Shortly before the run-off vote in the French presidential elections, the two remaining candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande met on Wednesday evening for a televised debate. The challenger Hollande is the deserving winner, some commentators write. Others fear that the Socialist's plans are unrealistic.
With articles from the following publications:
La Repubblica - Italy, Die Presse - Austria, Rzeczpospolita - Poland, Les Echos - France
La Repubblica - Italy
The challenger François Hollande emerged the winner of the almost three-hour-long TV debate between the two presidential candidates, writes the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "A democratic, honest and in many ways exemplary debate. Both the ideas and the programmes were important, but mainly it was about each candidate showing his character. … Nicolas Sarkozy started off at a disadvantage, which is why he immediately went on the offensive. This tactic fits in with his character. The challenger Hollande however didn't unsheathe his sabre. He has always preferred the foil. He kept up his defences and in the end managed to thwart his fiery opponent. It looks like Sarkozy's bid to regain enough votes to turn the situation around and win on Sunday has failed." (03/05/2012)
It looks very much like François Hollande will be the new French president, but Nicolas Sarkozy would be the better choice, the liberal-conservative daily Die Presse writes: "Sarkozy realised back in 2007 that France needs to 'break' with the market forces if it wasn't to lag behind. He may not have achieved much in his five years in office, but more than he is credited with. He raised the retirement age, introduced a university reform and extended the absurd 35-hour week. Sarkozy's narcissism, his showing off and his lack of principles are hard to put up with. The xenophobic posing with which he tried to score with the right-wing extremists at the end of the election campaign was simply repulsive. Yet the Gaullist would still be the better choice for France because at least he doesn't deny the economic reality of his country, as his rival does." (03/05/2012)
The Socialist François Hollande will win the run-off vote for the French presidency, the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita fears: "This man has made so many unrealistic promises that just listening to him talk is enough to strike you with fear. They include reducing the working life, liberal labour laws and higher compensation for people who are laid off. The investors are appalled and see his candidacy as a threat. Because he is the exact opposite of what the French need right now. The problem is that there is simply no alternative to austerity programmes at the moment. Or at least no one has come up with one, not even Germany. It is obvious that the inability to deal with problems at home has weakened Europe in the eyes of the world." (03/05/2012)
The rules governing the election campaign in France are as much in need of reform as the internal party procedures for selecting candidates ahead of the campaign, criticises the liberal business paper Les Echos: "First off, the patronage system [candidates need the signatures of 500 elected representatives], which in principle is laudable, must be reinforced so that exotic candidates are filtered out of the competition for 'The Elysée's got Talent'. ... Furthermore, the rules concerning air time granted to candidates must be urgently reconsidered. They stem from a bygone era and are inspired by an ancient ideal, that of guaranteeing that all candidates have the same chances in the race for the presidency." (03/05/2012)
EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso announced on Monday that he will stay away from the Euro 2012 in Ukraine as long as constitutional principles are violated there. Many politicians of European countries, however, have rejected the idea of a Euro 2012 boycott. Commentators find the idea ineffectual and the discussion surrounding it hypocritical.
With articles from the following publications:
Rzeczpospolita - Poland, Mladá fronta Dnes - Czech Republic, Savon Sanomat - Finland, Financial Times Deutschland - Germany
Rzeczpospolita - Poland
Western politicians' calls for the European Football Championship to be boycotted because of Yulia Tymoshenko's imprisonment are hypocritical since there have been worse hosts than Ukraine in the past, writes the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita: "Why all the fuss now? It's not as if Tymoshenko was sent to prison just yesterday. The alarm bells could have gone off when Siemens and other German companies won contracts for preparing for the Euro 2012. Or when the very same Siemens helped Beijing modernise for the Olympic Games a few years ago. This, too, was a country with political prisoners. It may sound cynical, but in the history of sport there have been far worse hosts of the Olympic Games or other championships. Mussolini, Hitler, the Argentinean junta [World Cup 1978] and the Chinese Communist Party have all organised such events." (02/05/2012)
The head of the Czech Football Association, Miroslav Pelta, has rejected the idea of a political boycott of the Euro 2012 football championships in reaction to the jailing of opposition figure Yulia Tymoshenko, on the grounds that sport must not be held hostage to politics. The liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes does not agree: "Politics and sports cannot be separated. By giving a country the task of organising a major sporting event the international community expresses trust and respect. Organising a European Championship in the world's most popular sport brings huge prestige. Of course that will come as no surprise to Mr. Pelta and others who blather on and on about the independence of sport and politics. ... The sports-politics cocktail doesn't need to be shaken only now; we've already been drinking it for a long time. And by the way, why was Ukraine awarded with Euro 2012? Not because of the fantastic conditions there, but because that's what the politicians wanted." (02/05/2012)
