Corriere della Sera correspondent Marco Imarisio is on location: "Everything changes when the television cameras are pointed at the burning camps. The fat man who had just called out 'Let them burn!' now clasps his hands over his head and cries 'Madonna mia, the poor people!' A youth with mirrored glasses suddenly becomes eloquent: 'They have to be turned away, but not like this'. The television camera is shut off, and the youth bursts out laughing. ... A group of youths stands nearby. ... The leader is the great-nephew of [Naples suburb] Ponticelli's 'mayor', Ciro Sano, the Capo of a Camorra clan that has put down roots here. The youth winks to his group and off they ride on their mopeds. Ten minutes later fresh clouds of smoke rise from the nomad camps. ... And so things go on, heading back to the Middle Ages." (15/05/2008)

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Most Roma living in Italy come from Romania, Luca Niculescu writes, adding that owing to the hostile climate in Italy many now want to return to their home country. Romania could benefit from this: "According to a report by the Agency for Government Strategies in Bucharest, over half of the Romanian immigrants now living in Italy are already thinking of returning owing to their growing unpopularity in Italy. ... The optimists hope that those Romanians who return will become more than just statistics or a migratory trend. Romanians who have spent time living abroad return with a different idea of the importance of citizenship and the functioning of authorities. Those who come back could be more active citizens than when they left the country. They could show that Romanian society is adapting to Europe more rapidly than the state leadership." (15/05/2008)

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Leftist politicians have also joined in the Roma-bating in Italy, writes the paper. "Several barracks in a Roma camp in Naples have been set on fire - yet apart from the radical left-wing Il Manifesto, not a single newspaper or TV station has used the word pogrom. ... In the recent elections, Italy's right wing had already declared public security as the country's 'top emergency'. And it did not mean the Cosa Nostra, the Camorra or the Ndrangheta. ... For them, the biggest threat to public security comes from the Roma and Romanians. ... The Left, too, played its part in fanning the climate of hate. Walter Veltroni was the one who proclaimed the 'Romanian emergency' last November following a murder in Rome, and had barracks in Roma camps cleared out with high media coverage." (15/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » Italy
All available articles from » Michael Braun

Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende did not make an official apology for slavery during his recent visit to the former Dutch colony of Suriname. According to the Dutch daily Trouw, he was "quite right" not to do so. "The discussion about this is basically unproductive because it is not clear what sensible moral purpose this would fulfil. What is more important is that the Dutch, the Surinamese and the Surinamese Dutch are aware of their common history and jointly commemorate the abolishment of slavery in 1863. ... This was the real break with the indifference that defined the Dutch stance for many years. This new awareness ... can now act as a counterweight to populist politicians who think we can simply ignore our moral and legal obligations regarding former colonies. ... After all, an apology can also have the opposite effect of making a break with the past. Now more than ever it is important ... to keep the memory of the past alive." (15/05/2008)

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A district court in Warsaw yesterday ruled that Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) must hear the testimony of further witnesses before bringing former head of state and party leader Wojciech Jaruzelski to trial. In compliance with Jaruzelski's request, those witnesses would include the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Mirosław Czech welcomes the decision. "The imposition of martial law ended the peaceful Solidarnosc revolution. It destroyed the hopes of millions of Poles. ... The group led by General Wojciech Jaruzelski was solely responsible for this. The imposition of martial law was a political decision, and therefore the trial will be a political one. The court must examine all the documents, above all those from the Soviet archives. Witnesses must be questioned, including Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher, which may seem superfluous or even ridiculous at first. The IPN thus wants to turn the court into a classroom for recent history and it to judge over matters that should be left to the historians. ... If a public prosecutor is allowed to deal with assessments of the past, history loses and justice gains nothing." (15/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crime and Law, » History, » Poland
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Danilo Taino, Berlin correspondent for the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, comments on a report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution which is currently making headlines in German newspapers. According to the report, Germany's Left Party has been infiltrated by communist extremists. "The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has the task of monitoring ... movements that could represent a threat to the country's constitution: left and right-wing extremist organisations, Islamic extremists, and the so-called Church of Scientology. And this is precisely what the intelligence agency is doing. ... However the case of the Left Party is politically sensitive. We know that the Left Party is under surveillance - or in other words being spied on - in certain German states. ... But the fact is that according to the most recent surveys the party would win 14 percent of the votes in elections, making it Germany's third-strongest party. This raises the question of whether it is permissible to subject a political force of these dimensions to surveillance. ... Moreover, the spying is selective. Party leader Lafontaine is no longer under surveillance, but according to many this is only because they want to avoid making a political martyr of him." (15/05/2008)

