According to the election management, only 46 percent of Romanians turned out to vote in the referendum. This falls short of the necessary quorum and means Băsescu could stay in office. But this is not really about Băsescu, it's about Romania's political culture, writes the weekly Dilema Veche: "Even Traian Băsescu had no idea how to behave in high office. And yet, there was no evidence that he had committed a grave violation of the constitution. Conversely the government and majority of parliamentarians did violate the principles of a constitutional state. ... In the referendum people were not voting for or against Băsescu, but for or against living by democratic rules. No matter what the outcome, we need new politicians who respect the institutions. We don't have any so far. Until the time comes when we do, the crisis will continue and we will lose ourselves in elaborate opinions instead of confronting the facts: that we have a problem with political culture." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Europa, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Mircea Vasilescu
Cobertura de debates » Power struggle in Romania

Romania's president Băsescu is to stay in office because too few Romanians voted to oust him in the referendum. Of those who participated, around 80 percent voted against him. Băsescu should make way for early presidential elections, demands Robert Schwartz on the Internet portal of the Deutsche Welle: "The president is returning to his palace, but unlike after the 2007 referendum, his power has waned. A coalition with the social-liberal government ... is virtually out of the question. If this political crisis continues Romania will be pulled into a lethal vortex, and there will be no escape ... even for the old seafarer Băsescu. If things are to calm down for the country Băsescu has only one choice, and that is to step down triumphantly and make way for early presidential elections in autumn 2012 to coincide with the planned parliamentary elections. It is high time that Romania ... parted ways with the old political clique. Young, credible politicians must be given a decent chance if democracy and European values are to hold any sway after this summer's absurd theatre." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Robert Schwartz
Cobertura de debates » Power struggle in Romania

Before the referendum President Traian Băsescu had called on the people to boycott it. But the fact that the turnout was below the required 50 percent cannot really be interpreted as a vote for the still incumbent head of state, comments the liberal-conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "If Băsescu remains in office thanks to a failed referendum he can hardly chalk it up as a victory. Most of the population saw themselves facing the dilemma of siding with the president, although he has lost almost all credibility, or heeding the call of a government which in a matter of a few weeks has inflicted long-term damage on Bucharest's image abroad. For many it was a question of choosing the lesser evil." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Rudolf Hermann
Cobertura de debates » Power struggle in Romania

The power struggle between the government and president is doing Romania great harm, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "Romania's democratic credibility has suffered. … Bucharest is experiencing one of its most serious institutional crises since the fall of the Ceauşescu dictatorship in 1989. It will have lasting repercussions for Romania's political and economic stability. This crisis comes at a time when the country is trying to obtain a further emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund. But a nation that disregards the rules of democracy can easily end up in no-man's-land - excluded by the EU and avoided by international investors. If we look at neighbouring Hungary, where Viktor Orbán is behaving with increasing impatience towards the democratic institutions, it's clear that the EU's eastward expansion left many problems unresolved." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política interior, » Vecindad de la UE, » Hungría, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Luigi Ippolito
Cobertura de debates » Power struggle in Romania

Syrian government troops stepped up the attack on the commercial capital Aleppo over the weekend. The International Red Cross and the Red Crescent Movement estimate that roughly 200,000 people have already fled the city. The conservative daily Večer condemns the inaction of the international community: "The most diverse strategic interests are at play in Syria, so that no one really holds anything against anyone. The Western world is not taking Russia and China to task for blocking the resolution in the UN Security Council that would at least do some damage to Assad's regime, nor is it pressuring Israel, the only nuclear power in the region, because the country obviously has a trump up its sleeve for a potential attack against Iran. And the strongest Arab countries are not openly accusing anyone because they don't want an open conflict between the Sunnis led by Saudi Arabia and Shiites supported by Iran. … A lot more blood will flow, but the main players on the international diplomatic stage will continue to dance their bloody tango. And no one will ask them what price those in Syria have to pay for this." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Crisis / Guerras, » Siria
Todos los textos disponible de » Vojislav Bercko
Cobertura de debates » Civil war raging in Syria

The German Minister for Economics Philipp Rösler on Sunday once again talked of a potential Greek exit from the Eurozone. The conservative daily El Mundo says it detects a turning point in Germany's policy: "Merkel appears to have changed her strategy. Spain and Italy must be protected to prevent the death of the single currency. A change of policy has been discernible since the meeting between [Spain's Minister for Economics] de Guindos and [German Finance Minister] Schäuble on Tuesday. Clear messages of support for the euro followed the meeting - first from Draghi, then from Merkel and Hollande, and finally yesterday from head of the Euro Group Juncker. … The change in direction could cause collateral damage. Merkel wants to force Greece out of the Eurozone because the general opinion in Germany is that the doubts about the monetary union will persist as long as Greece is part of it. … A protective wall is being built to prevent the impact a Greek exit would have from dragging down Spain and Italy, and by extension the entire EU." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Alemania, » España, » Grecia, » Europa
Cobertura de debates » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

