Mitt Romney needs to finally connect with the American people at the Republican National Convention for his official nomination, because if he fails to he has barely a chance of winning the presidential race, the business paper Hospodářské noviny writes: "He must show the Americans his human face. Because Obama is much closer to the people and far more congenial. At the same time Romney must clearly define his political programme and present visions that differ from Obama's. … Romney's problem is that we still don't know his opinion on a series of key issues. On taxes, healthcare reform, immigration, weapons control and even on abortion, an important subject for Americans, Romney has switched sides radically in the past. This is one reason why the voters haven't been able to warm to him yet. Even if they don't actually agree with Obama they don't doubt his personal commitment. But they do doubt Romney's. Only if Romney clearly states who he is and what he wants to do for the country will the White House be within his reach." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Daniel Anýž

In naming Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney has moved a huge step to the right. The US will now choose between two world views that could hardly be more different, the regional paper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace writes: "With his party programme Romney has moved further to the right than any 'Grand Old Party' candidate has done in the last hundred years. This has given the electoral race, which had been showing signs of lethargy, a new boost. The former governor of Massachusetts has silenced those who were saying he was soft, too vague, too wishy-washy. That was his prime objective. With the idol of the Tea Party movement, Paul Ryan, as his running mate, he has chosen to ally himself with the most hard-line Republicans. ... At the same time he has put the question of what type of society Americans want firmly on the agenda. Voters won't just be choosing between two men on November 6, but between two programmes and two visions of the world that couldn't be more diametrically opposed." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Sociedad, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Pascal Coquis

If Mitt Romney doesn't manage to convince the voters of the growing Hispanic minority in the US it could mean failure both for him and his party, the liberal daily the Financial Times writes: "The Republicans risk getting trapped in a vicious circle. Because so many voters in their primaries are elderly 'Anglos', who are upset by the changing demographics of the US, candidates for the Republican nomination are more or less compelled to adopt hardline stances on immigration. But these positions are likely to count heavily against them when they appeal to Hispanic voters in the general election. ... An inability to attract the votes of ethnic minorities in general - and Hispanics in particular - is a big disadvantage to the Republicans in this election. Nevertheless it is one the Romney-Ryan ticket could yet overcome. In future elections, it could be fatal. Mr Romney faces a very tough battle in the coming months. Future Republican candidates may conclude that he had it easy." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Minorías, » Elecciones, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Gideon Rachman

According to a report in the German news magazine Der Spiegel German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a reform of the EU treaty. This all sounds very well in theory but is impossible in practice, the liberal daily Turun Sanomat comments: "The plan basically boils down to a politically and economically more tightly interwoven union. Of course one can always argue that there wouldn't have been a crisis in the first place had the existing treaties been adhered to. Merkel's prescription looks good on paper. A common currency and closer economic and political union go hand in hand. Unfortunately the plan has two major flaws. For one thing reforming the EU treaty is an unbelievably slow process. Reaching an agreement on the Treaty of Lisbon [which came into force in 2009] took around eight years. And for another the political preconditions for fundamental reform are not in place. In almost all member countries the attitude towards deeper integration is extremely negative." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Alemania, » Europa

At the meeting of the ECB Council on September 6 the purchase of government bonds by the central bank will be the main point on the agenda, as the German member of the ECB's executive board of directors, Jörg Asmussen, announced on Monday. German Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann opposes this programme, which is backed by ECB head Mario Draghi. The Bundesbank's resistance could cost the Eurozone dearly, the left-liberal daily La Repubblica fears: "For a months now the Bundesbank has been bombarding the main headquarters of the ECB in Frankfurt with all the ammunition put at its disposal by the media. Yet one gets the impression - in Germany too - that rather than an open war this is more like a barrage aimed at refining the ECB's strategy in order to limit bond purchases. Because Weidmann lost the decisive battle at the beginning of August when the ECB Council approved the principle of ECB intervention on the financial markets against his will. … However if instead of using the 'big bazooka' the ECB confines itself to an urban guerilla-style strategy of individual purchases, it could be both expensive and almost ineffective."  (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política financiera, » Mercado de finanzas, » Bancos, » Alemania, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Maurizio Ricci
Cobertura de debates » Crisis countries pin their hopes on ECB

