The presidential elections have put Afghanistan in a desperate situation that only benefits the Taliban, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "What we have here is a grand orchestra of incompetence in which very many players have taken part: the candidates, the United Nations, the Americans and the Europeans. ... In involuntary cooperation with their former darling [President Hamid] Karzai, the international community has managed to manoeuver the country into a hopeless situation. If despite all the irregularities the incumbent is declared the winner of the first ballot in the days to come, the Afghan people will never believe that things are on the up and up. And if it comes to a run-off ballot, chances are the turnout will be so low that it won't confer any additional legitimacy on the government. ... The Taliban are serenely sitting back and gloating over this tragedy. The international community and the hated Karzai government are doing themselves more damage than the Taliban ever could." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Europe, » U.S., » Global, » Middle East, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Jochen Buchsteiner

The democratic experiment has failed, writes the daily Die Presse in view of the report by the UN Electoral Complaints Commission: "There is no longer any doubt that Karzai was implicated in a massive case of electoral fraud during the presidential elections on August 20. The UN commission investigating reports of fraud in the election has now declared several hundred thousand ballots invalid. With this finding, what has been obvious for several weeks now is more or less official: Karzai did not win an absolute majority. A run-off ballot is necessary. A government of national unity including his challenger [Abdullah Abdullah] will not solve the problem. The Afghan people must be given the possibility to vote Karzai out of office in a fair election. The West must now remain strict. It cannot denounce electoral manipulations in Iran and then give its blessing to Karzai." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Christian Ultsch

Afghan President Hamid Karzai must agree to a run-off ballot because the country needs a legitimate government, writes the conservative daily The Times: "He may well be minded not to. Mr Karzai ... has constructed his own complex network of local loyalties and alliances. For some time now, he has enjoyed posturing in the role of Afghanistan's defender against Western interests. Paradoxically, he also remains the West's least worst option as a figurehead for Afghanistan, and may feel that he cannot feasibly be dislodged. This is true, but he can be ignored. Ultimately, the West will need a functioning central government in Afghanistan, but in the shorter term there is much to be said for a more localised approach. ... Mr Karzai must know that he can be a working partner in the reconstruction of his country, or an impoverished irrelevance on the sidelines. … Nonetheless, our troops cannot continue to die to defend a corrupt regime. Afghanistan must have a legitimate government." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » United Kingdom, » U.S., » Afghanistan

Doku Zavgajev, the former pro-Russian president of Chechnya who is allegedly partially responsible for the crimes committed by Russian generals against his own people, is to become the new Russian ambassador to Slovenia. The daily Delo takes a dim view of his appointment: "Can you imagine if Norway had sent Vidkun Quisling [the fascist politician and prime minister of Norway between 1942 and 1945] to liberated Europe as an ambassador instead of having him executed? Moscow is mocking Slovenia and the European Union. One reason for this is Brussels' indecisive and feeble Eastern Policy. For in recent years precisely this attitude on the part of Brussels has 'borne fruit' for Russia. It began with the declaration of the gas war on Ukraine - and indirectly on Europe. Then tanks were sent into Georgia and now one of those responsible for the crimes in Chechnya is being sent to a small EU member state as ambassador. Will little Ljubljana dare to say no to big Moscow?"  (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Slovenia, » Russia
All available articles from » Branko Soban

In view of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's upcoming state visit to Russia the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera complains that Italy's foreign policy is too focused on Russia: "[Barack] Obama has replaced [George W.] Bush in the White House. And [Vladimir] Putin has also changed places, even if he continues to pull the strings of Russian power as prime minister [and no longer as president]. Has the Berlusconi government taken these developments into account? To us it seems it hasn't, and it seems the prime minister would do well to rethink his foreign policy, which has long since appeared too russo-centric. … A couple of examples, for instance as regards form: No one likes it when [Silvio] Berlusconi … all too often describes himself as 'Putin's advocate' (his own words). This damages Italy's credibility." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Italy, » Russia
All available articles from » Franco Venturini

A week before the first rounds of mass vaccination against swine flu are due to begin in Germany discussions have broken out about whether the vaccination makes sense. The Frankfurter Rundschau comments: "Experts and those who claim to be experts are raising the alarm; the media are busily painting the picture of a two-class medicine and politicians are reacting with a mixture of clumsiness and ignorance. The consequence: millions of citizens who should be vaccinated against swine flu - and at one point actually wanted to be - are vacillating. The current problem is less a medical one than a matter of organisation and communication. Why are we learning only now, weeks after the pandemic alarm went off, that the government signed special contracts with the pharmaceutical companies long ago. Does one ministry know what the other is doing? And what about the independence of state-related vaccination committees? The questions are coming hard and fast and they're leaving our wonderful federal system looking pretty pathetic." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Germany, » Global
All available articles from » Michael Bergius

The daily Postimees has harsh words for the way bargaining over the posts of EU president and foreign minister has started even before the Treaty of Lisbon goes into effect: "We expect these offices to give the European Union substance and vision. For that reason it is particularly important that the choice should fall on internationally experienced, active politicians with firmly established authority in foreign policy. Nevertheless the choice will no doubt fall on less controversial compromise candidates, all the more so because rather than being voted in directly, the new leaders will be chosen through political wheeling and dealing. As a further aggravation, there are no clearly defined criteria that candidates must adhere to. Instead the bargaining over posts has begun in the back rooms in Brussels while the fate of the Treaty of Lisbon still hangs in the balance." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Europe
All available articles from » Jürgen Tamme