The UN conference on the first global arms trade treaty ended on Friday evening without producing results. The left-liberal Tagesspiegel is not disappointed because "the treaty would have set up global standards for a hardly foreseeable period of time that are lower than those that apply in Europe. And Europe's standards in turn are lower than those of Germany. In the name of fair competition the relatively stringent guidelines that apply here would sooner or later come under pressure from the arms industry through the treaty - and would probably have been relaxed sooner rather than later. … The envisaged agreement also suffers from an overly naïve notion of the possibilities for effective control. Would it have prevented the Denver shooter from accumulating his arsenal of weapons? No, because the Americans' national identity resolutely opposes this. Would it have prevented Libyan weapons getting to rebels and criminals in neighbouring states? No, because weapons control hinges on a functioning state that counts weapons and monitors the trade in them." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Crisis / Guerras, » Comercio, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Michael Schmidt

Czech and Slovak politicians commemorated on Sunday the 20th anniversary of the division of Czechoslovakia at a ceremony held at the foot of the Velká Javořina mountain, on the border between the two countries. In the liberal weekly Respekt, Marek Švehla describes the consequences of the partition from the Czech perspective: "The end of Czechoslovakia was a logical step in historical terms. It was preceded by the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the expulsion of the Germans. It was a move that aimed to realise the dream of Czech sovereignty. But that sovereignty had many weak points. …Regardless of all their speeches about how well the Czechs get on with the Slovaks, the two countries are pursuing very different courses in foreign policy. While Slovakia has inextricably linked itself to the fate of the Eurozone the Czechs don't believe their partners, they wallow in a sense of their own uniqueness and overestimate their power. This is all an indication that they haven't really grown up yet." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Historia, » La República Checa, » Eslovaquia
Todos los textos disponible de » Marek Švehla

Politics today is a never-ending spectacle, the poet and essayist Ákos Szilágyi writes in the left-liberal daily Népszabadság: "All mankind is being turned into an audience, along with the political community and the modern nations. It is the emergence of a so-called theatocracy once so despised by Platon: the rule of the theatre audience. Today's mass democracies are without doubt moving in this direction. Politicians have come to regard citizens as spectators whose favour they vie for. For politicians applause is what counts, and for its part the audience applauds even the most vulgar productions. In today's 'Society of the Spectacle' (Guy Debord), the members of the political class turn every venue and every situation - be it a dull press conference or a tedious studio interview - into a show: even the meekest politicians use dramatic gestures, improvisations and pantomime to transform their appearances at press conferences and in TV studios into unforgettable events." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Escenarios, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Ákos Szilágyi

The Greek government has decided in favour of partial privatisation and dissection of the ailing state-owned ATE Bank, the Greek central bank announced on Friday. This means that the bank's loss-making business will be put under state control while the remaining healthy part of its business will go to the Piraeus Bank. The Internet portal tvxs criticises the decision: "How and through which procedures was the division of the ATE Bank into good and bad undertaken? Which criteria applied, and on the basis of which reports? When was parliament informed about all this? … The rash decision to sell ATE Bank fulfils a purpose and sends out a message that precautions are being taken to protect bank capital and the assets of the political elite. … The ruling class is telling its bosses abroad and the citizens here in Greece that the forced restructuring in favour of parasitism will continue - without the least hesitation and to the very limits of formal legality." (29/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Bancos, » Grecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Femis Tzimas
Cobertura de debates » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

Several solar technology manufacturers launched the EU ProSun initiative on Thursday and filed an official anti-dumping complaint with the EU Commission against Chinese producers. But the 50 percent drop in prices in Europe in 2011 that resulted from solar power systems from China also has its advantages, the liberal business paper Les Echos points out. "The flood of cheap Chinese solar systems has boosted the credibility of solar energy on the renewable energy market which - to put it mildly - has yet to prove its profitability. Thanks to sinking prices for collectors, the costs of a solar park will soon be on par with those for thermal power stations or nuclear power stations. In the US, where solar energy is already heavily in use, companies are even worried about Barack Obama's anti-dumping initiative because it poses a threat to rising demand. For Europe, which wants to be a pioneer in the battle against CO2 emissions, far more is at stake, above all because all the member states now want to make debt-related cuts to subsidies without which solar technologies can't grow. It must decide whether it wants to lower the cost of renewable energy or save local companies."  (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medio ambiente, » Energía, » Industria, » Europa, » EE.UU., » China
Todos los textos disponible de » Daniel Fortin

