Editorialist Massimo Giannini is satisfied with the decision that Italy's president has taken. "The Italian Republic is in the hands of a wise and competent president [Giorgio Napolitano]... The solution he has chosen to ease Italy out of an unprecedented, creeping crisis is a masterpiece of institional balance and political sense ... His mission remains difficult, even impossible. A government of reason that can, in a very short time, both convince the different political parties to approve a new electoral law and take urgent decisions is a distant, probably inattainable, illusion. At the moment this government of salvation would enjoy no visible parliamentary majority. ... But it is the duty of Marini [centre-left speaker of Senate] to try. And Napolitano has had the courage to show him the way." (31/01/2008)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Massimo Giannini

Heinz-Joachim Fischer writes about the rifts in Italy: "What Italy needs now is not so much a new electoral law as a government that grapples with all the grievances that have piled up over the years like the mountains of trash in Naples. For example, the fact that Italians are increasingly living in poverty - the National Bank recently determined that wages are stagnating, purchasing power is dropping, families are sinking into debt. ... That the Mafia, often in alliance with politicians, has insinuated itself into the state health care service, especially in southern Italy. And overall, that idle talk is preferred over serious business in public affairs. The last time Italy was called to order was when it entered the European Monetary Union. Europe won't be able to sit passively by if only the northern part of Italy remains in the EU. Rome had better get serious." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Heinz-Joachim Fischer

Stéphane Bussard argues Romano Prodi was "the great mediator both of a coalition torn between far left and Catholic centrists and of a government which had been as far to the left as any in the history of the Italian Republic. The arrival of a reformist centre-left Democratic Party, which the 'Prodians' had wanted to see, paradoxically delivered the killer blow to the Prodi experiment. Headed by the quasi-Blairist Walter Veltroni, the Democratic Party embodies perhaps the centre left's only hope in a country where the left has always been in an arithmetical minority. Its objective is to secure an undivided majority, capable of governing a state that is one of the European Union's founding members and belongs to NATO and the Euro Zone. To carry that banner, however, it will have to tame the turmoil that Prodi's fall has triggered in its ranks." (29/01/2008)

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Todos los textos disponible de » Stéphane Bussard

The Estonian paper thinks Europe has a double standard when evaluating political stability in its member counties: "The collapse of the Italian government was no surprise to the Italians or to most Europeans, because the majority coalition was simply too weak. … Still, there's no reason to panic, because the country has come through even worse periods of turbulence and crisis. But when the Czechs had their drawn out fight over creating a government, when Hungary had its government crisis and when Poland elected a prime minister who was, to put it mildly, disliked in Europe, there was a big hubbub about the immaturity of Eastern European democracy and the dangers therein for the EU. But when it comes to Italy, the reactions are much more relaxed." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política interior, » Italia, » Europa

Timothy Garton Ash reacts to the recent official report which revealed that British authorities launch about 1000 bugging operations a day. "Britain's snooper state is getting completely out of hand. ... When the Stasi started spying on me, as I moved around East Germany 30 years ago, I travelled on the assumption that I was coming from one of the freest countries in the world to one of the least free. I don't think I was wrong then, but I would certainly be wrong now. Today, the people of East Germany are much less spied upon than the people of Britain. ... Of course that flourish about the Stasi is hyperbole. As someone who actually lived under the Stasi, I know we're nowhere near that. But the amount of information collected and shared - not to mention lost - by the British government far exceeds the Stasi's modest 160km of paper files. ... Liberty is not preserved simply by putting our trust in the good intentions of our rulers, civil servants and spooks. The road to hell is paved with good intentions." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Alemania, » Gran Bretaña
Todos los textos disponible de » Timothy Garton Ash

Columnist Antoine Maurice wonders just how much clout the EU weilds on the international stage. "The other day two French politicians, Edouard Balladur and Hubert Védrine, engaged in a radio debate on the EU's foreign policy, using the danger of 'going Swiss' as their foil ... This meant, in their eyes, that united Europe at best behaves with the modesty of a small country on the international stage, something they both deplore ... On major issues - terrorism, trade, environment - the Union boasts about its soft power (the ways and means of exerting diplomatic influence). Yet it knows very well that today, like yesterday, real power rests utimately on conventional power, i.e. economic and military strength, which the EU lacks. That is different from the Swiss syndrome." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de la UE, » Europa, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Antoine Maurice

Following the resignation of Italy's government, Jan Ross asks: Would Europe be strong enough to handle a Berlusconi-Sarkozy duo, pairing the Italian media czar with the French media phenomenon Nicolas Sarkozy? Berlusconi's "openly predatory and profit-oriented approach doesn't fit Sarkozy's style. He plays a more subtle game with the media – his is not the command of the patron who picks the music because he paid the piper, nor is he simply chummy with publishers and industry bosses. Much more than Berlusconi, Sarkozy is himself a media phenomenon – not the producer but the talent, just as addicted to publicity as to manipulating it. He is the more fragile of the two, the one more at risk of toppling; and to deliver himself into the hands of the uncontrollable Carla Bruni is a risk that the robust macho-man Berlusconi would never have taken. But both men have a similar effect as destructive energies in the democratic system - self-oriented, hysterical and vulgar." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Medios de comunicación audiovisuales, » Francia, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Jan Ross