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Bulgaria is preparing an amendment to its family law whereby restrictions on the adoption of orphans will be eased. Anne Rodier, the paper's Bulgaria correspondent, comments: "The minors in these 'Homes for children deprived of parental care' often do have parents, with whom they have little or no contact. ... Until now it has not been possible to adopt such children, and this is exactly what the Bulgarian government is now seeking to amend. ... Scandals have rocked the orphanages since the start of the year, with cases of abuse in Moguilino, violence in Plodiv and even a case of sexual abuse and murder in Tran. ... Eight establishments have been closed. ... Yet as far as financing is concerned, the fate of the children remains in the hands of the establishments' directors, who in Bulgaria as elsewhere chase after private and public sponsors. ... As in other countries, the budget accorded by the state is symbolic. ... By reintroducing adoption, the national agency for the protection of children hopes to improve the children's fate." (14/05/2008)

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Publicist Timothy Garton Ash compares Polish and British attitudes to Europe, concluding that "Poland is overtaking Britain on the road to Europe - and to the euro. ... Poland, unlike Britain, is so enthusiastic about its membership of the European Union. We were there for Europe Day, May 9, and the media were full of it. There was a by now traditional Robert Schuman parade in Warsaw, with 10,000 people singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy in Polish. ... Although Poland has only been a member of the EU for four years, whereas Britain has been in for 35, it is in some respects already more integrated than Britain. ... We were assured by well-informed Polish participants at the Polish-British round table that Poland is now ready, financially and economically, to join the eurozone. ... Poland's target date for joining the euro is 2012. By then, Britain's prime minister will probably be David Cameron, who is currently even less inclined than Gordon Brown to steer Britain towards the euro." (15/05/2008)

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Leo Brincat joins the debate about the future role of the USA initiated by the Americans Richard Haass and Fareed Zakaria: "The world that both these personalities envisage is one in which the US will no longer dominate the global economy, orchestrate geopolitics or overwhelm cultures. ... The great story of our time is the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia and many others. ... Now is the time to ask ourselves what does it mean to effectively live in a truly global era. ... The principal characteristic of 21st century international relations is turning out to be non-polarity: a world dominated not by one or two or even several states but rather by dozens of actors possessing and exercising various kinds of power. ... We should look at this emerging scenario with some optimism, in the sense that, although non-polarity might prove to be difficult and dangerous, encouraging a greater degree of global integration will help promote stability." (15/05/2008)

