The corruption affair in which French President Nicolas Sarkozy is implicated is endangering the planned French pension reform and weakening the Franco-German axis, notes the liberal business daily Financial Times Deutschland: "Sarkozy's chances for re-election have dwindled to zero because his last hopes were pinned on successfully reforming the pension system, a move that was to cast him once more in the role of the courageous, reform-minded president. Now he can pretty much forget about his plans for the reform because it was supposed to be carried out by Labour Minister Éric Woerth, who is said to have received the 150,000 euros from the heir to the L'Oréal cosmetics company. The EU will consequently have a hard time building on the German-French axis in the time to come. Both countries will be paralysed politically for the foreseeable future. That not only raises the spectre of the right-wing populists gaining in strength. It also dashes any hopes that Europe will come up with any meaningful ideas for a more crisis-proof global economy." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Elections, » France, » Europe

The corruption affair is symptomatic of the way President Nicolas Sarkozy leads his country, writes the daily Der Standard: "This affair has exposed the full extent of the double standards - not to say duplicity - of Sarkozy's term in office. ... What riles the French the most is his high-and-mighty way of coming across as Mr Clean. Just a few weeks ago he called for an 'irreproachable republic', saying that he would 'not tolerate the slightest slip-up on the part of his government'. At the same time he harbours a minister (André Santini) who has long stood accused of embezzlement, and he refuses to part with another (Éric Woerth) although at the very least he is involved in an extreme conflict of interests. And now the president is widely suspected of receiving illegal funds for his own election campaign. All of this fits in very well with his style of governing, known as 'bling-bling' (flashy), his intermingling of personal and collective interests and his unkept promises." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France

An unsparing search for the truth is the only thing that can help the struggling French government in the midst of allegations of corruption against President Nicolas Sarkozy, writes the daily Libération: "Neither high-minded denial nor superficial government shuffles will help matters in the least. ... This affair raises very serious, very embarrassing questions. Did the fortune of the Bettencourt family help to illegally finance an election campaign? Did it serve to further the career of this or that right-wing leader? What exactly is the family's tax situation? Has it been the subject of illegal aid on the part of the state apparatus? The public has a right to clear and rapid answers to these four questions at least. The only way to dispel the dangers created by this affair ... is to answer them in a speedy, transparent manner." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
All available articles from » Laurent Joffrin

Not only President Nicolas Sarkozy but the entire leading political circles in Germany, Spain and Italy are under domestic pressure, writes business paper De Tijd, with repercussions for Europe: "We are forced to realise that the leaders of Europe's four major member states are in one way or another politically compromised - precisely at a time when their countries need strong leadership. ... For Europe its weakened political leaders are not good news. The European Union is facing great challenges that require resolute protagonists who dare to make decisions. But what it has is weakened leaders who are having to deal with the problems of their own countries to limit the political damage there. In this way the financial crisis is causing not just economic damage but also serious political damage." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Germany, » France, » Italy, » Spain, » Europe
All available articles from » Jean Vanempten

The liberal-conservative Polish ruling party Civic Platform has proposed its parliamentary party leader Grzegorz Schetyna as new parliamentary speaker and he is likely to be accepted thanks to the distribution of power within the Sejm. His strong personality is a point in his favour, writes tabloid Fakt: "This nomination has been given different interpretations. Some see it as a degradation, others as an attempt to deprive Schetyna of his power within the party. And yet others see it as a reward for his hard work during the election campaign. But perhaps the explanation is quite simple: the Platform needs someone in the post of parliamentary speaker who is a very skilled and at the same time uncompromising politician. Because only someone who isn't subject to the diverse influences of the opposition party will be able to push the legislative projects that are important for the government through the Sejm." (07/07/2010)

» more information (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Anita Sobczak

US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed in Washington to direct negotiations with the Palestinians. But hardliner Netanyahu has still emerged as the clear winner from the talks, writes liberal daily La Stampa: "Barack Obama has just had to make the best of things. Perhaps the president has once again given domestic politics priority and was thinking of the powerful Jewish lobby and the sway it holds over the midterm elections, which will be a decisive test for a presidency which is facing a serious loss of popularity. Perhaps in view of his meagre success what we are seeing here is a change in US strategy. Obama's ambitious and generous intention to re-establish the US as an honourable Middle East mediator has apparently collided with harsh reality. America is decidedly weaker under Obama than it was under Bill Clinton and even under George W. Bush." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Israel
All available articles from » Vittorio Emanuele Parsi

Five years ago Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people with their attacks on the London underground and a bus. The four perpetrators were all British-born. The British government's current appeasement regarding extremists only encourages new attacks instead of hampering them, The Daily Telegraph, a conservative paper, writes: "The Security Service believes that more than 2,000 people in the UK pose a terrorist threat; in March 2005, it was estimated that up to 200 al-Qaeda operatives were in the UK. ... Yet for the past five years the major political parties have failed in their principal task, which should be to argue for British values. MPs who have spoken out frankly have been silenced or reprimanded by their parties. Outspoken critics of radical Islam have been sidelined or ignored. Senior counter-terrorism officials have made clear that it is a matter of 'when' not 'if' the next July 7 occurs. By engaging extremists and sidelining not just progressive Muslims but also the mainstream opinions of British society, government has done much to store up far more problems in the future." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Douglas Murray

