You can't expect a minority government to do the real work of a government, the Hungarian daily writes: "A minority government could have been an advantage for the country if it was in the West, because 'self-service' or preferential treatment for one's own clients is more difficult under such circumstances there. But Hungary lacks political culture and parliamentary experience. Until now the stability of Hungary's political system has been guaranteed by the coalition in question somehow managing to stay in power until the next elections. But the conduct of the current party alliance poses a threat to the country's political stability even if it survives the time it has left in office. There's no hope of this coalition achieving a social agreement on a package of unpopular but inevitable reforms, let alone of such reforms being implemented. This government will continue to resort to pseudo measures." (02/04/2008)

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

Hungary is disastrously behind other EU countries, according to Burkhard Bischof. "No wonder the left-wing liberal coalition has collapsed - basically because Gyurcsány has lost all his enthusiasm for reform and is willing to give in to all the populist demands. If this leads to a socialist minority government that is tolerated by the liberal Free Democrats, the malaise will go on for another two years. But even if early elections put the leader of the conservative opposition, Viktor Orban, at the helm once more, as the polls predict, Hungary won't emerge from the current crisis. The past few years have shown Orban to be an unscrupulous and irresponsible populist interested only in his own power and not at all in the country. What Hungary needs now are politicians who are finally prepared to tell the truth - including the fact that it's time for everyone to tighten their belts until the country recovers. Left or right-wing populists will never do this." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Hungría
Todos los textos disponible de » Burkhard Bischof

This government is beyond hope, the coalition is beyond repair, the German daily concludes. "On paper the government alliance failed as a result of a referendum on doctors' fees and additional fees for hospitals, but in reality its undoing was the failure to address the lack of ethics in the public health system that is a legacy of the communist era. Until the government succeeds in eradicating bad habits such as illegal, under-the-table payments for health services, known as 'parasolvences' and 'thank-you money', which provide doctors with a lucrative source of extra income, citizens will reject any kind of reform that entails extra costs for healthcare. Only once people believe that they will receive good treatment without having to pay 'thank-you money' will they accept the additional fees laid down by law." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Salud, » Hungría

Following the publication of the French translation of his book 'Defeating Hitler', Avraham Burg, former Speaker of the Knesset, was interviewed by Vincent Remy on his vision of modern anti-Semitism. "We are witnessing a fusion of classic religious anti-Semitism and a new extreme right-wing xenophobia. The two work together with the anti-American and anti-Zionist extreme left-wing. But I think that anti-Semitism is no longer a unique phenomenon, it's an indication of a society's moral quality. When it is expressed in a democratic society, it is accompanied by other expressions of hate and xenophobia: against Muslims, foreigners, immigrants. So, my role as a Jew and human being, it's not to say 'they hate me more.' It's to try to create a sort of worldwide coalition that will counter the hate and xenophobia rather than confiscate and monopolise it." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Religión, » Global, » Israel
Todos los textos disponible de » Avraham Burg, » Vincent Remy

Belgian sociologist Felice Dassetto analyses the reasons for the rise of anti-Muslim extremism. "What is it that brings these guys from the Italian north league to adopt such an outrageous attitude toward Muslims and to use insult and provocation as a systematic way of dealing with Islam ? What is it that brings intellectuals to fixate on this or that person or idea, come what may, even if the facts are refuted by reality? ... The considerations of electoral interests for some. The refusal to question what is obvious for others. Like admitting that European societies are no longer what they were 40 years ago, when we were among 'our own.' Or even the refusal to admit that religions (where Islam appears, right or wrong, to be the spearhead), seem to be returning to the fore as a source of meaning. Which is something that some people consider dramatic because they've fought against them, because they consider them to be the absolute expression of obscurantism by definition." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Global

