Grzegorz Gauden welcomes the fact that PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has now officially been elected prime minister, saying that up to now he had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes: "He has traded in the role of a reviewer for that of a decision-maker. Now he's being taught an important lesson in how to govern. As leader of the main party, he can make decisions and reach agreements with coalition partners quickly. This is a big advantage when it comes to governing and reforming a state." (20/07/2006)

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The Spanish daily is unsparing in its criticism of the Kaczynski brothers. "In principle, there is no reason to get worked up over the fact that twins should be governing a country, so long as things are done in a democratic manner. But in Poland's case, there are quite a few causes for concern. ... The alliance in power seeks to revive historic passions and fears. Any common sense seems out of the question and international relations are affected by a lack of seriousness and professionalism on the part of the Polish leadership. The marginalisation of those Poles who do not buy into their narrow-minded revanchism is one of the features of the two brothers' antidemocratic regime. Polish government in the hands of the Kaczynski brothers is anti-Russian, anti-German, anti-Communist and anti-liberal, interventionist and pro-American, homophobic and clerical, populist, pretentious and profoundly nationalist." (20/07/2006)

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According to Jan Ross, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's appointment as head of government signals the end of the 'foreplay phase' during which the Kaczynski brothers had to accommodate former conservative head of government Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. "Now we'll see what a Kaczynskis-only government is like. Up to now the government has made vigorous attempts at gaining control of public TV and radio broadcasting, set up an anti-corruption office and dismantled the old secret service. The investigation and punishment of people who worked as informers under communist rule is to be intensified. A stronger, more distrustful and more resolute will to exercise power is making itself felt, but hardly poses a threat to Polish democracy, in which this is all the subject of lively argument." (20/07/2006)

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Reinhold Vetter complains that the Polish government led by Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski is using the debate on the country's communist past as an instrument for party politics: "Taking its schematic assessment of the past as a starting point, the national conservative government is busily engaged in the 'cleansing' of the state apparatus, of the country's higher legal organs, the media, the education sector and the management committees of major state-owned companies. The main criteria for somebody's removal from his or her position is evidence, or at least the suspicion, that the person in question made a career in politics or some other profession under socialist rule and still maintains contact with post-communist social democracy. The government fills the vacant posts with its own party functionaries and sympathisers; professional qualification for the job is not taken into account. This 'cleansing' goes far beyond the uncovering of corrupt structures and criminal connections between the economy and politicians. It's turning out to be a politically-motivated grab for power affecting important sections of society." (20/07/2006)

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"The elevation of Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski to the two most powerful positions in Eastern Europe's largest country might be comical, were it not so serious," the centre-right daily warns. "Poland's progress towards prosperity and mature democracy is vital for its 38 million people and critical to the success of EU expansion. ... In a speech to parliament yesterday, Jaroslaw Kaczynski sought to allay concerns about a possible drift to the far Right should he be confirmed as Prime Minister. He promised to take on corruption, slim down bureaucracies and play a constructive role in charting the EU's future. He is on the verge of power having broken a promise not to stand for the top job, but still deserves the chance to prove himself. That means resisting the urge to pander to domestic prejudice, and forging a modern, co-operative foreign policy." (20/07/2006)

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Citing the differences between the EU member states, journalist William Pfaff argues in favour of a two-speed Europe. "It would be a great help to Europe in its current situation if the gap which de facto already exists between certain states were to be formalised in a new European structure. States that want Europe to play an active role in the world could form a voluntary coalition which other members are under no obligation to join. The others could still profit from the economic and, to a certain extent, the political advantages of EU membership without having to take an active role. The creation of such a structure would not be easy, but it's better than the current attempts to touch up a constitution that has already been rejected. Yes, this would be a 'two-speed Europe'. But if there really are two Europes, it's no wonder they move at different speeds." (19/07/2006)

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The German sociologist Ulrich Beck considers the consequences of a demographic decline affecting a number of western European countries, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and especially Spain and Italy. "In western Europe, there is a rough rule of thumb according to which the closer one gets to the Pope, the fewer children one has. One might conclude from this that the Catholic religion supports the collapse in the birthrate. Demographic growth is a highly complex phenomenon ... Is this decline in the birth rate a disaster ? No. The ageing of the population must above all be understood as a historic victory, the triumph of modernity !" (20/07/2006)

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The city of Riga has banned "Christopher Street Day" (CSD) this year. Aivars Ozolins sees this not only as a violation of the right to freedom of assembly and to hold demonstrations, but also as a campaign directed against sexual minorities. "The intensity of hate evident amongst those who petitioned the ban leads to the conclusion that part of society is obviously willing to renounce rights and freedoms which only recently it fought hard to obtain. The reasons behind this manipulated hate are the same as in other countries: people's financial worries, a sense of injustice, and anger at not being able to exert political influence." (20/07/2006)

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In an essay published by the daily Jiri Sedivy, former chief of staff of the Czech army, speaks out in favour of the construction of an American missile defence system in the Czech Republic. Opponents of this idea claim that the US base would be no different to the military posts maintained by the Soviet Union before 1989. Sedivy does not concur: "I fundamentally disagree with any kind of comparison between this and the stationing of Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia. The Warsaw Pact forced us to be allies. Today, we have the choice. In 1968 the Soviets came through our door without asking permission and stayed for two decades. The US is asking permission to station a few hundred soldiers here on our own terms. If we say no, the missile defence system will be built elsewhere." (20/07/2006)