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on Monday declared he wanted to put the issue of how to deal with Roma from Bulgaria and Romania at the top of the agenda at the upcoming EU summit on October 18 and 19. The daily Sega finds this very odd: "So for both accused parties, Bulgaria and Romania, the summit will be a kind of EU tribunal where they bow their heads under the collective pressure, admit their guilt and are forced to bear all the consequences of their misdeeds. The spectacle will push Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the Schengen zone far into the future and give France and its Western European allies an unlimited alibi for warding off the Roma in whatever way they please. Soon the time will come when Bulgaria only harms itself with its silence on the Roma problem because it is interpreted as a guilty conscience and a desire to avoid vital debates. Bulgaria has just a few weeks to get ready for a serious political confrontation with Paris. By then, France will not just be well prepared but also have substantial European backing." (27/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Integración, » Minorías, » Francia, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Svetoslav Tersiev

Romania's President Traian Băsescu took up office again on Monday. But an end to the conflict between his opponents and supporters is not in sight, writes the liberal-conservative daily Adevărul: "Now comes the big battle over the parliamentary elections. The governing USL must remain a unified alliance. Traian Băsescu, by contrast, must succeed in dividing it. But the PDL party  [the opposition party, with which he has close ties] has also been weakened by the confusion of the referendum. True, Traian Băsescu has taken up his post once more, but for millions of Romanians this is a source of frustration. Of course Băsescu won't have to face another election. So it's the PDL that runs the risk of being punished - not the president. Very likely roughly eight to nine million voters will turn out for the parliamentary elections. Should 7.4 million of them vote [against Băsescu] as they did in the referendum, the PDL will disappear from the map - even if it merges in a widespread Christian conservative movement." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Disturbios, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Ion M. Ionita
Cobertura de debates » Power struggle in Romania

In Denmark, a committee of inquiry will today begin investigating how the press got hold of inland revenue documents on the social democratic head of government Helle Thorning-Schmidt and her husband. There are suspicions that a note contained in the documents referring to the alleged homosexuality of Thorning-Schmidt's husband was leaked by political opponents in the 2011 election campaign. At the time Thorning-Schmidt and her husband had come under fire for reportedly being less than honest in their tax returns. The conservative daily Jyllands-Posten calls the potential abuse of office by Thorning-Schmidt's political opponents an "embarrassing low point in Danish politics and the way they are covered by certain media. ... If it emerges that a minister abused his position of trust in this way a trial before the Supreme Court could be the ultimate consequence. … At the same time it must be pointed out that the whole affair began with a candidate for the office of prime minister who on the one hand spoke of how 'the most wealthy should also pay' but on the other tried to pay as little as possible herself in her own private life." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Impuestos, » Medios de comunicación, » Dinamarca

Poland's former national-conservative parliamentary speaker Marek Jurek accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk in mid-August of pressing ahead with the introduction of the euro, a move he considers counter to Poland's interests in view of the euro crisis. But such accusations only damage Poland's economy, political scientist Michał Szułdrzyński writes in the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita: "As one gathers from public and unofficial statements by Tusk's staff, the government's most important goal is to secure the capital markets' confidence in Poland. ... Because the more confidence we benefit from the less the government will have to pay for the money it borrows. This policy of calming the markets has already borne fruit: yields on government bonds are lower than they have been for years. Despite the slowdown in economic growth, the mountain of debt isn't growing as quickly as it did in the first phase of the crisis. Marek Jurek has called on the government to make a clear statement: 'The time has come for Poland to say clearly that we will not introduce this currency and will retain our own instead,' he said. His remarks are unpropitious because they could send a worrying signal to the markets and investors." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Polonia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Michał Szułdrzyński

The imperative of constant economic growth is a chimaera, the left-nationalist philosopher László Bogár writes in the right-wing conservative daily Magyar Hírlap: "Anyone who today dares to question or - God forbid - criticise the necessity and benefit of permanent economic growth is treated with ridicule and malice. Nevertheless there are things we should consider. Firstly, the question of quantity and quality. Is it really sensible to have growth at all costs, regardless of how it comes about? When for example the volume of an activity increases that brings about more ecological, social or cultural damage than it produces material goods, then such growth makes society distinctly poorer. ... When a country registers economic growth of one or two percent today, the word stagnation is on everyone's lips. But let's project this indefensibly 'low' growth far into the future. ... If the global economy were to grow by one percent per year for 500 years, it would grow 143-fold. And over 1,000 years it would grow 21,000-fold!" (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Economía política, » Economía, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » László Bogár

