Despite the outcome of the election there is still hope for Russia, the liberal business paper Financial Times Deutschland writes, noting how civil society is gaining force in the country: "Never before has opposition to the ruling elite been so strong and widespread in Russia as it has been in recent weeks and months. Clearly in this, the world's largest state, a young, dynamic, creative middle class is taking shape which is no longer willing to leave economic and political power in the hands of a small group at the Kremlin. It has Western ideas and uses the Internet to network and keep itself informed. … This new civil society is too small at this point to push Putin out of power. It may not even be large enough when he runs for another term in office in six years' time. Russia has been dominated by authoritarianism and bossed around by Moscow for too long. It needs to get back on its feet after failing to prevent Putin's election. … The election has however shown that civil society is growing - slowly but surely." (05/03/2012)

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

The EU has tolerated corruption and violations of democratic principles long enough, now it must finally take action against the regime, writes Noelle Lenoir in her blog Europe - mon beau souci: "Europe cannot content itself with dealing with Russia, which is in the processes of entering the WTO without making any concessions. Beware of the Tunisia syndrome! Let's avoid being too tolerant with regimes that are then rejected by their people. ... [EU foreign minister] Ashton must take a stance, together with the Commission and the Council. And through her, the EU must impose certain conditions on our commercial ties. Europe would only benefit by expressing its scepticism regarding the Russian elections. ... It would consolidate its position by putting more conditions on trade with its Russian partner. Dignity is well worth a few barrels of oil and a couple of cubic metres of gas." (04/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Trade, » Elections, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Noëlle Lenoir

The more civil society criticises Vladimir Putin, the sooner truly free and fair elections will be held, writes the former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov in the liberal daily Eesti Päevaleht: "The first months after Putin's return to power will be greatly influenced by how the people and the leaders of the protest movement react. The Russians must name concrete political goals, and strive to achieve them. They must call for serious, drastic changes, instead of cosmetic alterations to the country's political system. The most important goal at the moment is to bring about free and fair elections which can one day lead to a legitimate and responsible government. The list of the most pressing problems facing Russia at the moment is very long, and their solution can no longer be put off. But as long as Putin is in power, the list will only grow longer." (03/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Michail Kassjanow

The election winner Vladimir Putin has great plans for Russia but he himself is preventing them from being realised, writes the daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "Putin's goal is a return to the grandeur of the superpower era. He wallows in Soviet nostalgia and wants to rearm the country in a big way. Paradoxically, however, he himself is one of the major obstacles to these plans. Nowadays an effective foreign and security policy needs a functioning economy. However in recent years Putin has prevented reforms. More important to him was gaining control - particularly of raw materials - through his trusted minions. So while the economy has grown, Russia would be much further on without the fetters laid on it by Putin. His repeated candidacy has split the country, and that too puts a brake on development. Once again, Russia is getting in its own way. It remains a difficult partner, but even in the years to come it will prove unable to demonstrate the assertiveness that a country of its size should possess." (04/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Eric Gujer

Widespread suspicions of vote-fixing are prompting tens of thousands of Russians to take to the streets in protest today, Monday. While the Western media reports focus mainly on the young members of the new middle class they overlook the far more critical mass of older Russians, Putin biographer Masha Gessen writes in the liberal daily De Standaard: "There is a problem with the image of a 'revolution of the middle class'. It is totally wrong. … I hope that someone tells the stories of the old people on Moscow's streets and the demonstrators in Kovrov, because until the Russian and Western media start telling these stories and stop constantly talking of a 'revolution of the middle class' they are missing the really big story. Perhaps it's less colourful, but it is nonetheless far more important. It's called mass movement. Putin has won but the protests against him will change the course of Russian history." (05/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Masha Gessen