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The daily offers readers "a primer in climate change for doubters" on the day [Wednesday, July 19] that the mercury hit a record 38,8C in the British Isles. "By itself a single hot day is not proof that our climate is changing. The summer of 1911 was extremely hot, long before anyone had ever heard of global warming. But a pattern is emerging. The three warmest years on record globally have all occurred since 1998 - and 19 of the warmest 20 since 1980. According to Nasa, last year was the warmest since reliable thermometers became widely available. ... The overwhelming scientific consensus is that most of this warming is caused by rising CO2 emissions directly attributable to human burning of nature's vast stores of coal, oil and natural gas. In the face of this, the silence on global warming from the leaders of the rich world gathered in St. Petersburg was deafening." (20/07/2006)

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"A politician never rests. Especially when his name is Nicolas Sarkozy. The French interior minister is taking advantage of the summer holidays to swing into high gear 10 months ahead of the presidential election," notes Joëlle Meskens, a reporter for the Belgian daily. "His latest book, 'Testimony', has been on display in all the bookshop windows since Monday. It does not really matter that the war in Lebanon has stolen some of the book's anticipated thunder. The PR campaign for this fourth book has been so well orchestrated that Sarkozy has already leapt four points in the polls. Yet the book contains no staggering revelation. ... Maybe the main thing is simply to be visible ? For holidaymakers who may not have the book in hand, Sarkozy has a Plan B: members of his party are handing out...flip-flops on the beaches ! The shoes are magic: their soles leave an imprint of the UMP's three initials in the sand." (20/07/2006)

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The EU spends 1.3 billion euros annually on subsidising European winegrowers through a complicated system of regulations and bans. According to the Swedish newspaper, the wine growing business is one of the last bastions of the planned economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's high time these European "wine kolkhozes" learned to stand on their own two feet, the paper writes. "Wine-producing countries, and in particular France, will fight against it, but France, too, must realise that it's unacceptable that EU tax revenues are being used to turn good Bordeaux wine into industrial spirits… We must keep in mind that the idea of a common European agricultural policy arose from the desire to give Europe's citizens access to good quality food at low prices. Now that the problems with this expensive bureaucratic colossus are coming to light, it's difficult to get free of it." (20/07/2006)

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For Thierry de Montbrial, the founder and director of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), the debate surrounding the merger between Arcelor and Mittal reveals Europe's deficiencies. "We hardly have any industrial policy worthy of the name, any more than we have an energy policy. Instead, we remain stuck within the caricatured 1960s debate, that of a liberal-minded Europe that is subordinate to the United States and its choices as a dominant power; or of a Europe that is closed in on itself and, by extension, protectionist. Neither side in the debate, in France as elsewhere, has understood that the best way of being open to the outside world is to be strong domestically, and that in order to be strong domestically, one must be united while remaining exacting and competitive." (20/07/2006)

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In Berlin, the privately-financed Museum zur DDR-Alltagskultur, a museum about every day life in the former GDR, has opened. Harry Nutt reviews the museum in the context of the ongoing debate about how to deal with the GDR past. "One argument put forward in this debate is that the authentic sites of GDR dictatorship are being pushed to one side to make way for kitschy reconstructions of everyday life featuring GDR traffic lights and culty Trabis. Unfortunately, this private museum is no exception in its portrayal of everyday GDR culture. The term "confronting the past" is too programmatic to be used to describe this harmless collection of exhibits. The bugged corner, which is supposed to represent the Stasi's surveillance apparatus, is quaintly reminiscent of the attempts of teenagers in East and West to get recordings of the latest rock songs on tape." (20/07/2006)

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The 'Chalon dans la Rue' street festival has seen its reputation grow alongside the rising popularity of street performance art on the nation's artistic landscape," notes journalist Bruno Masi. "The history of the festival closely parallels that of a genre that emerged 30 years ago. Born in market squares and cobblestoned streets, this utopian idea of a theatre accessible to one and all, on the fringes of the cultural establishment, distinguishes itself with a specific approach to the questions that have plagued live performance for decades." The journalist quotes the festival's new director, Pedro Garcia: "Performance art is booming, it's a wellspring from which individuals with a pertinent expressive style are bound to emerge. But how many are we ultimately talking about ? Ten ? Twelve ? We cannot say things are running out of steam creatively, but production is inconsistent. Artists lack financial resources. ... Things are still developing." (20/07/2006)

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Ireland is experiencing a population boom of historic proportions, writes Economics Editor Marc Coleman. "The latest census shows that Ireland is embarked on a journey back to the future. In the century and a half since the Famine our population experienced a historical U-turn. Falling to a trough in the first hundred years of this period, it began to rise again in the early 1960s. ... Yesterday's census shows that we have now fully achieved the U-turn. Between 1996 and 2002 the population jumped from 3.6 million to 3.9 million, bringing us back in time, in population terms, to 1881. The latest census for this year is even more amazing. From 3.9 million in 2002, our population has now jumped to 4.2 million, bringing us in one step back 20 years, to 1861." (20/07/2006)

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