Modern capitalism is gravely ill, writes journalist Algimantas Čekuolis in the monthly magazine Valstybė, and laments the economic system's ambivalent nature: "Capitalism has created incredible wealth and saved nations from eternal misery. At the same time it has also caused problems that threaten to undo all its achievements. It's like a strong young man who eats and drinks as much as he wants, and for that reason grows in height and stature. Later however it turns out that all that eating has made him ill with sclerosis, his veins and arteries are blocked. If he doesn't start dieting immediately, he'll die. Too much of everything has been produced, so production comes to a standstill. Then the people have little money, buy less, and production remains paralysed. A crisis - a diet - purges the organism somewhat, and after that a new cycle begins. In the past 30 years people have tried to cure this patient. But only with Aspirin, so to speak. ... The whole world is now looking for a solution to this situation. But it's no easy task, since the causes lie in human nature." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Economía, » Sociedad, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Algimantas Čekuolis

Following its court defeat in the patent dispute with US computer giant Apple the shares of Southern Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung slumped by almost eight percent on Monday. The left-liberal business daily Cinco Días says the stock markets are overreacting: "The most important market is one where Apple isn't suing: China. At 21 percent, Samsung's share of the Chinese market is triple that of Apple. The US accounts for just four percent of Samsung's international sales of smart phones. ... Although Apple and Samsung compete on the smart phone and tablet market, Samsung is also Apple's main supplier of chips and screens. You could say Apple needs Samsung more than Samsung needs Apple. Roughly 25 percent of the components of each iPhone are manufactured by Samsung, while Apple accounts for just five percent of Samsung's total revenues. ... Investors shouldn't allow a single bad apple to ruin the whole Samsung stock for them." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Comercio, » Empresa, » EE.UU., » China
Todos los textos disponible de » Wayne Arnold

The Austrian industrialist Frank Stronach has announced he will found a party dedicated to the country exiting the Eurozone and reintroducing the schilling, like the populist Freedom Party of Austria. But the schilling was not an independent currency, the liberal conservative daily Die Presse notes: "What schilling are these gentlemen talking about? The one that was converted to the euro in 2002? Sorry, that wasn't a schilling, but a deutschmark in disguise. The independent Austrian currency was partially abolished in the 1960s by [conservative] finance minister Schmitz, and a few years later the job was finished off by his [social democratic] successor Androsch, who pegged the schilling to the deutschmark against the will of [ex-chancellor] Kreisky and his industrial advisers. ... So Austria has been doing perfectly well with monetary unions for the last 40 years. Reverting a small country with an export share of more than 50 percent to a totally insular currency - it would take a lot to come up with a dumber economic policy than that." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Economía política, » Austria, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Josef Urschitz

In the bid to get the country's public finances back on track Portugal's public broadcaster RTP is to be privatised. A deal that will only place an additional burden on taxpayers, the liberal daily i criticises: "The business with RTP's licences is following the usual pattern: the taxpayer will pay more than 100 million euros a year while a broadcaster that generates profits of over 20 million per year is handed over to a 'private friend'. ... The usual suspects can calmly argue that a private company is perfectly capable of running a public service programme, but everyone knows that the goal of a private company is to make a profit, not to provide socially relevant content. ... The problem with this government is not that its misguided reforms are not being scrapped but that its business deals, which will destroy the legacy of many generations, can no longer be revoked. ... We don't need these reforms; we need a democratic revolution that excludes this selfish elite from power." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Economía política, » Economía de los medios, » Portugal
Todos los textos disponible de » Nuno Ramos de Almeida

In his speech on Sunday commemorating the racist riots in Rostock's Lichtenhagen district 20 years ago, German President Joachim Gauck called on Germans to strengthen democracy. In August 1992 several hundred far-right hooligans, spurred on by thousands of supporters, terrorised the foreign inhabitants of a Rostock apartment building for several days. But the public broadcasters largely ignored the ceremony, the left-leaning daily taz complains: "If the special interest channel Phoenix hadn't dedicated an entire evening to the events a few days ago, the media blackout would have been complete. Not even NDR, the northern German channel, bothered to as much as broadcast the president's speech. ... Even worse is that yet again an opportunity to discuss racist thinking and behaviour in Germany was wasted. The president spoke about the 'fear of the foreign' that can work itself up to hatred in some, and about why such feelings are particularly prevalent in eastern Germany. However he avoided using the word racism, and like the public broadcasters he hardly mentioned the justified feelings of fear and anger - for example on the part of migrants." (28/08/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Migración, » Historia, » Medios de comunicación, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Daniel Bax