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative EU partners have agreed not to meet with the French presidential candidate François Hollande during the election campaign, according to a report published by German news weekly Der Spiegel. This show of solidarity with President Nicolas Sarkozy will backfire, writes the left-liberal daily Der Standard: "The Chancellor couldn't have done more to help Hollande, whose programme calls for the EU fiscal package dictated by Merkel to be renegotiated. The French are weary of Sarkozy's empty promises and submissive gestures. Most of them have no intention of letting Berlin of all places stipulate who will be their president. That Merkel is relying on Cameron (who always leaves her stranded on the euro) and Rajoy (who has just announced that Spain will exceed the deficit) shows how Merkel's grip on power is weakening. … To disregard the potential next president of one's most important partner country testifies to a lack of political instinct the like of which hasn't been seen in decades." (05/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Thomas Meyer
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections held on Friday. The big winner of the vote was an alliance of conservatives with close links to the country's religious leadership. But according to the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the president's defeat doesn't reduce the threat Iran poses to the international community: "Amidst all the ideological and religious differences the rival factions have one thing in common: the ruling class's instinct for self-preservation, both internally and externally. This is why the regime oppresses any opposition with an efficiency that leaves its ally, the butcher Assad, looking like a beginner. And this is why it wants the nuclear bomb, or at least the ability to build one quickly and attach it to a missile. ... If Iran becomes a nuclear power this would further destabilise the Middle East axis - and the country's Arab neighbours also fear this. … Soon the German chancellor, too, may be reminded of her largely ignored but extremely important statement that Israel's security was a fundamental part of Germany's raison d' état." (05/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Iran
All available articles from » Berthold Kohler

Serbia received official EU candidate status at the EU summit on Thursday evening. Romania withdrew its veto after the two countries signed an agreement on minority protection. The liberal-conservative daily Adevărul welcomes the accord between the two neighbours: "Giving the region European prospects has created a general interest in achieving peace in the Western Balkans. This has induced Serbia to accept Kosovo's autonomy and hand over its war criminals, who were widely regarded as war heroes in Serbia. ... Romania had plenty of time during the long years of negotiations with Serbia to raise the problem of protection of minorities. … Continuing to block Serbia's candidate status would have sent the wrong message to the countries of the Balkans: no matter how hard you try to heal the wounds of war you haven't got a chance because of the interests of individual nations. Just as the Netherlands is doing with us regarding our accession to the Eurozone." (05/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Europe, » Romania, » Serbia
All available articles from » Ovidiu Nahoi

The European heads of state and government unanimously reconfirmed Herman Van Rompuy as EU Council President on Thursday, but his re-election was hardly reported in the media. This has a lot to do with the unobtrusive personality of the Council President, the liberal business paper Les Echos writes: "It's no insult to say that the Belgian diplomat's concept of his post has nothing at all to do with what everyone understood when the Treaty of Lisbon was signed. And even less with what Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, one of the 'fathers' of European construction, had in mind: a visionary leader. Discreet almost to the point of being invisible, President Van Rompuy harmonises others' points of view but has no desire whatsoever to represent Europe himself. ... This is clearly what Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and others want, who believe that we have taken integration as far as it can go and swear by intergovernmental relations." (05/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Dominique Seux
Who's saying what » Europe's speed

The Iranian nuclear programme is the focus of a meeting today, Monday, between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. To resolve the conflict with Tehran the Middle East peace process needs to be resumed without delay, writes the Israeli author Abraham B. Jehoshua in the liberal daily La Stampa: "The political goal of the two-state solution, that even the current conservative government accepts, must be achieved. As a gesture of good will the government must immediately stop its aggressive settlement policy. … After the Holocaust experiences it's understandable that any explanation of a totalitarian state, no matter how irrational, is taken seriously. Therefore I don't blame the Israeli government for threatening to bombard the Iranian nuclear facilities and preparing for a military strike. But I am convinced that an honestly meant step towards peace with the Palestinians would prompt the Palestinians to back the demands for it to call a halt to Tehran's threats of war. Because a potential conflict between Israel and Iran would destroy their hopes of an independent state forever." (05/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Abraham B. Jehoschua