Despite a certain lack of leadership the European Union model has been extremely successful so far, writes Lluís Foix in the liberal daily La Vanguardia: "One could say that the European Union is on autopilot. I don't even like to think about what would have happened to certain economies if they had had to deal with the current economic crisis on their own. Nor about how the endemic conflicts that have marked our history over the centuries could have been avoided. Europe is a space governed by rules and rights which all its members impose on themselves and which they demand from all candidates who want to join the Union. The power [of the European Union] does not reside in its strength, but in the persuasiveness of shared laws. … If Europe's fragile institutional architecture were to collapse we would return to a cacophony that would turn our strength in the world into an irremediable weakness." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » History, » Economic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Lluís Foix

In the daily Karjalainen Pekka Sitari comments on a column which appeared in the same paper written by MEP Riikka Manner, a member for the Finnish Centre Party, in which Manner expresses fears that the EU could become too difficult to control if it expands too quickly. Using Turkey as an example, Pekka Sitari writes that future member states need not to be integrated as full members into the EU: "The EU … is adopting a positive stance on Turkish membership … . The worst thing that could happen would be that Turkey makes its legal provisions and society compatible with the EU but the project gets held up by opposition from a couple of old member states in the long term. It will without doubt also shake up relations between Nato and both the European and Islamic world. One possibility [for integrating potential future EU members] could be for the EU to create a group of candidate countries that don't have full membership. These countries then make it clear that they are participating in the development of the Western European community and can thus advance their societies and economies in a targeted manner." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Pekka Sitari

After days of struggling over a rescue plan the private Dutch DSB Bank has been declared insolvent. The bank's owner Dirk Scheringa has blamed the Dutch government and central bank for the bankruptcy. But that is misconstruing the facts, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "He plays down his own mistakes as if they were pittances. But they were glaring, and there were many of them. Firstly DSB's business model was no good. ... Scheringa may feel he's been sold down the river, but so were his customers. They had superfluous securities foisted off on them, and they were stuck with high monthly payments from mortgages that were often above the value of their houses. DSB exploited their financial ignorance. ... Secondly the director and major shareholder confused his private and business interests to an incredible extent, using DSB as a source of financing for his own personal business transactions, ... considerably weakening the bank. ... Scheringa himself is responsible for its demise." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Banks, » Netherlands

The National Library of France (BnF) is currently negotiating with the Internet company Google over the digitalisation of its book stocks. Lise Bissonette, former director of the National Library and Archives of Quebec, underlines in the daily Le Monde the global significance of such digitalisation ambitions on the part of large national libraries: "As enormous as the sums announced by Google may seem for acquiring the 'birthright' of the national libraries, in the long run they will seem to us no more than peanuts. The debate will only have been useful if it leads countries to adopt support strategies for digitalising the multiplicity of their cultural goods. ... Although the core issue here is our virtuous adhesion to the ideal of 'cultural diversity', this question is the most pressing yet curiously the most largely ignored in the Unesco convention adopted on the subject in 2005." (19/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » France, » Global
All available articles from » Lise Bissonnette

The Czech government has approved a financial aid programme for domestic and foreign filmmakers alike in a bid to win back the country's reputation as the "Hollywood of the East". The conservative daily Lidové Noviny welcomes the initiative: "Under the programme film production companies will have a fifth of their expenses reimbursed as of 2010. This is a form of compensation for their investing here. Just a couple of years ago one big Hollywood production after another was shooting films here. Foreign producers were able to take advantage of an excellent infrastructure, optimally equipped studios and experienced staff. But when other countries in Europe created financial incentives the companies moved to Hungary or Germany. … Incentives like those that are working in neighbouring countries are the only way to make the Czech film industry competitive once more." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Vojtěch Rynda

The daily Ta Nea chides Greece for failing to strengthen the ties between its tourism and cultural sectors: "It's important to establish stronger ties between Greece's tourism and its cultural sector. Culture should be present in all areas, activities and in social life anyway, not just in tourism. It's a fact that tourists select their holiday destinations according to different criteria. Those who visit Greece each year exclusively for its culture are a minority. This year the Greek tourism sector suffered losses of two billion euros, and next year won't be any better. Under these circumstances a concrete plan and effective action are required for the tourism sector. The [new] minister for culture has made no mention of such a plan - and that is rather worrying." (19/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Tourism, » Greece
All available articles from » Kostas Delezos

Homosexuality was declassified as an illness in Sweden thirty years ago. The daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet takes the opportunity to look ahead: "Just imagine what Sweden will be like in 30 years. What will Swedes in 2039 see as narrow-minded in today's laws on sex and partnership? It is difficult to see into the future, but let's take a stab at it: No more ban on saleable sex. No more ban on polygamy. ... At first people's mentalities, morals and habits change. Then the laws are rewritten to protect individuals. At first people began by choosing their own partners. Then came the new legal status. Individuals are best at establishing the basis for laws. Not morals. Not old traditions." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Weltanschauung, » Sweden

According to the left-liberal daily Népszabadság there are many people in Hungary who rant and rave against the Roman and Jewish minorities but don't see themselves as racist. "All they know how to do is steal, cheat and lie' … 'I don't really have a problem with them but I think it would be best if they went back to where they came from, to India'. … That's what most of the racist and radical statements about the Roma minority sound like. … The most common anti-Semitic statements are: 'There's a Jewish global conspiracy', 'They're to blame for everything', 'They started world wars and economic crises, and the current crisis is their fault too', … 'soon they'll take over Hungary'. … The majority of those who say such things don't see themselves as racist. 'Never ever' … They're just 'Hungarians born and bred'. But this raises the question of what is racism if this isn't." (20/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » Weltanschauung, » Hungary
All available articles from » Tamás Bod