Bronisław Komorowski's victory over Jarosław Kaczyński in the presidential elections has revived the old Polish myth of Sarmatism, writes Polish journalist Adam Krzemiński in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "While Kaczyński stands for the dreams of power of the unfairly treated petit bourgeois and the nationalist egoism of the rural population, Komorowski projects the gleam of the old Polish republican myth for which Poland has its own designation - Sarmatism, which comprehends two opposing sides of the Polish national myth. The name derives from a belief often repeated during the Renaissance according to which the Poles - as an aristocratic nation - were descended from the ancient Sarmatians who lived in freedom and brotherly equality on the Danube and even stood up to the Romans. ... The anti-European alliance between the Kaczyński brothers and the hooligans of the 'Self-Defence' party and the 'League of Polish Families' discredited the neo-Sarmatian 'true Poles' to such an extent that in 2007 voters helped the 'Kashubian' [Donald] Tusk to victory. Many young Poles see the EU as a shield against internal despotism and the egoism of the nationals. Now President Bronisław Komorowski is trying with his familiar allusions to resolve the squareness of the circle of Polish cultural history and endow the Liberals with a little 'Sarmatian' charm." (07/07/2010)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Elections, » Poland, » Europe
All available articles from » Adam Krzeminski

In view of the budgetary collapse that has hit Bulgaria as a result of the crisis, politicians and special interest groups are calling for the abolition of the flat tax of ten percent in favour of higher or progressive taxation. Economist Petar Ganev argues for the flat tax in the daily Sega: "The flat tax is not to blame for the current budget situation. On the contrary: in budgetary terms it was the best reform measure in recent years. The arguments of its opponents are worthless. ... They want to interfere in our lives and redistribute our money, punishing some people to the benefit of others. This way of thinking is parasitical. Practically no one likes to pay taxes, but people have demonstrated that they prefer the flat tax to its alternatives. The proof is that provided taxation is simple, easy to understand and low, more people pay their taxes and will go on doing so. Raising the flat tax would be taking a step in the wrong direction, because it would make people less willing to pay their taxes." (06/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Tax Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Petar Ganev

The current floods in Romania are nothing unusual as the country is hit by flooding practically every year, but there is a lack of long-term strategies against them, the daily Adevărul writes: "Naturally from a meteorological perspective Romania is no longer what it was 20 or 30 years ago. The guidelines according to which the dams were built in the Ceauşescu era no longer fit in with the changed hydrological system. ... When we're neck-deep in water one of the ministers remembers that a strategy had already been passed that contained all the necessary measures. Once the floods are over the strategy is quickly forgotten again. Every minister wants to go down in history by replacing all the projects of his predecessor with his own strategy. The finished document is the first thing the successor throws in the wastepaper basket. ... President Băsescu has his mandate ... until 2014 and could do more than any of his predecessors to tackle the floods." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Agriculture, » Romania

The parliament in Spain is discussing whether the Muslim full-body veil should be banned in public. The left-liberal daily El Periódico de Catalunya argues in favour of such a ban: "It is misguided feminism to say that women are free to chose to wear the burqa. They are preconditioned by years of submission. Wearing the burqa or full veil is in some countries a social tradition  that has no connection with religion. The burqa is a form of dress imposed by the Taliban: they force women to wear them in the same way they forbid them to study or attain any kind of social independence. ... And we should remember that during the pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy place for Muslims, it is forbidden to cover one's face and therefore use the burqa or the niqab." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Cultural Policy, » Religion, » Gender equality, » Spain
All available articles from » Rosa Cañadas

The Netherlands reached the final of the World Cup for the third time on Tuesday with its victory against Uruguay. The image of the players has been transformed, writes daily Nrc.next: "Between 1990 and 2008 Oranje's footballers were above all spoiled young boys of the carefree generation. Guys who suffered from too little discipline, too many slogans and way, way too much money. Who played well when the going was good but failed when things got rough. ... And then we won. ... Now we are simply in the finals. The word 'simply' is symbolic for our new reality. ... It's not heroism that defines our success but success that defines our heroism. If the Netherlands doesn't lose the finals in a bad way on Sunday we will see how the image of spoiled, affronted boys is replaced in our memory by that of a team of heroes." (07/07/2010)

» more information (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Ingmar Vriesema

The vuvuzela steadfastly continues to get on the nerves of football fans at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, leading the left-liberal weekly Heti Világgazdaság to investigate its not so distant origins and discover an interesting business model: "The roar of the vuvuzela, the colourful plastic 'instrument' with the deafening sound, has even drowned out the media hype around the FIFA World Cup. When blown by tens of thousands of fans in the stadium, the vuvuzela is the bane not only of the teams, but also of the trainers (who can't communicate with players on the pitch), the television commentators and of course the spectators. Not to speak of the sponsors. ... But what the heck: the vuvuzela is sacred, ... it's a question of tradition. Let's not forget, we're in South Africa. ... However the funny thing is that tradition has nothing to do with all this: as opposed to the truly traditional kudu horn, the metre-long plastic horn has only been around South African stadiums for the past ten years. The vuvuzela is manufactured by the lucky monopolist Neil van Sharkwijk, who also sells anti-vuvuzela earplugs as 'antidotes'." (07/07/2010)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » South Africa
All available articles from » László Seres