Over 600,000 Bulgarian households are surviving on less than 100 euro monthly per family member, the KNSB union announced on Sunday. Against a background of inflation and rising unemployment the daily Duma sees Bulgaria facing social disaster if the government does not intervene immediately: "The worst is yet to come because in winter more money is needed for food, heating and clothes. And there will be more desperate people who see no way out of their situation. ... The Bulgarian government's austerity measures might look good on paper, they might make Finance Minister Djankov smile, but they are no guarantee for the future. The only solution is higher wages, more jobs and proper measures against inflation and rises in the cost of living. ... But for this we need a state and a government that is prepared to do something for its people." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Desarrollo demográfico, » Asuntos sociales, » Sociedad, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Ina Michaylova

Since the shooting spree at the Batman premiere in a cinema in Colorado on 20 July, President Barack Obama has neither spoken out again gun laws nor stepped up security. Had the killer been a Muslim, politicians and media would have reacted rather differently, reflects the left-liberal daily Der Standard: "As with the case of the (alleged) Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, the killer is being isolated from the society in which he lives - without any supporting evidence. Had Holmes [the alleged Colorado shooter] or Breivik had an Arab background journalists would never have considered describing them as psychiatric cases. ... Such killers are instantly identified with religion and ethnic background, and Islam as a whole is held jointly responsible, even if the accusations only take the form of demands for Islamic officials and imams to distance themselves immediately from all forms of violence." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Religión, » Delincuencia, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Gerfried Sperl

This year's Gay Pride Festival begins on Tuesday in Stockholm. Last year's festival, like other gay pride events in recent times, was marred by left-wing extremists harassing and threatening participants they considered undesirable, such as soldiers and police officers. The liberal daily Sydsvenskan notes the similarity between the intolerance of left- and right-wing extremists: "A few years ago right-wing extremists posed a threat to people who wanted to celebrate themselves and their identities during Pride week. The new trend seems surprising, but it follows a certain logic: the political extremes are often united by their intolerance. Now left-wing extremists believe that they can decide who is entitled to be proud to be gay. … Pride - as a movement as well as a feeling - is [however] by no means the exclusive preserve of the Left. Pride belongs to those who have fought for their rights and continue to do so. Political orientation is irrelevant here." (29/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura cotidiana, » Minorías, » Asuntos sociales, » Igualdad de derechos, » Suecia

The left-liberal daily The Independent gushes praise for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London last Friday. It writes that Britain succeeded in presenting itself as a united nation, with a sense of humour: "It was a show 'for everyone'. The opening ceremony of London 2012 was even a show for people who have no interest in sport. Although our sporting heroes played a part, it was primarily a celebration of our national tradition of not taking ourselves too seriously while defending serious principles. ... The trouble with trying to make it "for everyone" was the temptation to put in a bit of everything, and then people start noticing what has been left out. There was no Oasis, for example, or The Smiths, or the Spice Girls. ... Yet the ceremony was a joyous celebration of a Britain in which we really are 'all in it together', thus uniting the nation in a way that, just a little, limits the room for manoeuvre for the reactionary wing of the Tory party. It celebrated modern Britain, a post-imperial nation, still half in and half out of Europe but surprisingly comfortable with its role." (29/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Olimpiadas, » Sociedad, » Gran Bretaña

Friday's opening ceremony for the Olympic Games in London was a clear demonstration of Britain's self-confidence, writes Bartek Chaciński of the left-liberal news portal Polityka Online, not without a touch of envy: "At the Euro Cup 2012 we felt a certain pride as a country that still has big plans and ambitions. But now we've had the chance to watch the proud presentation of a country that in many ways has been at the centre of the world's attention for a long time. [Director] Boyle pulled off a complex spectacle that I am writing about with a mixture of shame and envy because I could only watch it on TV. ... First of all he played with a monstrous decoration and then choreographed a dance of real employees of the National Health Service to form the giant letters NHS. ... 'Imagine,' my wife said, 'that this was in Poland and the huge letters in the stadium said NFZ [Poland's ramshackle health service health insurance fund].' In this one comment, she managed to lay bare the greatest differences between our two countries - and they relate to the continuity of tradition and how it affects national identity." (30/07/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Gran Bretaña, » Europa, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Bartek Chaciński