The sentence against the former trader at the French bank Société Générale Jérôme Kerviel is unfair considering how easily the top bankers have got off, writes the business paper Hospodářské noviny: "True, the top brass at the banks that took huge risks to make profits at any price did had to pack their bags and go. But they weren't punished, and even received high indemnities. By the same token calling politicians to account for such failures is a pipe dream. Like with the crisis in general, in Kerviel's case all control mechanisms failed. The Société Générale failed to keep an eye on its traders, the bank regulators failed to supervise the entire sector and Europe proved incapable of observing its own rules. Kerviel was engaged in fraud and has been punished. What punishment can the others expect?" (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Banks, » Crime, » Justice, » France
All available articles from » Julie Hrstková

The business paper Cinco Días sees the sentence handed down to former stock market trader Jérôme Kerviel as too harsh: "Kerviel should not be made to symbolise the financial crisis. The financial upheaval that ensued showed up further and more serious errors in the system. The greed and the banks' poor handling of risks, as well as balance sheets stuffed to the brim with toxic loans, brought the financial system to the brink of collapse. Kerviel put the Société Générale in danger. But the interplay between other bankers and financial players has ruined entire companies, forced states to come to the rescue and precipitated a recession that has cost millions of people their jobs. Nonetheless it is unlikely that any of them will be put on trial or forced to pay for the damage they have caused." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Crime, » Justice, » France, » Global
All available articles from » Christopher Hughues

The sentence given to ex stock trader Jérôme Kerviel clears his former employer Société Générale of all blame, the liberal daily La Stampa complains: "Guilty, absolutely and above all entirely on his own, is the judgement pronounced in a financial scandal that threatened to be the downfall of this giant of the French bank system. … The sentence handed down to Kerviel automatically absolves the bank system of all blame. It has found the culprit for all its sins … . A mild sentence would have made Kerviel a victim of the speculation system, a hack spurred on by the bank which covered for him and helped him as long as he made a profit and then repudiated him once the miracle turned out to be nothing but a mirage - as he himself doggedly claimed for the duration of the trial." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Banks, » Justice, » France
All available articles from » Domenico Quirico

With the sentence handed down to former trader Jérôme Kerviel one of France's most important business trials ended on Tuesday. The left-liberal daily Libération looks at the symbolic value of the judgement: "Kerviel a scapegoat? In principle the comparison doesn't hold water. In its Biblical sense the scapegoat is innocent. It carries with it the sins of Israel, but it didn't commit them. ... Kerviel carries with him all the sins of the banks, only he is guilty. ... But over and above this legal clarification, what a symbol! ... One small fry of the financial world will almost single-handedly bear the blame of the creators of the casino economy. ...  After this judgement ... Kerviel faces no more than a dismal, needy existence. Those responsible for the global financial catastrophe, by contrast, even if they've lost their jobs ... will end their days in huge villas sitting on stacks of gold." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Laurent Joffrin

Nothing more stands in the way of the Dutch minority government led by the right-wing liberal VVD together with the Christian Democrats CDA party after the CDA parliamentary party - including two MPs who were sceptic about the coalition - gave its go-ahead on Tuesday. But the fact that the government must rely on the support of the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) remains controversial. A third of the delegates at a CDA party conference voted against such a construct before the decision was made in parliament, the daily Trouw stresses: "It's only logical that the parliamentary party has now acted accordingly [with the majority decision reached at the CDA party conference]. … But this cabinet will be no picnic for the Netherlands. And whether it is stable remains to be seen. … It is now up to the CDA in particular to show that government policies don't contradict its principles or violate the fundamentals of the constitutional state. The decision made by the CDA parliamentary faction yesterday cannot possibly assuage the concerns expressed by the great majority at the CDA party conference. Therefore this task falls to the CDA ministers and the parliamentary faction, the entire faction." (06/10/2010)

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

The Northern Irish terror group the Real IRA exploded two car bombs in Derry on Monday. After a brief period of normality the government critics are once more a threat, complains the liberal daily The Irish Times: "On Monday police chiefs at a cross-Border conference on organised crime in Belfast expressed concern at the growing range of bomb-making techniques exhibited by dissident groups and their increasing co-operation. Eleven days ago the British security services raised the threat level of a dissident attack in the wider UK from moderate to substantial, a worrying assessment that has been echoed by Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy. ... Such unrepresentative groups will not thrive in the long run but it is likely they can survive on the fringes of a society in which sectarian tensions and economic and social marginalisation continue to act as recruiting sergeants for extremism." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Unrest / Riots, » United Kingdom, » Ireland

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis' alliance emerged victorious from the parliamentary elections in Latvia. But the explanations for this success put forward by foreign media are for the most part incorrect, writes the daily Latvijas Avīze: "Most media stress Dombrovskis' successes and go on to say that the voters had come to appreciate him as an honest crisis manager. Then most of the time the reports are summed up by saying that with their votes the people had consented to the difficult reform course. ... But these conclusions drawn by the foreign media are wrong. The people didn't vote in favour of draconian austerity measures, and these elections had an entirely different message: they were a protest vote against arrogance and personal gain in politics, and sent out a signal of hope that the attitudes of those in power toward the people would change. And of course the election was greatly influenced by the fear that the Harmony Centre party could come to power - which unfortunately still can't be ruled out." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » Print media, » Online media, » Elections, » Latvia
All available articles from » Māris Antonevičs

