The liberal daily The Independent hopes for a positive election result despite the attack on Saturday: "How these elections proceed will be a gauge not just of the popularity of the Karzai government, but of the progress, or lack of it, towards a stable Afghanistan. How many people, especially women, feel safe enough to go to vote at all will be one key indicator; another is how many voting booths are open. With the Taliban threatening to target polling stations, the attack on Nato's headquarters in Kabul suggests that even the heaviest protection may not be enough. ... A respectable turnout with a clear result would be the most satisfactory outcome." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Afghanistan

The suicide attack in Kabul just a few days ahead of the presidential elections in Afghanistan is a bloody message to voters, the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau writes: "The Taliban have once again proven that nothing and no one is safe from them. This isn't likely to boost people's trust in politicians. Their credibility is already suffering because President Hamid Karzai is being accused of massive wheeling and dealing. If the Taliban manage to intimidate many people into not voting this will further undermine the legitimacy of the election. For the West, above all the US, the elections are a matter of prestige, a kind of certificate of achievement after eight years of fighting on the Hindu Kush. The US and its allies must prove that they can at least secure the elections to the point that they produce a result that people will accept." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Europe, » U.S., » Western Europe, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Christine Möllhoff

It's all up to the West in Afghanistan now, writes the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "Politics have taken over in Afghanistan, or rather taken over once again. The debates on TV and the radio were professional and managed to arouse the enthusiasm of at least a sector of the population, above all the young … . And this sector won't be persuaded to return to the yoke of the mullahs. But all this doesn't erase the memory of how dumb the West's decision was seven years ago to try and force a country that was in a disastrous state into the straitjacket of parliamentary democracy … . Whether [President] Hamid Karzai wins, which seems likely, or his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who according to surveys is catching up, the president will bring with him a swarm of commanders of an ethnic militia into the [government] palace. … Any of these Samurai will have the backing of foreign spies - Russian, Iranian, Indian, Arab - and probably also that of a drug-trafficking network. But if the West moves to pull the strings invisibly it could avoid this derailment." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Guido Rampoldi

The daily Kaleva reflects on the continued presence of Finnish troops in Afghanistan in view of the upcoming elections and the situation in the country: "The Finnish troops were deployed for the election period to protect democracy. ... Regardless of what is going on in Afghanistan, a war that concerns the Finns has not been declared. Nevertheless it is appropriate to clearly define what's at stake in our crisis management there. The basis of Finland's deployment is the UN mandate. But the larger problem is the question of how long our presence will be required. According to [Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander] Stubb the troops will remain as long as necessary, but not indefinitely. The Minister for Foreign Trade Paavo Väyrynen would bring them home in five to six years. British Minister of Defence [Bob Ainsworth] recently mentioned the need for a 40-year military presence. The old truth seems to be proved right once again: it's a lot easier to deploy troops in Afghanistan than it is to bring them home." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Finland, » Afghanistan

US Senator Jim Webb has been able to secure the release of his countryman John Yettaw during his visit to Myanmar. Yettaw was allegedly taken in by the Myanmarian opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest. The left-liberal daily De Standaard compares the case with ex-president Bill Clinton's visit to North Korea: "The new approach is not welcomed by all. Both regimes are particularly cruel and visits like those of Clinton and Webb - and commitment in general - can be interpreted as signs of respect or even approval. … But sanctions and sentences only have an impact if the international community joins forces and the penalties are not evaded. And this is seldom the case, as the recent sentencing of the Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi highlighted. … Perhaps Obama's attempts will come to nothing but at least he's looking for a way out of the impasse." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Asia, » U.S.
All available articles from » Evita Neefs

The Dutch right-wing populist Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) will run for election in just two cities in the 2010 local elections. He has explained that he was unable to find enough suitable candidates. Wilders has reached his own limits, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant writes: "This is typical of his panic about handing over control to someone else. Wilders' PVV is once again presenting itself as a one-man show where there is no room for independently acting people's representatives. This is the explanation for Wilders' short-term success but in the long term the leader's autocratic behaviour will make lasting integration of the PVV into society unthinkable. … And without a cadre of a least a few hundred capable politicians the PVV won't get any further. Wilders can't do it all alone." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Netherlands

