With his spending cuts Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is putting all his eggs in one basket. That could have dire consequences, the left-liberal daily The Guardian writes: "Mr Osborne needs sufficient people to buy, and go on buying, the coalition's narrative of Labour economic mismanagement creating a deficit to which there is no response other than austerity, tolerably fairly applied. Right now, say the opinion polls, that is the majority mood. But its durability is dependent on the economy righting itself sufficiently over the next four years for Mr Osborne, or a successor, to be able to stand up in the October 2014 spending review and say that the medicine has worked and that good times - and a 2015 re-election - now beckon. ... Today was the work of a gambler. A chancellor cannot take 81 billion pounds out of the economy, as Mr Osborne did, without the country hurting from it. This will be a different country from now on." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » United Kingdom

With the most drastic public sector cuts since the Second World War British Prime Minister David Cameron is following in Winston Churchill's footsteps, writes the daily Aamulehti, but the risk is great: "As the UK fought for its survival at the start of World War II, the prime minister at the time, the Conservative Winston Churchill, did not mince his words in his first speech as head of the war government: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat', Churchill said in his famous address to the nation. In other words, many sacrifices must be made to make tomorrow better. ... Fierce struggles will be fought over the details of the austerity package in parliament and on the street. But the crucial question is how it will affect the future of Britain. Even if the operation itself is a success, the crux is whether the patient survives it or dies on the operating table. Cameron's government has risked everything in a huge game of chance." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » United Kingdom

In response to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's announcement of an austerity package that will come down hard on the British social welfare programme, the liberal daily Politiken expects equally harsh treatment for the financial sector: "The Liberal-Conservative coalition wants to subject the British welfare system to a drastic slimming down, and is more interested in slashing than in stimulating. The Queen too must cut her costs, but above all the social welfare system and the public administration will be hit. As a result the public sector will face the biggest cuts since World War II. If the British must swallow this bitter pill, the financial sector - which is without doubt responsible for the crisis - must be further reined in and held to account." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » United Kingdom

British Prime Minister David Cameron is steering a harsher course than expected with his tough austerity package, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant. But it points out that in contrast to former prime minister Margaret Thatcher "who was intent on ending the power of the trade unions, Cameron is trying to add an idealist dimension with his shock therapy. In his eyes the therapy is not only a bitter economic necessity but also a welcome step towards a 'Big Society' in which it is no longer the state that takes on certain responsibilities but the citizens, who by the same token assume far greater power of control. This is an interesting idea - but nothing more. To create an adequate basis for these heavy-handed interventions the prime minister will have to offer a new and clearer perspective." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » United Kingdom

The Romanian opposition will attempt on October 27 to topple the grand coalition government led by Prime Minister Emil Boc with a vote of no confidence. The government is worn-out, writes the daily newspaper Adevărul, and therefore its end would be a good thing for the country: "The present government must collapse because it has landed itself in an impossible position. ... It has lost the last scraps of credibility it still possessed so that even any hypothetically positive measures it took would be undermined by its appalling image. It is a washed-out, obsolete, insensitive government. When it does something bad it's terrible and even when it does something good it's still bad. The present government is like someone who has jumped out of an airplane and is plummeting to the earth at lightning speed." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Adrian Halpert

Spain's socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero subjected his cabinet to a major reshuffle on Wednesday. A clever move, writes the left-liberal daily El Periódico de Catalunya: "The magician José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has once again surprised everyone with a move that carries a clear message: PSOE and the government won't give in and will hang on right to the end. When the [conservative] People's Party decided to demand new elections in the belief that Zapatero wouldn't be able to finish his term in office, the president cut a deal ... which will enable him to pass this budget and the next one so he can stay in office until the end of his term. When the whole world thought he would simply replace one minister with another after Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho announced his resignation, Zapatero stepped in with what is possibly the most comprehensive cabinet reshuffle since he took power in 2004." (21/10/2010)

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

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday ordered that blockades erected by reform opponents barring access to fuel depots should be cleared. The conservative daily Le Figaro explains why reforms and austerity measures provoke far more protest in France than in other countries: "The crisis is hitting everywhere. It impoverishes salaried workers and forces governments to administer drastic treatment. But nowhere else - except for Greece - have the austerity plans elicited such gut reactions as here in France. This certainly has to do with the long-standing inability of the French elites to develop a pedagogy of change. The French sit back on the accomplishments of a post-war social model that they are unwilling to put in question. ... Then come two other national particularities: unions that only represent certain labour groups and a Socialist Party ... that never really made the transition to social democracy." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social affairs, » France
All available articles from » Yves Thréard

