The positive expectations tied to the presidential elections in Afghanistan have been let down by the cancellation of the run-off, writes daily Helsingin Sanomat: "The escalating civil war and the government's weakness made the preparation of elections a game of chance from the outset. Afghani politicians, Isaf troops and the United Nations took this chance because they did not want to appear untrustworthy. Democratically elected bodies should be the cornerstone of the new US strategy in Afghanistan. The faith of Afghanis in the government of President Hamid Karzai is limited [anyway] because of past corruption and lack of efficiency, and if their faith loses more ground, the Taliban can only gain from this. ... Al-Qaeda terrorism is a growing international threat. The Afghan people still need support in order to be able to live in peaceful and humane conditions." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Elections, » Afghanistan

The daily El País says the election victory of Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives Islamists a boost: "The Independent Electoral Commission, which - filled as it is with the president's buddies, is anything but independent - has made its decision under international pressure and based on a questionable interpretation of the weak constitution of this Central Asian country. ... For the Taliban and al-Qaeda, the naming of Karzai [as president] is a propaganda coup. From the standpoint of fanatic Islamists, who are gradually establishing their control over Afghanistan, as well as in the eyes of their numerous disciples, this [appointment] simply means that the democratic process against which they are fighting has suffered a critical blow." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Afghanistan

The tug of war over the Afghan presidency reflects the political drama playing out in Afghanistan, the daily Diário de Notícias writes. The paper adds that the country needs "a clear and strong military strategy against the barbaric fundamentalists and an economic and social strategy which pushes the opium trade into the background. ... Anything else is simply a wild fantasy of the US neo-conservatives, who are convinced they can export Western democracy with the same fervour as they wanted to export the dictatorship of the proletariat when they were young Trotzkyists."   (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » U.S., » Afghanistan

According to the business daily Il Sole 24 Ore the two rivals for the Afghan presidency, Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, could become partners at least when it comes to doling out the money from the West: "With Abdullah's withdrawal, a dangerous second round of voting was avoided, but now a new chapter begins in Afghanistan. … Despite all the denials, Karzai and Abdullah may strike a deal to work together at least as regards the distribution of the new support package to be approved at the next Afghanistan conference. Abdullah's decision to pull out could have been a clever move in the race for the booty. Thus the Afghan trap snaps closed on even the best and most democratic intentions of international diplomacy." (03/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Elections, » Europe, » U.S., » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Alberto Negri

Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy is under consideration as a candidate for EU president, a fact that business paper Hospodářské Noviny says surprises Rompuy alone. After all, the EU's major leaders would prefer an inconspicuous president: "Herman Van Rompuy - you don't know who that is? No matter, the Belgian prime minister was himself surprised to hear of his nomination. What's clear is that the big bosses in the EU -  [Nicolas] Sarkozy, [Angela] Merkel, [Gordon] Brown and [Silvio] Berlusconi - don't want to see a strong EU president, like [former British prime minister] Tony Blair for example, outshine them. Van Rompuy would therefore be a good choice. After all, up to now the only Belgian who was well-known in most European countries was Jean-Claude Van Damme." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Belgium, » Europe
All available articles from » Martin Jašminský

On the anniversary of Barack Obama's election victory in the US presidential elections, the liberal daily La Vanguardia gives him good grades so far: "When he won the election last year, Barack Obama was already warning that change would be neither simple nor fast. The enormous wave of faith in the future set off by his election has lost some of its momentum. That's to be expected, given the huge expectations he encouraged. But no one can claim that the new president's accomplishments are unimportant. The world, and the US citizens themselves, are enjoying a new phase of faith in the future, after the deplorable Bush years. ... Certainly one could expect a lot more of the Obama administration. But there's no doubt that this first year shows the impact of an administration that encourages hope. The second year will be decisive in terms of evaluating the success of Obama's promised change." (03/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » U.S., » Global

On Monday, the Croatian parliament approved a bilateral agreement with Slovenia meant to provide the foundation for an amicable divorce in their border dispute. But the daily Delo predicts that the discussions will continue: "In Croatia, everything is pretty much settled now - that is, if there's no new squabbling. But further heated debate is quite likely, given the reactions of opposition parties and of more or less prominent people in both countries. The most agitated opponents of all are the Croatian church leaders, who are railing against the agreement and in so doing sound quite like the eurosceptic right-wing radical parties. In fact, all these strong reactions on both sides actually support the basic idea of the agreement: that in the end, a third party should resolve this conflict." (03/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Slovenia, » Croatia
All available articles from » Rok Kajzer

A discussion about energy policy is causing tempers to run high in Sweden. The daily Svenska Dagbladet speaks out in favour of nuclear power plants: "Nuclear energy is a fantastic, clean technology that is experiencing a renaissance all over the world, despite the former scepticism. Many countries are building new generations of nuclear power plants and the decision in favour of such projects in Sweden has brought us up to the same level as these countries. ... The technology has been refined to the point where we can be sure that Chernobyl and Harrisburg [the accident at a US nuclear power station in 1979] belong to the past." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Sweden