Shortly before the Vienna local elections are due to take place the incumbent SPÖ Mayor Michael Häupl has suggested holding a referendum on compulsory military service. The liberal daily Der Standard considers the project a formidable opportunity because until now the SPÖ has strictly refused even to broach the issue: "But when Vienna's powerful local party leader who must fear for his absolute majority in this election suddenly starts raising the topic of compulsory military service in the middle of the election campaign, it signals an 'about face!' to the entire party and everyone marches in the opposite direction. This bespeaks a major opportunity which reaches far beyond electoral banter. It is now possible to talk openly about the military system. ... But to do that people first have to know what they need and what they want. And precisely that has been lacking in Austrian politics for the last decade . We've always come up with new goals that were answered with ever-new military reforms, which were then not implemented for lack of money. With the goals and with the money, it's time to ask the people what they think of military service." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Conrad Seidl

Minority governments have come to power in several European countries and right-wing populists and radicals are enjoying great success. Paralysis, low voter turnout, populism and strong right-wing tendencies are typical phenomena in aging societies, complains the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Old societies are afraid of change, they perceive it as an imposition, they fear foreign infiltration. In this way Europe's demographic problem is becoming a political problem. At a time when authoritarian systems like those in Asia see themselves as superior European societies are moaning about the hardships of democracy. This is not good for the continent. It must take an interest in whether Geert Wilders wins in court or the Sweden Democrats leave a church service in honour of the opening of parliament in protest, as if it were an election meeting. All these things aren't exactly a sign of great self-assurance." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Elections, » Asia, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Stefan Kornelius

Sixty-six years after the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising former insurgents have for the first time asked for forgiveness from the city's residents for the suffering they endured during the violence. Marcin Wojciechowski of the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza is one of the first columnists in Poland to dwell on the dark side of the much glorified event: "Today one can safely say: politically and militarily the Uprising was a catastrophe, although of course one must praise the participants for their valour. ... A special part of the commemorations of the Uprising should be dedicated to the memory of the 150,000 civilians who died during the fighting. Unfortunately the Warsaw Uprising Museum only does this sporadically. It glorifies the insurgents, the boy scouts and even the Western pilots who dropped weapons over the city. But too little is said about the suffering and sacrifices of the average citizens. And when these are evoked, then only along the lines: 'It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.' Today - in these times of freedom and independence - one must learn how sweet it is to live for one's country." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Remembrance culture, » Poland
All available articles from » Marcin Wojciechowski

While budget cuts are under discussion in Portugal the government wants to stick to its plans for investment in transport infrastructure. But a review of the costs casts doubts on the logic of such a policy, the business paper Diário Económico writes: "The road sector is in the pole position of those projects that need to be revised. … Portugal already has more kilometres of motorway per inhabitant than most other European countries. This is why people don't understand the need to invest another 711 million euros in new concessions. The country should rethink its transport model because clearly the road sector should no longer be a priority. Investment should focus on rail traffic instead, particularly the transport of goods to ports - also for environmental and energy reasons. If we want to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and C02 emissions we should not continue making such massive investments in new roads." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Portugal

The Spanish petrol company Repsol has signed a deal to cooperate with its Chinese competitor Sinopec on the Brazilian market. A clever move for the future, the liberal daily La Vanguardia concludes: "It was [Repsol boss Antonio] Brufau who bet strongly on Brazil when he was in charge, and the results have proven him right. The strategic partnership with Sinopec converts Repsol's Brazilian subsidiary into one of the biggest privately owned petrol companies in Latin America, with an estimated value of 17,8 billion dollars. But the agreement with Sinopec also lays the foundations for collaboration with the Chinese petrol giant in many other areas. A key operation which will make Repsol stronger." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Corporations, » Spain, » China, » Brazil

For the first time in the history of Slovenia a black person is running for the office of mayor in the local elections on Sunday. Peter Bossman, a physician, is in the race to become mayor of the coastal city of Piran. This is a great opportunity for Slovenia, writes the left-liberal daily Dnevnik: "The Slovenians don't reject people a priori in all areas because of their skin colour. In socialist Slovenia there were many doctors of diverse origins. … However it's one thing to be a doctor but quite another to grasp for the insignia of power and authority over the 'true natives'. … If Bossman is elected this will bring an unstoppable wave of change to Slovenia. Not only would Bossman triumph over his rivals, Slovenia would triumph over itself and its prejudices and stereotypes." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Elections, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Vlado Miheljak

Many Slovakian politicians actively maintain their profiles on Facebook. The liberal weekly paper Týždeň is convinced this will have consequences for relations between politicians and the media: "When we get together with some colleagues and start discussing a hot topic, people are quick to say that for example [parliamentary speaker] Richard Sulíkor or someone else has already written on the subject on Facebook. On the one hand it's fascinating for journalists and voters to have such contact with politicians. The barriers you feel in a personal discussion or on the phone fall away. Internet jargon is simpler, there's no time for polite turns of phrase. And there is also less danger of journalists or politicians getting sued for using incorrect facts. ... On the other hand journalists and politicians also become 'friends' over Facebook, and debates that until now took place at parliamentary buffets become now public ... . Time will tell what the strengths and weaknesses of this new phenomenon will be." (06/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Print media, » Online media, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Eva Čobejová