In the conservative daily ABC, José Antonio Martín Pallín dreams of a united Iberian peninsula and cites a survey according to which more and more Spaniards and Portuguese can imagine living in a joint state: "A new survey published by the Centro de Análisis Social (centre for social analysis) at the University of Salamanca could revive a suspended debate. The Spanish-Portuguese opinion barometer has detected a considerable number of Portuguese (39.9 percent) and Spaniards (30.3 percent) who support the idea of unification or can at least imagine it. Unfortunately a high number of Spaniards are against the compulsory learning of Portuguese. That's hardly surprising when you consider the discussions about bilingualism in Galicia. We could break this resistance by expanding scientific collaboration and by each country investing more in the companies of its neighbour. Economic relations facilitate linguistic rapprochement." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Languages, » Spain, » Portugal
All available articles from » José Antonio Martín Pallín

Following a series of corruption scandals the left-wing opposition in Greece has called for the elections planned for autumn 2011 to be brought forward and held as early as this autumn. The leftwing daily To Vima comments: "Nea Demokratia [the government party] wanted a 'better state' and has managed to make it worse. There are deficits, a shadow economy, tax evasion, unemployment and reduced industrial production. There is no doubt that they are at a dead end. … The [opposition] Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) is now demanding elections and has announced it is ready for battle. The average citizen, however, needs a lot of good will to imagine what PASOK would do the day after the elections and with which politicians it will govern. … Because we wanted it that way most of our problems are mainly decided in Brussels." (15/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Greece
All available articles from » Richardos Someritis

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) passed a resolution at the beginning of July whereby the crimes of Stalinism are put on a par with those of the Nazis. The weekly magazine Revista 22 comments on Russian reactions to the resolution: "Stalin continues to be considered a hero [in Russia] because the Russians credit him with the victory over Nazi Germany. Eastern Europeans by contrast consider him guilty of making satellites of their countries and supporting bloody communist regimes that persecuted their own citizens. ... [Russian] books go overboard glorifying the communist regime and its secret service, while the victims and their suffering are wrapped in a cloak of silence. Added to that, Moscow organises huge military parades reminiscent of Soviet times. So it's not surprising that of all the post-communist governments, the Russian one has done nothing to shoulder responsibility for the crimes of communism (including those of Stalinism). It has even strengthened the former KGB structures, and its control over the political process." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Lithuania, » Russia, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe
All available articles from » Lavinia Stan

Writing for the German weekly Die Zeit Peter Kümmel analyses the changes the new media have brought about in the culture of friendship: "Online communication is a legacy culture even as it is produced. Should future generations decide to explore our civilisation and wander through our blogs and chatrooms, these reefs built of words, these catacombs of friendship, they will find out: those people back then were obsessive poets. And as befits poets they were all befriended with each other yet some couldn't stand each other. Consequently it's understandable that today it's the text message that touches us most - that newest form of the intimate letter. The pulse of a friend, the gaze of a lover as an electronic impulse. Someone is thinking of me and letting me know it. This communication, just one step removed from silence, is the poetic essence of our times: a final message, the shooting star of friendship." (14/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Online media, » Global
All available articles from » Peter Kümmel

The business paper Les Echos comments on the massive rise in unemployment in France: "The loss of jobs has been brutal. Within a single year businesses have shed over 400,000 jobs. Even if fewer jobs were lost in the spring than previously, the sackings continue. And the end of 2009 could be terrible. ... Until now President [Nicolas Sarkozy] and his team have done a relatively good job managing the employment policy - as well as economic policy as a whole - in the face of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. ... But the government will have to face an even more complex situation in the coming months. Above all because although businesses have until now made use of every lever they could to reduce employee numbers ... they have stopped short of mass layoffs. Those that have been hit the worst will now have to start swinging the axe. ... Those in power will have to demonstrate willpower, finesse and firmness. ... Once more the first priority of the French, employment has become the key challenge facing the government." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Labour, » France
All available articles from » Jean-Marc Vittori