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, Europe has changed and lost influence in the world, writes Hubert van Humbeeck in his blog for the website of the weekly magazine Knack. He urges Europe to intensify its cooperation with other regions of the world if it wants to regain its former clout: "It was not just a dictatorship that fell, but an entire social system. At the same time the door opened to a world that was less stable politically. A world that needs to be better cared for. Twenty years on we still have to wait and see whether with the rise of Barack Obama a new, multi-polar world order can be established. And it's not clear what role Europe can play in this. For emerging powers like China and India, the Old Continent is no longer so important. … No one could have predicted 20 years ago that Germany would be led by a woman who grew up in the [former] German Democratic Republic. Or that the president of the European Parliament would come from Poland. But if the Old Continent isn't careful, it will end up merely trotting along on the sidelines. If it wants to continue counting for something it has no choice but to make an effort and cooperate." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Hubert van Humbeeck

Nobel Prize-winning author Herta Müller has received the Franz-Werfel Human Rights prize in Frankfurt am Main. Müller's relentless attack on the crimes of the 20th century is a prerequisite for a humane society, writes Ilija Trojanow in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "The terrible suffering of decades past provokes confusing debates about remembrance. The way we deal with the past in Europe is a touchstone in our efforts toward achieving a pan-European ethic, an integration of destinies - it's a pipe dream, given today's romanticisation of Stalinism in Russia, and the criminal DNA of the elites in some new EU member countries that is ignored even by the former West. This is not just about achieving metaphysical justice, but about building a humane society. Because in every Eastern European country where the past has barely been illuminated and where files and remembrances are kept under lock and key, the political-economic conditions are dominated by mafia-like corruption." (03/11/2009)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Remembrance culture, » Romania
All available articles from » Ilija Trojanov

The US's second-largest car manufacturer, Ford, has posted a surprisingly high profit margin for the third quarter, leaving its rivals General Motors and Chrysler trailing far behind. But the liberal daily Financial Times Deutschland warns that this is not necessarily a sign that the company is doing well. "[Ford] was lucky with its decision to secure high loans before the financial crisis broke out. And the decision to build several fuel-efficient, compact models for the American market before its domestic rivals did was also a good one. But neither luck nor good management will be able to change the fact that Ford faces a bumpy ride next year. The stimulus programmes with which many countries sought to boost sales of new cars have for the most part come to an end. The sales figures in some European countries could therefore be even lower in 2010 than they were in the crisis year of 2009." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » U.S.

In its autumn reports on Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrives at widely diverging conclusions, the Estonian daily Postimees notes: "The material on Estonia takes up only four pages, for Lithuania it's only one and a half, but for Latvia it's 114. And also as regards content, the documents differ greatly from each other: with Lithuania the situation is described and there are just a couple of general recommendations regarding tax policy, while Latvia is subjected to meticulous scrutiny. … With Estonia, on the other hand, terms like 'considerable efforts', 'remarkably successful', 'surprisingly simple tax system' and so on predominate. … Since the documents on the Baltic states were written in English and are accessible to all, it's no wonder the extremely different situations in the three countries are also drawing international attention."   (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Estonian)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Tax Policy, » Inflation, » Lithuania, » Latvia, » Estonia

Commenting on the current swine flu pandemic and the discussion about the need for vaccinations, the daily Der Standard calls for the public to place more trust in the pharmaceutical industry: "The distrust regarding the branch is leading to the withdrawal of highly effective medicines from the market as soon as the news about dangerous side effects becomes widespread - as with the painkiller Vioxx for instance, which many patients still pine for. The longer they are tested, the more expensive medicines become - and then the manufacturers are blamed for the high costs. … With the swine flu, too, the anti-pharmaceuticals mood which prevails even among doctors creates a health-policy trap. No one should be forced to get vaccinated. But as long as the extent of the threat remains unforeseeable we should be glad that vaccinations are available. They could indeed save lives." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Global
All available articles from » Eric Frey

Lithuania is among those countries of the former Eastern Bloc which are particularly critical of the communist era. Yet according to the news portal Balsas, in many respects it has not freed itself of the old mentality: "Both during the Soviet era and after independence, puritan standards have prevailed. The moral standards propagated by the Soviet Union left no room for discussion: sex simply didn't exist. But this is also the case in the new Lithuania. For our governments, sexuality is only a means of reproduction. Naturally the traditions and dogmas of the Soviet era differ from the current situation, but the will of governments to impose their opinion on citizens remains the same. This also applies to the former bulldozer atheism which is now being replaced by particularly strict Catholic teachings, or the public holidays of the Soviet Union which national public holidays have now replaced." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Lithunian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Lithuania
All available articles from » Darius Pocevičius

A memorial for former US President Bill Clinton was unveiled in a ceremony on Sunday in Pristina, capital of Kosovo. The daily Sega analyses the newly erected memorial against the background of communal elections in November: "The US and Clinton are held in high esteem in Kosovo. The US flag is seen just as often as the Kosovan flag. One little detail is that this monument is less an expression of Kosovan love [for Clinton], than just another traditional Balkan pre-election trick: Communal elections will take place on November 15, and Clinton's visit somehow helps the ruling party of Hashim Thaçi [Prime Minister of Kosovo]. The basic message: 'Clinton is with me, so vote for my party'." (03/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Kosovo
All available articles from » Emil Spachijski