In view of the growing social inequalities resulting from unbridled capitalism, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung can understand why Argentina wants to bring its largest oil company under state control: "In fact Argentina is bringing up the rear. Other countries in Latin America have long since reversed the wave of privatisations that took place in the 1980s and 1990s, going against the global trend. ... In the final analysis, the Latin American countries are creating a resource situation reminiscent of the Arab World, where they are questioned by no one. ... Nevertheless it's still a far cry from state capitalism à la China. ... Trust in the power of the free market is waning. The protagonists of unlimited market freedom only have themselves to blame. Nowhere have they had better opportunities than in Latin America, and nowhere have they created such flagrant social inequality. That is now being punished." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Spain, » Argentina
All available articles from » Sebastian Schoepp

Without the EU's support Spain will have a hard time reacting to the Argentine government's plans to expropriate the Spanish company Repsol's shares in oil company YPF, the left-liberal daily El País fears and hopes that other EU member states will show their solidarity with Spain: "The Spanish government's position is not an easy one. Some ministers have rashly threatened economic and diplomatic sanctions which they now have to make concrete. The measures shouldn't be too drastic because they could hurt Spanish investors in Argentina; but if they're too toothless they will be rejected by the public. Their best option is help from the EU Commission. Brussels has already cancelled a bilateral meeting with Argentina, and it would be good if other institutions followed suit. The government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner deserves to be excluded from the G20 with immediate effect." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Spain, » Europe, » Argentina

EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso has urgently called on Argentina to adhere to the agreement it signed with Spain regarding the protection of investments. The EU must now take concerted action against the nationalisation of YPF, writes the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore, pointing out that otherwise other emerging economies could follow Argentina's example: "Argentina could be the trailblazer for the return of protectionism and nationalism with its nationalisation of oil company YPF. ... Argentina mistakenly believes that the national level is the only basis for negotiation and that the state is the only suitable agent. … If the EU takes concerted and resolute action against the nationalisation of YPF Señora Kirchner will come to her senses. The Old Continent has a very effective weapon for forcing the rest of the world to be reasonable: access to its single market. But this requires unity. The Commission and the member states must act together." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Energy, » Trade, » Spain, » Europe, » Argentina
All available articles from » Stefano Manzocchi

Rioting broke out in the Macedonian capital Skopje on Monday evening after five Macedonians were murdered near the city. Although there is still no official information about who carried out the attack, tensions are running high against the country's Albanian minority, members of which are said to be behind the killings. Bulgaria should take a clear stand against ethnic tensions before it's too late, writes the daily Standart: "The atrocious terrorist attack near Skopje could easily be the spark that ignites the powder keg. Especially if the culprits are not found soon. For that reason all Macedonian politicians and statesmen have called for calm and spoken out against ethnic rioting. Worried appeals for peace have also come from Belgrade, Tirana and Pristina. ... The neighbour's house is burning, and it wouldn't be a bad idea at all for Bulgaria's government to speak out clearly against ethnic violence in the region. One look at the situation here at home is enough to see that we too have long been threatened by hatred and violence." (17/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Unrest / Riots, » Bulgaria, » Mazedonien
All available articles from » Ruslan Yordanov

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán nominated MEP János Áder for the post of president on Monday. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Parliamentary President László Kövér and János Áder will continue to dismantle Hungary's democracy, writes the left-leaning daily Népszava: "Áder is part of that 'blood pact' signed by the Fidesz founders [at the end of the 1990s]. ... Now they occupy the most important posts in the state. As we can see, Orbán is keeping his promise: there may by minor or major differences of opinion or conflicts between them, but he always backs them. And they back him; they're his even partners in dismantling Hungarian democracy. They never let him down or attack him. While Parliamentary President Kövér is busy driving wedges among the opposition parties, as president Áder will get on with destroying the country's former legal system. ... The three are seen as the core of the Fidesz dynasty. And they are working together to bring Hungary under their control." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Hungary
All available articles from » Péter Németh

According to recent surveys, the Greek parliamentary elections on May 6 will bring major changes in the political scene because smaller parties will win more votes. But Greece's creditors want the big parties to continue in government, the conservative business paper Naftemporiki points out: "May 6 will certainly be a fateful day. Everyone is asking whether the political landscape will change because an eight- or nine-party parliament is elected or whether we will realise that we still haven't got rid of our bad habit [of voting for one of the two major parties]. … It may be that the Europeans and the International Monetary Fund want drastic reforms in Greece to get it out of the crisis. ... But they don't want any changes to the existing political system, which in their view should be maintained. Naturally this is not because they want us to stay in the Eurozone but because our creditors don't want to lose their money." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Greece, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Kouros Giannis

Public sector employees in Slovenia have announced a strike for today, Wednesday, in protest at the plans of the conservative government led by Prime Minister Janez Janša to cut their salaries. The austerity measures, aimed at reducing the budget by 800 million euros, are driving a wedge between the public and private sectors, writes the daily Večer: "Today's public sector strike symbolises the moment in which the global conflict between two concepts - liberal capitalism and solidarity - translates into an open conflict here in Slovenia. ... Both concepts have their logic. The government concept, the liberal concept, uses numbers to demonstrate that the salaries in the public sector are higher than those in the private sector and are putting too much strain on the budget. Politicians are calling on public sector employees to show solidarity with the thousands of workers who would do anything for a job. ... Janša's government is doggedly pitching the public sector against the private sector: because the weaker the one side is, the easier it is to bring down the other using the former as an example." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Vasja Jager