Exclusive summit meetings like the one taking place this week in the northern French town of Deauville between Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and Dmitry Medvedev arouse suspicion, writes the political scientist Jana Kobzová of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Multi-polar Europe must not be lead in an imperial manner by its major powers, Kobzová comments in the liberal daily Sme: "Deauville made a name for itself in the 19th century as a seaside resort at a time when the powerful states had divided Europe into spheres of influence. The meeting reminds one of such arrangements between the powerful, of Bismarck and Talleyrand. ... Europe today ... faces problems for which it lacks a solution mechanism. There's no shortage of topics for discussion. The question that remains, however, is what will change for Europe's security after this discussion in Deauville to which the leaders of France, Germany and Russia invited neither 90 percent of the states of Europe nor the increasingly important player Turkey. ... The problem is not just the meeting in Deauville, but also the trend we're seeing. The EU threatens to return to the times when it was divided among the spheres of influence of Europe's major powers. Nothing good for the multi-polar continent can come of that." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Germany, » France, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Jana Kobzová

The media circus offered by Greek politicians on television is taking on increasingly grotesque dimensions, writes columnist Giorgos Malouchos in the left-liberal daily To Vima with an eye to the Vatopedi affair, in which party representatives are accused of embezzlement and neglecting their duties: "Unfortunately we live in a country that contains at least three different worlds within itself: the real world, that of the parties and that of television. When the two latter worlds come together an uncontrollable downward slide begins. These cockfights between party leaders on television epitomise public debate in this country and come at a time when we are in danger and suffering. ... The two worlds of the parties and television have literally gobbled up the real world. They are like two leeches, sucking blood each day. But who is responsible for this unbelievable dance of the damned? ... The country is on the brink of an abyss right now. So let's stop fooling around and get to work on the crucial question of how we can save what is left to be saved." (20/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » Media policy, » Tax Policy, » Media, » Greece
All available articles from » Giorgos Malouchos

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán presented his second economic policy action plan on Monday. The plans are unsocial, writes the left-liberal weekly magazine Magyar Narancs: "The introduction of a flat income tax that ... will be fixed at 16 percent in two years and the levying of a special tax in certain economic sectors will affect two groups in particular. ... On the one hand the lower middle class ... and on the other big companies, which are mainly under foreign control. But in general everyone who has a bank account, uses a mobile phone and buys sausages in shops will foot the bill for the special tax because it's clear that the fleeced banks, telecommunications companies and retailers will compensate for their losses by raising their prices. ... The upper middle-classes and the rich will benefit most from the flat income tax. And the massive reduction in corporate tax will without doubt be a boon for the private sector." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Hungary

The conditions for small and medium-sized companies continue to be favourable in Poland, as a report published by the government agency Parp, which supports Polish businesses, reveals. The major problem for Polish companies is their lack of security in planning for the future, finds Jeremi Mordasewicz, a market expert with the Polish business association PKPP Lewiatan, writing for the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "When the representatives of small and medium-sized companies want to maintain their present social standards while at the same time demanding tax cuts, their demands can hardly be called rational and consistent. The problem for Polish companies continues to be that they only have a short-term perspective. Only those who have more capital at their disposal can plan for the long term. The cause of this problem is that corporate Poland is too fragmented and unable to bind capital. On the other hand it is able to react flexibly and adapt more easily to unfavourable conditions." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Labour market, » Poland
All available articles from » Jeremi Mordasewicz

Four neo-Nazi youths were condemned to prison sentences of between 20 and 22 years for attempted murder on Wednesday in the Czech Republic. The youths had set the home of a Roma family on fire in 2009. The conservative daily Lidové noviny praises the harsh sentences: "Some people might say that these four youths had the misfortune to be caught quickly and made an example of. After all, they weren't the first to commit racially-motivated crimes or murder. So what? People who throw Molotov cocktails into a house where children are sleeping can't expect anything other than an exemplary punishment. Anyone thinking about following in their footsteps should get that through their head." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Crime, » Justice, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Zbyněk Petráček

Ongoing environmental damage could cost the world billions of dollars a year according to the latest TEEB Report presented on Wednesday at the UN biodiversity conference in Japan. Societies are too slow to react to the costs of environmental damage, writes the liberal-conservative daily the Financial Times: "The new report estimates that overfishing costs 50 billion dollars a year in lost economic opportunities, and that coral reefs provide between 30 billion and 172 billion dollars annually in economic benefits. Some will disagree with these numbers - but they do highlight what we may be throwing away. The problem, as with all environmental issues, is how to implement change. The benefits of natural resources are typically diffused across society but someone must take on the costs. That is why the market is so bad at solving environmental problems on its own. Governments must introduce incentives for individuals and organisations to face the true cost of environmental damage." (21/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Global

The advertising agency Grey Worldwide and Google Gemany have conducted a study on connected people. In future consumers will play a key role in brand communication, writes Blog Carta: "This will have a serious impact on advertising because connected people are no longer passive consumers who let themselves be 'supplied' by media and editorial content - be it with news or entertainment - taking in advertising as they do so. ... Consequently almost everything in the media will be subject to feedback and covered by a veil of opinion-forming conversation. ... For those operating in the new world there is a solution: listen and take part in the conversation. ... Seen from this point of view, brands will be the result of a two-sided process in which people and businesses take over brand management together. An interesting perspective, but one which will certainly be both chaotic and stressful." (20/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Corporations, » Germany, » Global
All available articles from » Matthias Schwenk