Trade in smuggled cigarettes is booming in Bulgaria and Romania and causing the countries to lose millions of euros, writes the Bulgarian daily Sega: "As states on the outskirts of the EU, Romania and Bulgaria are the worst hit by tobacco smuggling. [Tobacco firm] Bulgartabac as well as the country's official import firms are continually reporting cases of illegal imports. Statistics show that 30 percent of the tobacco market is affected. ... According to many experts, the alignment of Bulgartabac's prices to those of the EU has created the preconditions for this grey market. There is already a substantial price difference between the individual states, prompting traders ... to import illegally to Bulgaria. Things are the same in Romania. When you travel to Romania from Ukraine or Moldova you get the impression that alcohol or Kalashnikovs are much easer to bring in than cigarettes. The discerning customs officers want nothing more than cheap Ukrainian or Moldovan cigarettes." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Economic Policy, » Romania, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Nikolai Marchenko

The Spanish Bishops' Conference wants to start charging for admission to cathedrals. Art historian Ilia Galán argues in the left-liberal daily El País that this would discourage believers who want to pray in cathedrals at times other than when mass is being held. "These huge buildings were created for devotion and meditation: the pictures, altar screens, windows - all these organic combinations make calm reflection a pleasure for residents, visitors and the curious. But the bishops … are thus leaving the cathedrals to be devoured by tourists - once they've paid - without considering that in doing so they are granting certain rights that turn these sacred spaces into a profane place subject to photographs and laughter. … The bishops administer the goods of the Church, and thus of the community, but they are not the owners for [those goods] belong to all Christians. The temples were built thanks to great sacrifice and effort by the entire nation. To take away our cathedrals like this is in a way to rob us all." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Religion, » Tourism, » Spain
All available articles from » Ilia Galán

The daily Le Temps writes on the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival in the US state of New York: "The poster for the festival read '3 days of peace and music'. Forty years later music has become omnipresent, if not anaesthetizing. And peace reigns in the air-conditioned supermarkets. Is that all there is to be said? Things are more complex than that. Woodstock also expressed values that were hardly prevalent at the time, like respect for the planet. ... In four months, 200 governments will meet in Copenhagen to limit pollution emissions. Success will ulitimately depend on the participants' skill at listening and working together. ... These too were values championed forty years ago [at Woodstock]." (15/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Music, » U.S., » Global
All available articles from » Jean-Claude Péclet

In the biggest online network Facebook, Slovakian right-wing extremist groups - one counting as many as 40,000 members - are publicly attacking their country's Roma population as well as state support for the minority. The liberal daily Sme is unhappy that neither the country's deputy prime minister responsible for minorities nor the minister of the interior see a reason to intervene: "The law is clear. 'Those who publicly ... incite hatred against a race or ethnic group' are guilty of a crime, and subject to a prison sentence of up to three years. From a legal point of view it makes absolutely no difference whether the ethnic hatred stems from drunken tavern-goers, right-wing 'militiamen' on public squares, rowdies in a stadium or members of a social network on the Internet. Facebook is a public space like any other. ... Calls for hatred in the Internet are far more dangerous than comparable acts in a neighbourhood pub." (17/08/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Minorities, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Marián Leško

The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt once again set a new world record in the 100 metres at the World Championships in Athletics in Berlin yesterday, Sunday. The daily Diário de Notícias speculates on whether he could run even faster: "Although impressive the result in Berlin was not surprising. Bolt himself is to blame for this after proving in Beijing precisely a year ago that he could do even better than the 9.69 seconds [back then] by slowing down shortly before the finishing line. Yesterday the Jamaican didn't slow down, but in the last metres he managed to look to one side. Was this a sign that he can run even faster? It's almost unimaginable that he won't. Above all when we remember that Bolt only made it on to the world record list in May 2008 - with 9.72 seconds, a hundredth of a second less than the time of [US sprinter] Tyson Gay who yesterday set a new US record." (17/08/2009)

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