The Polish economy is growing and growing, but so are the social inequalities, admonishes economics professor and ex-Solidarność functionary Tadeusz Kowalik in the left-leaning weekly Przegląd: "Today no one denies that we are well on the road to adopting Anglo-Saxon style capitalism. At the same time people are less apt to say that a relatively high economic growth is the sole sign of success. For society, and especially for the Left, what they really see of this success is it's ugly side, that is the fact that most of society doesn't benefit from this growth. There are various ways to demonstrate this ugliness. It's not difficult to name several inglorious Polish records within the EU. Over a long period of time we have had the highest unemployment - especially among the young. We've got the highest number of children living under the poverty line. We have the highest labour migration and rank worst in a discrimination index for women." (05/03/2012)

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All available articles from » Tadeusz Kowalik

The Spanish head of government Mariano Rajoy revised the 2012 deficit target agreed with the EU for his country on Friday, bringing it up from 4.4 percent to 5.8 percent. But when all the EU states present their budgets in April Spain won't be the only one not to have met the targets, the conservative daily ABC writes: "Because the EU Commission pushed Spain to present its 2012 budget as soon as possible Rajoy had no alternative but to tell the truth and announce a realistic deficit of 5.8 percent instead of the original 4.4 percent target. … When in April all the countries present their budgets to the Commission Spain won't be on its own because unfortunately other governments will be forced to admit that they too are still far from meeting their targets. … However the Spanish government must remain determined to reform and restructure the economy and reduce the deficit to three percent by 2013. It must make up for its current delay by reducing the structural deficit in accordance within the framework outlined by the EU." (05/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Spain, » Europe

In Denmark, all the parties with the exception of the Red-Green Alliance agreed on a fifth bank bailout package on Friday. The conservative daily Berlingske sees the package as a sensible measure: "With this most recent package the policy makers are stating clearly that Denmark will suffer if more banks collapse. But the most important insight here is that the state is taking action in the current crisis situation, but doesn't want to assume a permanent role in the banking sector. Fortunately, with the fifth bank bailout package the government is making it clear that it will leave such dangerous fantasies to the Unity List. But the conservative parties must be careful to ensure that the red government doesn't itself at some point give in to the temptation of running the banks." (05/03/2012)

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Finland's government plans to cut support of 300 euros per month to parents who don't put children under three in a daycare, limiting the coverage to children under two. The government is economising at the expense of families and communities, the liberal daily Maaseudun Tulevaisuus writes: "The state will save umpteen million euros per year. ... But for the communities the cuts mean far higher expenses. Each child has a legal right to a place in a daycare. ... This radical cut in childcare support is being justified with the argument that more people will enter the active job market. How many posts remained unfilled because of the childcare support? Those behind the cuts also forget that the support is entirely voluntary. No one's forced to remain at home, but freedom of choice is strengthened. However the freedom of choice of young families seems to be the last thing the government has on its mind." (05/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Labour market, » Society, » Finland

Since the introduction of new EU regulations on poultry breeding at the start of 2012, the prices for eggs in Bulgaria have risen by around 60 percent. If this trend continues Brussels must retract the regulations as soon as possible, writes the daily 24 Chasa: "Whether the rise in prices is only a passing phenomenon, as Agricultural Minister Miroslav Naydenov maintains, or a test being carried out by retailers in the run-up to Easter will soon be evident. In any case the high prices have given the omelette a bitter after-taste. If the happiness of the birds means the unhappiness of the people, Brussels should repeal its regulations as soon as possible. In the end it may turn out that Bulgaria's chickens benefit more from entering the EU than its people. ... But if the price rise is due not to happier hens, but rather to greedy breeders and intermediaries who are cleverly cashing in on the situation the state must react immediately and not hide behind the excuse that it has no control over market prices." (04/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Consumers, » Agriculture, » Bulgaria