prognosis contradicts that of the World Bank, which has predicted a negative economic trend. While the OECD says the world has already emerged from the lowest point of the crisis the World Bank claims we're still heading for it. What does this mean for the layman? That even the largest supranational organisations with hundreds of economic experts at their disposal do not understand the crisis, cannot describe it accurately and cannot predict how it will progress." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Germany, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Jaroslav Plesl

The European Central Bank (ECB) loaned 442 billion euros at a fixed interest rate of 1.0 percent to banks and savings banks in the Eurozone on Wednesday. The liberal daily Der Tagesspiegel examines the impact of the move: "The fact that European central bankers are pumping such sums into the market shows how serious the situation still is. … The ECB is taking a major risk with its warm money shower policy. The more liquidity there is, the greater the threat of inflation. That means there can't be too many repeats of this billion euro game. Nor should it be necessary, for now it's the banks' turn to make a move. They can no longer give the excuse that they have no money to support the economy and consumers. And another thing: if you only pay 1 percent interest there's no justification for charging your customers 10 percent." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Europe
All available articles from » Heike Jahberg

A Spanish talk show recently featured a discussion between a bestselling author and a worstselling author – in other words an author whose books have barely sold. Laura Freixas complains in the daily La Vanguardia that too often quality is only judged on the basis of sales figures: "[TV presenter Andreu] Buenafuente came up with the Machiavellian idea of inviting [best-selling author Ildefonso Falcones] to appear on his show alongside a writer called Carlos Jiménez Arribas, whose book 'Journey into the Eye of a Horse' has only sold 112 copies. 'Let's see if some of [the success] rubs off', said Buenafuente jokingly in the assumption that it was Falcones who would be teaching Arribas a few things about writing books. Could it not be that the latter's is the better book from a literary point of view? Or is it not even worth an opinion or even reading it because all that matters are the sales figures? It was all a sadly eloquent show of condescension that says something about the values that prevail nowadays." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Audiovisual Media, » Spain
All available articles from » Laura Freixas

Portugal's youth welfare office wants to offer strictly confidential HIV tests to youths aged 12 to 25 in front of schools and discos and at music festivals. The plan, in particular the idea of testing minors and doing it in front of schools, has fanned a wave of protest. The daily Jornal De Notícias comments: "This measure is merely meant to combat a situation we refuse to acknowledge. Namely that a growing number of youths are putting themselves at risk and that ... 200 young people [in Portugal] between 10 and 19 are already infected. This situation must be addressed as a question of public health care. ... Not surprisingly, parts of the plan are being interpreted as an attack on the authority of the family. The people who say this are the same ones who oppose sex education and the distribution of condoms in schools. Do they really believe their children will fill them in on all the details of their sex lives? ... As with everything in life, common sense should rule the day. We should put our faith in the medical personnel and the maturity of the youths who chose to have themselves tested." (25/06/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Portugal
All available articles from » Paulo Martins

The Dutch government has called for fitness and sport clubs to impose sanctions on athletes who take forbidden substances to build up muscle mass and improve their performance. This is nonsense, writes philosopher and journalist Marcel Zuijderland in the liberal daily NRC Handelsblad: "Sport is about optimising performance. Athletes are interested in technologies that boost their performance. This includes all kinds of sophisticated training, nutrition and material methods, but also chemical and biological performance-enhancing substances. Doping is inextricably tied up with sport. This has always been and always will be the case. … What counts is not the illusion of 'fair play' but the individual's right to determine what he does with his body. That right should not be put in the hands of doping authorities, and certainly not in those of the government. The athlete decides for himself how far he wants to go." (25/06/2009)

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All available articles from » Marcel Zuijderland