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Janusz Majcherek expresses admiration for the economic upturn in Slovakia and points out that Poland is falling behind owing to its hesitant economic policy. "Our dogmatists may deny it, but it was the introduction of the flat tax ... that gave the Slovak economy a boost we can only dream of. While Slovakia is experiencing a miracle, here we have only promises. Ten years ago we could convince ourselves that we were the front-runners of the transformation. Today we are far behind - with only divided and frustrated, but nonetheless richer Hungary behind us. The Polish government does not realise what a shock it will be for Poles to enter the euro zone by visiting Slovakia after January 1. ... We can only congratulate the Slovaks! They deserve it." (14/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Poland, » Slovakia
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In an extensive analysis, Lenka Zlámalová examines expenditure patterns of Czech households and concludes that: "less than twenty years after the end of totalitarianism, the transformation is now complete. There is no longer any difference between our taxation, pension, social security and health systems and those of Germany, France or the UK. We have adopted the Western way of life. Our family accounts hardly differ at all from those of the 'adult' countries. The times when we spent the bulk of our money on food and when accommodation costs were far lower than in Berlin, Vienna and London are over. ... We watch the same films, read the same books and buy the same brands. ... The only post-Communist remnant is that we are less open to risk, and rely more on the protective hand of the state." (15/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Consumers, » Economic Policy, » Czech Republic, » Western Europe
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In the Slovenian daily Dnevnik, Tanja Lesničar-Pučko writes about the significance of culture in the EU. "In the eyes of politicians culture has become a practical instrument with which the EU can secure influence beyond its borders. To this end the EU has earmarked 900 million euros for cultural projects this year. That is good. Funding culture is a great investment in the future of troubled regions - much better than the export of weapons within the NATO framework. Time and again I have been surprised by how little EU representatives know what they are talking about and how they always churn up the same empty phrases about democracy, tolerance and intercultural dialogue. ... Culture is threatened almost everywhere by neo-liberalism and political indifference. ... Culture should not be allowed to continue serving as a maid to politics, the sciences and capital." (15/05/2008)

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In Eleonas district of Athens the construction of a mosque that has been the subject of heated debate for thirty years is now nearing completion. The Greek daily Ta Nea discusses the mosque's organisational model, which is based on the German model. "The German model requires that religious teachers teach the Koran in the German language. 'We want the sermon and the ceremony to be held mostly in Greek', a functionary of the ministry of education has asserted. He added that the ministry is covering the costs for eleven Greek Muslims to travel to Mecca and attend Al Azar Islamic University in Cairo to receive training as imams. According to Nazin Rasaa, secretary general of the Association of Muslims, the association has requested that the imam must be a graduate of Al Azir University, and the Greek ministry of education will comply with this as it wants avoid appointing a foreign imam." (15/05/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Migration, » Integration, » Germany, » Greece

Mihail Radu Solcan writes about the online encyclopedia Wikipedia: "In September 2005, journalist John Seigenthaler discovered in his biographie on Wikipedia that he had played a role in the murder of the Kennedy brothers. ... This false information was online for four months. ... Wikipedia is based on a 'laissez-faire' style without hierarchical controls, where mistakes are corrected by editors and anyone wanting to join the Wikipedia community. It is an eternal construction site. There is no way of telling whether what you find will be rubbish or a construction wonder. This is enlightenment in the Kantian sense: we are condemned to think with our own heads. ... And Wikipedia is no exception on the Internet. The platform puts millions of articles at readers' disposal, ... but it produces them with its own rules and culture. The site is a new sort of community, a far cry from the traditional community of intellectuals." (15/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Minail Radu Solcan

Catherine Mallaval describes the trend among French men to wear skirts: "Looking up men's skirts, staring at their calves and stroking their long [leg] hairs ... is all possible, at least for a very small minority. These are the emancipated men, activists in a frightfully no-nonsense association of skirt enthusiasts. ... 'Men in Skirts' was founded last year, and now counts around thirty members who discuss fashion, male emancipation and loneliness. ... Chairman Dominique Moreau, 39, announces in the group's preamble: 'We are neither circus animals nor exhibitionists. Our movement has nothing to do with folklore. ... Millions of men wear skirts nowadays everywhere except in the West. If they can do so, why can't we?' ... Moreau, a public servant, wears his skirt everywhere but on the job." (14/05/2008)

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In January a smoking ban entered force in Portugal's public buildings and public transport, but Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates was caught smoking during a flight this week. João Marcelino comments on the incident: "José Sócrates is constantly aware of his role as an opinion-former, which is why he has never smoked in public or let himself be photographed or filmed smoking. On the other hand, he never misses the opportunity to promote his polished image ... and therefore had photos of himself taken during his morning jog at places like the Red Square in Moscow. ... When he smoked on an airplane, he sent the Portuguese the message: do as I say, not as I do! He has since admitted it was a mistake, apologised and promised to quit smoking. He just should not have claimed he was not aware he was breaking the law when he did so." (15/05/2008)

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All available articles from » João Marcelino