Spain's catastrophic economic situation is not a result of overspending, writes US Keynesian economist Paul Krugman in the daily Der Standard, but rather a consequence of the global financial crisis. His advice: Spain should leave the Eurozone: "Spain's fiscal problems are a consequence of its depression, not its cause. Nonetheless, the prescription coming from Berlin and Frankfurt is, you guessed it, even more fiscal austerity. This is, not to mince words, just insane. Europe has had several years of experience with harsh austerity programs, and the results are exactly what students of history told you would happen: such programs push depressed economies even deeper into depression. ... What is the alternative? ... Well, in the 1930s the essential condition for recovery was exit from the gold standard. The equivalent move now would be exit from the euro, and restoration of national currencies. You may say that this is inconceivable, and it would indeed be a hugely disruptive event both economically and politically. But continuing on the present course, imposing ever-harsher austerity on countries that are already suffering Depression-era unemployment, is what's truly inconceivable." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Paul Krugman
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast 3.5 percent growth for the global economy in 2012. But while the emerging economies are growing rapidly the industrialised states are stagnating. Journalist Peter A. Fischer argues in the liberal-conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung that increasing spending won't revive the economy in Europe: "When states are battling a recession and are already spending less than they actually could, and when the possibilities for using monetary policy to counter the trend have all been exhausted then fiscal policy shouldn't also slow down growth, runs the argumentation. … But unfortunately this economic policy advice isn't helping Europe either right now. Most states here are suffering not from an economic deficit but from a credibility deficit. Their creditors doubt - quite rightly - that they will ever be able to recoup in full the money they have invested in government bonds. … Growth without austerity is therefore no longer an option in most EU countries. The priority now is to restore lost credibility." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economy, » Europe
All available articles from » Peter A. Fischer
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Those who use online social media like Google Plus and Facebook are not truly free, blogger Sascha Lobo writes on Spiegel Online, pointing out that these services can be censored or even closed down at any time. For an independent digital citizen the only worthy option is having one's own website, says Lobo: "January 2012: Google closed down its Twitter-like platform Jaiku, which thus suffered the same fate as many other Google services: Google Labs, Google Buzz, Google Health, Google Wave. ... Really it's all trite … : Data on social networks must always be treated as if it could be lost at any moment  … Yet caught up in its love of 'like' the world takes a different course of action: all its digital creation takes place on the borrowed Internet. … But for those who value their digital freedom - at least as long as free social networks like Diaspora remain irrelevant - the only real option for social networking and sharing content is the self-administrated website: the blog. … Freedom is such a difficult and sometimes complicated affair that many prefer to exchange it for a constricting corset as long as it's well heated and doesn't feel too complicated." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Global
All available articles from » Sascha Lobo

The Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim is to be the new President of the World Bank. Kim won against Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a vote by the 25-member executive council held on Monday. The election of a US candidate as head of the institution was not taken for granted as it had been in previous votes, writes the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "According to the unwritten agreement between US and Europe,  the president of the World Bank is to be an American while the head of the second powerful institution, the International Monetary Fund, is European. Until now this system has functioned very smoothly. ... Now, however, emerging economic powers like Brazil, India and China have sought to counter this state of affairs. The world has changed - both in people's minds and in real economic terms. And the idea that the president of an institution that is supposed to help the poor nations must be a citizen of the richest country on earth seems like a relic from the bygone days of Western dominance." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Banks, » U.S., » Global
All available articles from » Adam Leszczyński

Czech Agricultural Minister Petr Bendl wants to go through the EU to stop imports of Polish foodstuffs, due to allegations that Polish food producers have used industrial salts in their products. Warsaw has refused to provide Prague with a list of the products in question and maintains that the Czech Republic is merely seeking to damage its reputation. The conservative daily Lidové noviny finds Poland's attitude "incredibly arrogant": "While Poland is removing tons of food products from its own market, other countries are not being allowed to do so. It is entirely  legitimate to want to protect the health of Czech citizens by banning the import of these Polish foods and their additives. Agricultural Minister Bendl wants to negotiate this right in the EU, while his Polish colleague says that is unrealistic. He forgets, however, that we consumers are the ones who will continue to purchase these items or not, as the case may be. Experiences like this teach us to give temptingly cheap Polish food products a wide berth." (18/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Consumers, » Economic Policy, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Poland, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Petr Švihel

Only a few days before the Formula 1 race on Sunday in Bahrain, protests against the Grand Prix are continuing in the Gulf kingdom. The organisers and Western governments can no longer ignore the brutality with which Bahrain's regime is seeking to quell the protests, writes the conservative daily The Times: "The sponsors and supporters of the Grand Prix cannot claim ignorance of what is happening in Bahrain. But while the decision to go ahead has outraged many ordinary Bahrainis, Western governments are arguably most deserving of criticism. Despite strong security and commercial ties with Bahrain, their overall policy has been weak and ineffective. ... If the Grand Prix does nothing else for Bahrainis, it should at least keep their country's plight in the headlines and embarrass governments, such as the UK, to do much more to uphold their human rights." (17/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Sport, » Human rights, » Middle East
All available articles from » David Mepham