"This remarkable state of affairs shows there is real potential to hope that a breakthrough can be made if political leadership and will are shown by the major parties over the next seven weeks," comments the Irish daily. "Reactions to the report yesterday bear this out. Both governments used superlatives to describe it. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said it is of the 'utmost significance', signalling that it changes the situation radically for the better. Prime minister Tony Blair said 'the IRA's campaign is over. The door is now open for a final settlement'. ... The parties should be fully aware that it is not only the patience of both governments which is running out if political will and leadership are lacking. The general public in Northern Ireland is quite disenchanted by the endless bickering and prevarication between the political parties. If they fail to reach agreement there will be little public sympathy for them." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Gran Bretaña

David Mckittrick, Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971, considers that the report of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) "gives a fascinating insight into the intricacies of how the IRA is turning away from terrorism - sometimes against the wishes of some members. The IMC is regarded as a window into how the pattern of IRA activity is assessed by the police, military and security services in both Britain and Ireland. With a heavy intelligence input, its reports are treated with caution, but its latest report gives a believable picture of how the IRA, an organisation which claimed almost 1,800 lives over many decades of violence, is transforming itself. ... This steady rundown of the IRA has not been greeted with unanimous support in the wider republican community, and in fact has created tension and mistrust. But the report concluded that it believed the IRA leadership was persisting and would be able to successfully manage various disagreements." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Gran Bretaña

The daily considers that there are lessons to be learned from the IRA's commitment to pursuing its struggle "by peaceful and democratic means. This does not only mean not killing, this also means giving up threatening to do so again in the hope of obtaining political advantages and accepting the rules of the democratic game, including the plurality of Northern Ireland's population. Useful lessons can be learned from this situation for negotiations with the ETA [Basque separatist organisation]. It is not up to institutions to adapt to the demands of violent nationalism. This move towards the giving-up of all forms of constraint in order to participate in institutions where they will be able to defend their ideas in the same way as other parties. In order for this process to suceed, it is necessary to combine a listening ear with a firm attitude to black-mail". (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Gran Bretaña

In an interview with Zsolt Ivan Nagy, Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of the Polish daily 'Gazeta Wyborcza' takes stock of developments over the past 15 years. "There were things that were beyond our control and we have failed in our attempts to convince society that the great danger now lies in the new wave of populism. Populism can manifest itself in the guise of post-communism or anti-communism. Resolute anti-communist populists sometimes join forces with post-communist populists, as was the case recently in Poland. This is a bad time for the entire Visegrad region [a group whose members are Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic]. We must make a clear diagnosis and look for a new way to convince our societies of the deceitfulness of populism. The task of convincing people of this can only be undertaken by intellectuals." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política interior, » Centroeuropa
Todos los textos disponible de » Zsolt Ivan Nagy

"Populists are a pretty much indispensable part of democracy in their role as seismographs," writes Austrian journalist Josef Kirchengast commenting on the success of populists in Eastern and Western Europe. "Not only do they expose existing problems – by exaggerating them – but they also expose the fundamental shortcomings of a democracy, in particular an unbalanced relationship between citizens and their representatives. This is why European democracies in both the East and the West are having such a hard time dealing with populists. In western Europe the growing problem of immigration and integration is fuelling the success of populist groups and politicians; in Eastern Europe it's mainly the economic and social consequences of the transformation following the collapse of communism. The problems are different but the approaches to dealing with populism are similar. Marginalisation, inclusion, or the adoption of similar content – these are the main tactics used regarding populist movements. Sometimes they overlap, but what they all have in common is that they have only been marginally successful and sometimes even counterproductive." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Josef Kirchengast

The daily has published an article that has already appeared in other media, written by the Israeli conducter Daniel Barenboïm, who regrets the withdrawal of the opera 'Idomeneo' from the program of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for fear of offending Muslims. "Art is neither moral nor immoral, neither edifying nor offensive; it is our reaction to it that makes it one or the other in our minds. Our society sees controversy more and more as a negative attribute, yet difference of opinion and the difference between content and the perception of it lie at the very essence of creativity. ...  By censoring ourselves artistically out of fear of insulting a certain group of people, ... in fact insult the intelligence of a large group of Muslims and deprive them of the opportunity to demonstrate their maturity of thought." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Música, » Escenarios, » Religión, » Ideología, » Alemania

"Every time the EU takes on a new member the debate about where Europe's borders actually lie is rekindled," says Egidijus Vareikis about the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. "There is one major factor that has received little attention so far: European integration is regarded with envy by other continents, because an experiment of this kind has never yet been successful although there have been several attempts. … Europe is a unique economic and political entity based on universal values rather than geography. This is why countries like Ukraine, Turkey or others could one day become members of the EU." (04/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Europa, » Rumania, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Egidijus Vareikis

Dennis Rundt asks whether the election defeat of the Social Democrats in Sweden is symptomatic of a general crisis affecting all of Europe's social democrats. "Europe's social democrats are facing an ideological dilemma. Greater individual and social freedom and increasing prosperity have led workers to turn their backs on class politics. Social democracy has its origins in the working classes, who organised themselves and joined forces to change society. But instead, society and capitalism have changed the working classes. They are no longer always progressive in their views. In fact in many issues like immigration or freedom of movement they have become positively reactionary. The elections in Denmark, Germany and Sweden illustrate this dilemma – and signal the defeat of traditional European social democracy." (04/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Dennis Rundt

Irina Kobrinska, a Russian political scientist and also member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, analyses the strategies Poland and Russia are pursuing in their relations with each other. "For the foreseeable future our relations will remain on the current level. It is the relationship between a large central European state which is a member of the EU and NATO and a continental power that does not belong to either of these structures. Russia will not jeopardise its relations with these organisations for the sake of hurting Warsaw, but there's no point in Warsaw trying to turn Washington, and in particular Brussels, against Russia either." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Polonia, » Rusia