Polish cultural sociologist Kinga Dunin complains that Polish politicians of all stripes have done too little to build tolerance regarding minorities like Jews or homosexuals. "No one wants to take on the Church. For the right wing, the reasons are current: they are fighting to keep their electorate. The leftists are held back by the historical guilt feeling that they have dragged around since communist times. ... That is why we don't talk about anti-Semitism, sexism or homophobia as negative issues that have to be done away with. Rather, we'll be arguing whether some minority was insulted or not, whether a reference to anti-Semitism in Poland is a sign of anti-Polish sentiment, and so on. We really should have gotten beyond this already." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Minorías, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Kinga Dunin

Yesterday, both Slovenia and Malta ratified the Lisbon Treaty. But in Slovakia the referendum was put off at the last minute. The opposition, whose votes are needed for acceptance of the treaty, withheld its support in protest against the government's planned media law, which they consider undemocratic. Márius Kopcsay sees their point: "That was strong stuff from the opposition, but they could afford this luxury. There's enough time remaining for a vote on the EU treaty. … And the issues are linked: the Lisbon Treaty establishes European rules. And the press law is a test of whether Slovakia sticks to those rules." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Constitución de la UE, » Política interior, » Política de los medios de comunicación, » Eslovaquia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Márius Kopcsay

Mitja Drobnic has withdrawn as director in the Slovenian Foreign Ministry after the minutes of a private discussion between himself and a top US diplomat were revealed. The document gave the impression that Slovenia, which holds the EU Council presidency, would take its cues from the USA regarding the Kosovo issue. Antisa Korljan comments: "It's no surprise that a scapegoat was found in the ministry. … To some extent, Drobnic was the logical choice, because his name alone comes up in close connection with the minutes of the meeting. … Now, however, Foreign Minister Dmitrij Rupel and Prime Minister Janez Jansa should pull out all the stops to prove that Slovenian foreign policy is independent, and not for sale to another centre of power." (30/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Eslovenia, » EE.UU.
Todos los textos disponible de » Antisa Korljan

The funeral of the leader of the Greek Orthodox church, Archbishop Christodoulos, takes place on Thursday, January 31. Giorgios Delastic describes how the church, which is not seperate from the state, has exerted a powerful influence on foreign policy. "Archbishop Christodoulos was a reforming nationalist. But he was quick to grasp the foreign policy game. With Greece a member of the EU, he had to strengthen ties with the Vatican... When angry over the Turkish question, he drew closer to the very powerful Russian Orthodox church in order to ease tensions. He was more a politician than an archbishop. His charisma is lacking among the candidates for the position of Archbishop of Athens. That is why the election to choose his successor has monopolised media attention. On issues like Cyprus, FYROM, and Turkey, any false move could have unfortunate consequences." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Religión, » Grecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Giorgios Delastic

The debate in Spain over the role of the state in the media is the backdrop against which law professor Francesc de Carreras stresses the need to ensure the independence of the media. "Democracy cannot be reduced to elections. It is also about free, pluralistic, sensible debate, which enables citizens to build their own informed arguments and to vote according to their ideas or interests. There can be no democratic political institutions if there is no free public opinion. But the free play of competition between privately owned media businesses is no guarantee of free public opinion either. Because they play a key role in democracy, they, too, should have to comply with rules." (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación audiovisuales, » Medios de comunicación impresos, » Medios de comunicación online, » España, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Francesc de Carreras

Thousands of negatives of photographs of the Spanish Civil War, some taken by war photographer Robert Capa, have just been found in Mexico. "Several generations of Spaniards have been able to grasp the brutality of that civil strife thanks to Capa's work", states the Spanish daily, which wonders if the negative of one of the most famous pictures of the time, 'Loyalist militiaman at the moment of death', is also in the case [containing the find]. "Top experts have endeavoured to analyse the picture's background and calculate the angle of shadow against the position of the sun, so feeding the rumour that the photo is a montage. We will perhaps not learn any more this time round, and we will perhaps never know the truth. But if it is a montage, then the forgery will paradoxically have helped to inform us, in great precision, about the horror of those bloody years." (30/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Fotografía, » Historia, » España

Romania has been debating for years whether to exhume the bodies of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu. Grigore Cartianu wants the graves opened. "For 18 years, Romanians have lived with both the curse of having executed their leader on Christmas Day - even though he was a dictator – and with the big question of where the bones of the Ceausescu are located. For 18 years, the Romanian government has insisted they lie in the Ghencea Cemetery in Bucharest. That is not based on clear documents, but on the word of Gelu Voican Voiculescu [who organized the rapid hearing, execution and burial]... Both deeds were filmed, but no eyewitnesses have emerged. It could be any cemetery. … The exhumation is not only important for relatives of the Ceausescus, but for Romanian history. We can't allow question marks to remain in our history books, just because the court in Bucharest won't approve an exhumation. What if it turns out the graves are empty?" (31/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Historia, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Grigore Cartianu

Journalist Paolo Conti notes that amid the political turmoil, one government move has brought parties together. "In the middle of a political crisis, Romano Prodi's centre-left government has managed to complete work of a culinary bureaucratic nature, vital to the protection of the genuine Neapolitan pizza. It has drafted a bill that is to go before the EU. By the end of 2008 those wishing to badge their Neapolitan pizzas S.T.G. (Guaranteed Traditional Speciality) must scrupulously comply with requirements of weight, ingredients, baking time, and size. ... The president of the Committe for the Protection of the Neapolitan Pizza and National Alliance [AN, right-wing nationalist] MP for Naples, Rosario Lopa, is very pleased ... Pizza does not belong to any party." (30/01/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura cotidiana, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Paolo Conti