According to the liberal daily Savon Sanomat, Western politicians staying away from the Euro 2012 in Ukraine won't achieve anything: "The EU protests for democracy and humaneness failed to make an impact in the case of Alexander Lukashenko in Ukraine. Will all the pretty words be more effective in Ukraine, or will they drive President [Viktor] Yanukovych's Ukraine in the same direction as Belarus - to a closed society ruled by fear? Some are demanding that with the help of King Football the leadership in Ukraine be put under pressure with the threat of boycotting the Euro 2012 matches there. The same was done with ice hockey in Belarus yet nothing came of it. Whether this tactic will be more effective in Ukraine? Hardly." (02/05/2012)
If Ukraine is facing a boycott because of human rights abuses the same must apply for other countries too, writes the Financial Times Deutschland:"What an outcry there was five years ago when German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the foreign minister at the time Frank-Walter Steinmeier and ex-president Horst Kohler announced that they wouldn't attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. All the wailing about trade and the economy. ... But what German manager, what politician, what member of the middle classes is getting all worked up now about how German President Joachim Gauck, Merkel, Environmental Minister Norbert Röttgen and the SPD boss Sigmar Gabriel are publicly reprimanding Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych? … Where are all the critics when instead of powerful China it's relatively weak Ukraine that's in the pillory? … Yes, Russia too, which is hosting the Winter Olympics in Sochi, is far from being a model democracy. If people want to pursue human rights policies convincingly in future they can't duck out when it comes to taking the heavyweights to task." (02/05/2012)
According to media reports, German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to call on members of her cabinet not to attend the Euro 2012 football matches in Ukraine in the event that former Ukrainian prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is still in jail when the competition kicks off at the start of June. Such a boycott could help the cause of democracy in the country, write some commentators, while others fear it will only push Ukraine into Moscow's open arms.
With articles from the following publications:
De Telegraaf - Netherlands, Eesti Päevaleht - Estonia, Corriere della Sera - Italy, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany
De Telegraaf - Netherlands
At the upcoming Euro 2012, both the Dutch and the German national teams will play in Ukraine during the group stage. In view of the treatment of former prime minister Tymoshenko, politicians from the two countries should seriously consider boycotting the games, the right-wing tabloid De Telegraaf writes: "The German government has already announced it would investigate the possibility of a political boycott. That means: the football players would go but politicians could not attend the games in Ukraine. For the Ukranians such a boycott would be an outright disgrace. The Netherlands will also have to address the question of whether a boycott is necessary. On the one hand sports and politics should not simply be lumped together. But on the other it would be hard to stomach seeing Dutch politicians sitting happily in the stands as guests of a country that treads human rights underfoot." (30/04/2012)
In view of ex-prime minister Tymoshenko's situation it's important for the EU politicians to boycott the Euro 2012, writes the liberal daily Eesti Päevaleht: "Even if it's sheerly impossible to boycott every state where human rights are abused, one shouldn't dispense with this instrument entirely. Where a dictatorship has been established for a long time the success of a boycott is questionable. But Ukraine is at a historical crossroads. Either it will soon become a dictatorship or democracy will win out in the autumn elections. Europe must push for the second option with every means at hand. For the politicians in the EU this means boycotting the European Championship. President Yanukovych must not be given a stage for self-promotion. However the spectators should travel to Ukraine to meet the people and get to know the country better. The millions of fans who have been looking forwards to the Euro 2012 for years now deserve this." (30/04/2012)
A boycott of the Euro 2012 football championship would drive Ukraine straight into Moscow's arms, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera warns: "Europe's geopolitical strategy is at stake, and this raises the question of where Vladimir Putin stands. ... Behind Tymoshenko, but he's also siding with Viktor Yanukovych. The Kremlin's double dealing is aimed at wearing Ukraine down. The goal is for its relations with the West to deteriorate to such a point that Kiev is prepared to become at least a privileged partner of Moscow once more. Moscow has already secured the allegiance of Belarus and Kazakhstan with this strategy. … Europe does well to remember its values in the Tymoshenko case. But it must strike the right balance between defending its values and the danger of playing right into Putin's hands." (30/04/2012)
The departing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has also sharply criticised the Ukrainian leader's treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko. That puts the Ukrainian government under additional pressure even if Medvedev's motivations are unclear, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Two years ago the Kremlin had already denounced human rights violations in a country he counts as part of his sphere of influence: Belarus. But no sooner had dictator Lukashenko agreed to the customs union with Russia and Kazakhstan than these issues were once again forgotten. What would Medvedev or Putin be saying about Ukraine if Kiev complied with the Kremlin's demands in the conflict over gas prices and pipelines? Perhaps Ms. Tymoshenko's being condemned to seven years in prison last October because a gas contract with Russia was interpreted as abuse of office has something to do with it. Yet even if one suspects that Medvedev is simply showing Yanukovych the torture instruments, in doing so he ups the pressure on the regime in Kiev - and that's a good thing." (30/04/2012)
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