Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday tasked the deputy leader of the Social Democrats, Enrico Letta, with forming a government. The prime minister designate plans to begin talks for the formation of a broad coalition today, Thursday. Some commentators hope Letta will oppose Germany's austerity policy. Others fear that the marriage of convenience between Left and Right will only last a few months.
With articles from the following publications:
Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany, Svenska Dagbladet - Sweden, Die Presse - Austria
Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy
Finally Italy will have a prime minister who isn't willing to comply with Germany's austerity dictates, the liberal-conservative business paper Il Sole 24 Ore writes: "Enrico Letta has been a passionate pro-European for years. He doesn't have other Italian politicians' bad habit of ignoring Europe, only to accept its decisions without putting up any resistance - at great cost for the country. Letta takes the bull by the horns. He wants to change the European austerity policy, the disastrous results of which we are now witnessing. ... But will Letta succeed where François Hollande has failed? Will he be able to break Angela Merkel's resistance? ... If the economic stagnation deteriorates further and Germany is also affected, even Merkel will no longer be able to act as if nothing is wrong. But this will hardly be enough to bring about a change in course. At most, Berlin would allow an easing of the Stability Pact." (25/04/2013)
Enrico Letta may enjoy Napolitano's trust but he lacks the courage to introduce genuine reforms, the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments: "He's approaching the upcoming negotiations with all the authority of someone who enjoys the full trust of the president. But will that be enough to lead for an entire legislature period a government which is determined to do what is necessary and has a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to do just that? In his first statement, Letta has already distanced himself from a policy of austerity, as if Italy only had to spend more money for unemployment to disappear. The country is experiencing its longest recession in 20 years. In such a situation, a prime minister who's the same age as Cameron in Britain and Rutte in the Netherlands should have more to offer than the traditional social democratic fare. Courage, for example." (25/04/2013)
The appointment of Enrico Letta as prime minister gives Italy time to catch its breathe - if only for a short time, the conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet comments: "It's unlikely that this government will last for long. It will probably be a short-lived adventure. A wide gap separates the centre-left Democrats from the centre-right PdL, and the right in turn is hostile towards Mario Monti's party. There is also the risk of the Democratic Party - many members of which are critical of Berlusconi, who is on trial for sexual and tax offences - breaking up. Owing to the political situation the new government will only last a few months to a year, maximum. Then there will probably be new elections. This will open up new possibilities, above all for the Italian Left, which will probably vote for the 38-year-old Mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, to be its new leader." (24/04/2013)
Enrico Letta may be able to ensure that Italy's parties agree on a common government, but in the eyes of the conservative daily Die Presse it's someone else who's pulling the strings: "With 46-year-old Enrico Letta, the deeply indebted euro country could have a 'young' prime minister for the first time in years - and one who is well versed in economic and European issues. But the decisive point is that the centre-left Democratic Party member is accepted by the two warring major parties - at least for now. And this is the snag with this marriage forced by President Giorgio Napolitano: hardly anyone is interested in it being a long and happy partnership. ... The truly powerful man behind this coalition is none other than Silvio Berlusconi. The Cavaliere has benefited from the recent political chaos; his party leads in all the polls. He needn't fear the prospect of new elections. So he is now in an optimal position to impose his will. And he has always regarded politics as a vehicle for pushing through his own interests." (25/04/2013)
The French National Assembly passed the controversial law on same-sex marriage on Tuesday, after which several thousand demonstrators once again came out in protest. The government fuelled the bitter protest with its lack of transparency, some commentators write. Others challenge the opponents to accept same-sex marriage as a minority right.
With articles from the following publications:
Ouest-France - France, El País - Spain, Tages-Anzeiger - Switzerland, Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany
Ouest-France - France
France's government has dealt irresponsibly with the topic of same-sex marriage and is therefore responsible for provoking the protests, the regional daily Ouest France contends: "Along with the death penalty, abortion and the civil solidarity pact, same-sex marriage is one of the symbolic issues that touch the innermost depths of our society. ... Contrary to what his critics claim, François Hollande never hid his intentions: the right to marriage and adoption for homosexual couples was part of his programme (proposition No. 31). But having implicit approval through an electoral victory, or even explicit approval in the opinion polls, is not enough to transform a promise into a fait accompli. The election winners made mistakes that have filled the streets with protesters: they weren't clear enough about how they intended to implement the project, which has given the impression that they were either hesitant or that they were hiding their true intentions." (24/04/2013)
The opponents of gay marriage should calm down and take a look at the developments in neighbouring Spain, the left-liberal daily El País advises: "Marriage between gay partners was calmly accepted here. The only problem was the legal uncertainty of the almost 22,500 gay couples who got married between mid-2005, when the law initiated by Rodríguez Zapatero came into effect, and the end of 2012 when the Constitutional Court rejected the complaint against the law brought by the Partido Popular. The French Right has also announced it will lodge a complaint, but France's Constitutional Court has only one month to reach a decision. It's time religion and politics finally realised that the free union between people of the same sex does not represent a threat to other forms of family. And that in a democracy, minorities have the same rights as the majority." (24/04/2013)
The debate over gay marriage has led to a kind of alliance among the right-wing parties, the daily Tages-Anzeiger observes: "The opposition party Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) must have feared the prospect of losing even more voters to Marine Le Pen. So the politicians of the UMP and the [extreme right] FN marched side by side. It looked very much like the dress rehearsal for a future alliance, even if everyone disputed it. … The two parties may soon face new competition: on the strength of her power to mobilise, [satirist] Frigide Barjot is now also planning to found a party in which she would unite those voters who are disappointed with parliamentary politics. … If you've watched Barjot in recent weeks, hovering on the verge of a nervous breakdown and even crying in front of the cameras, one can only hope the mood in France will calm down soon." (24/04/2013)
Those who oppose same-sex marriage are a danger to representative democracy, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: "Hollande spoke out clearly in favour of same-sex marriage in the election campaign. A majority of the French people voted for him. ... The opponents of this law should accept that. ... Instead, some protest organisers are trying to replace the parliamentary opposition and its parties with the anger expressed by citizens on the street and in the Internet. For a long time this has not just been about gay marriage, but about the de-legitimisation of the president and the parliament. The protesters invoke 1968, Mahatma Gandhi and the American Tea Party to challenge representative democracy. ... Protest movements can dismantle outdated structures and force politicians to listen to the people. But they can also degenerate into fundamentalism. Then they endanger the representative democracies with which Europeans have fared well in the past." (24/04/2013)
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