The main topic in the Czech press today is the 70th birthday of Vaclav Havel, who was president of Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic for many years. Petr Fiser praises Havel for his role on the international stage as a moral guide, but also for his continued efforts to improve the political situation in his own country. "An important sphere of Havel's influence since the end of his presidency has been his ability to view the political and social situation in his country as if he were watching it from abroad." According to Fiser, Havel's greatest achievement in domestic policy was getting the Green Party into parliament. "His commitment has helped a party that doesn't just have a similar vision for the future to his own but also gives the political elite a hard time. Havel's hopes for the Greens have been fulfilled." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » La República Checa
Todos los textos disponible de » Petr Fischer

The Flemmish nationalist party Vlaams Belang (VB) should achieve a new break-through in the municipal elections scheduled for this Sunday, October 8th, in Belgium. Interviewed by Michel Grodent, the Belgian writer Yves Wellens analyses the rise to power of this far-right party. "The paradox is that, even in the opposition, the VB has disproportionate power and that it's discourse is deeply permeating political life. An electoral Sunday that is less dark than the previous ones will already be of some satisfaction! It is clear that a great number of moral and mental barriers have been dropped over a few years, and that a return to order is going hand in hand with human regression. I am deeply alarmed by the open contempt that is being shown everywhere for poverty, the defeated and the rejected ... ." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Bélgica
Todos los textos disponible de » Yves Wellens

Airbus, an emblem of European industry, is in crisis. Its chief executive officer, Christian Streiff, has announced that the overspending due to another delay in the delivery of the giant A380, will inevitably have industrial and social consequences. The journalist Danilo Taino fears that we might be seeing the end of a European dream. "The problem with the flowers that decorate European industry's button-hole, especially that of Airbus, is that they are plastic, artificial. … And the announcement made by its president that his ambitious project, the giant A380 airplane is going to be delayed even further is a disaster. This technological challenge, above all desired by Paris and Berlin to stymie America's Boeing hegemony, is about to end up stuck in the mud. And it will bring along lay-offs and new strategies." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Infraestructuras / Tráfico, » Empresa, » Alemania, » Francia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Danilo Taino

In an effort to help the ailing aircraft constructor Airbus and its parent company EADS the German government is considering acquiring a stake in the company. "If you really want to make the situation even more chaotic then this is exactly the way to do it," Marc Beise comments. "A country that seemed to be on the road to recovery after several hard years and that will register over two percent growth for 2006 is permanently in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, whether it's the politics or the financial section you're reading. …There has not been a single case in which state intervention on behalf of a company – particularly one in a crisis – has turned out to be beneficial in the long term. Moreover, Airbus' current problems have their origins in politics. Naturally, the government can't do anything about miscalculations for cables and other technical calamities. But it can certainly do something about the chaotic management and the complicated structure of the company." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Infraestructuras / Tráfico, » Empresa, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Marc Beise

The weekly criticises the Malta Labour Party's ferocious reaction to a cartoon published in 'The Malta Times'. "In a reaction that instantly evokes the Muslims' response to the Danish cartoons of Mohammed, the Opposition party comes down like a ton of bricks demanding that the newspaper retracts its cartoon. ... The error of judgement is glaring. It is ludicrous for any party leader to react to a cartoon, and even worse to demand an apology. ... This is the worst way to engage with the press. There is nothing improper or unusual in a newspaper having an editorial or political bias, nothing extraordinary in a cartoon ridiculing public figures, after all that is their hallmark. Strip the cartoonist of the right to provoke and to satirise public figures, and the cartoon loses all its significance. The best cartoonists abroad are known for their incessant and cruel attacks on politicians, for their ruthless caricatures of public figures that are always potentially offensive." (01/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación impresos, » Religión, » Ideología, » Malta

Fourteen years ago, Munich's renowned art gallery, the Lenbachhaus (which among other things exhibits a large collection of pictures by "The Blue Rider" artists) provoked a scandal by painting the walls where its paintings are displayed in colours other than white. It recently provoked a new scandal by asking four artists to decorate the walls behind the paintings in a way that would breathe new life into the pictures. Birgit Sonna comments on the results: "Operation successful: the patient has awoken from the coma. … They didn't even draw the line at floral patterns. Thomas Demand's very intricate black and white wallpaper takes some getting used to, to say the least. His backdrop for August Macke's prismatic pictures is a flurry of ivy leaves. A symbol of immorality, the ivy is reminiscent of a crime scene photo in a newspaper. But strangely enough, after detailed examination you learn to appreciate the restless ivy pattern as a symbol of grief. Demand wants to reflect the tragedy of August Macke's early death in the Second World War." (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Exposiciones / Museos, » Artes gráficas, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Birgit Sonna

"Can a museum be managed like a luxury brand?" wonders the editorialist Gerard Dupuy as France negotiates a commercial partnership with Abou Dhabi in order to create a museum under the label Louvre over there. Institutions as prestigious as the Guggenheim Museum or the Tate Gallery have taken entrepreneurial copycatting very far. Coming from a different tradition and endowed with considerable public funds, French Museums maintain their distance from this, even if sponsors' logos are beginning to edge their way onto facades. ... In actual fact, to send the Louvre on a diplomatic mission [to Abou Dhabi] is as absurd and as utterly opposite to its intellectual intent, as treating it like a multi-national perfumery or lace-maker. It is a good thing that there remains a veil of ignorance between the Musée d'Orsay and the Quai d'Orsay [French ministry of foreign affairs]". (05/10/2006)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Exposiciones / Museos, » Política Cultural, » Francia, » Oriente Próximo y Medio
Todos los textos disponible de » Gérard Dupuy