On Tuesday, the Sejm, or lower house of the Polish parliament, voted by a large majority in favour of authorising the ratification of the EU Reform Treaty. This came shortly after a compromise between President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk ended a dispute in which the conservative opposition, the PiS, had threatened to block the ratification bill in parliament. The daily's chief editor Pawel Fafara is delighted: "Following a fierce political struggle, the Sejm has now confirmed by a great majority what most of the nation wants, namely for Poland to participate fully in the newly reformed Union. This was the most important day since our accession to the EU. It was a victory for the true patriots over those who churn out rhetoric about defending the country's interests but want to keep us away from the EU." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Constitución de la UE, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Paweł Fąfara

As the NATO summit kicks off this April 2nd in Bucharest, columnist Daniel Vernet writes that Europeans should ask themselves if they still believe in the American vision for their military alliance. "After September 11th, the United States wanted to transform NATO into a global organisation, pushing its geographic reach across the planet and its mission to the security of democracies, well beyond the borders of Europe. Confronted with the their allies' hesitation, they have only partially succeeded. But they haven't totally renounced their goals. In the name of this enlarged idea of security, NATO forces are fighting in Afghanistan. The real debate should centre on this strategic conception rather than on the question - already decided on the ground - of the reintegration of France [into full NATO membership]." (02/04/2008)

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

One of the issues to be decided at the NATO summit in Bucharest is whether Macedonia should be allowed to join the Alliance. Greece has threatened to veto membership for Macedonia because of their name dispute. Svetoslav Tersiev comments on Bulgaria's stance: "Historians, diplomats and experts are trying to persuade the government that it has some clout in the Macedonia dispute and can speak out against the membership of the neighbouring country. After all, Macedonia doesn't comply with one of the main criteria: not being in conflict with its own neighbours. But it's too late for the Bulgarians to adopt this stance. Greece is the only country to have insisted for years now that Macedonia distorts the region's past, destroys its neighbours' monuments and enacts discriminating policies. Unfortunately, Bulgaria's policy regarding the Balkan states is simply a continuation of US policies. ... Washington wants Macedonia to join NATO. Sofia's polite silence is tantamount to tacit consent." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Bélgica
Todos los textos disponible de » Svetoslav Tersiev

For weeks Finland's foreign minister Ilkka Kanerva was under attack from the media for sending improper text messages to dancer Johanna Tukiainen. He has now handed in his resignation. His successor is Alexander Stubb. The newspaper comments: "The weeks of torment for Ilkka Kanerva have finally culminated in the appointment of a new foreign minister. The leader of the 'Kokoomus' party, Jyrki Katainen, finally had enough when the text message scandal erupted and further tarnished the reputation of the foreign minister, who after all represents Finland abroad. Kanerva has no one to blame but himself. Sending hundreds of embarrassing messages to a go-go girl simply isn't the right behaviour for a statesman." (02/04/2008)

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

Silvio Berlusconi and Walter Veltroni, the leaders of the Italian centre-right and centre-left respectively, participated on April 1st in a televised debate in the lead-up to the legislative elections on April 13 and 14. Yet, the two men never met. Each one stayed in their own separate studio. The editorialist Concita de Gregorio decries the absence of genuine exchange and debate. "A relay without a baton handoff, where the men didn't even look each other in the eye... . Berlusconi didn't want to go face to face with Veltroni, and as a result the two men spoke in turn, one after the other, without a commercial break: a surreal scenario for the television studio. Never before seen on any television screen around the world ... . To top it all off, there was, at the same time on another channel, the Rome-Manchester football match: a good way to minimise the duel's impact." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Medios de comunicación audiovisuales, » Italia
Todos los textos disponible de » Concita De Gregorio

Nicolas Sartorius, director of the Spanish foreign policy observatory (OPEX), lists the challenges that Spain faces, notably with regard to Europe. "In 2010, Spain will be president of the EU. ... This presidency will be different from the previous ones because, by that time, there will be a fixed 'president' of the European Council - Spain has to assume that he will be an avowed European - thanks to the Lisbon Treaty which will be, barring any surprises, in force by then. ... We should therefore closely follow the French presidency and the 'big manoeuvres' currently taking place, such as the recent Franco-British summit, in which Spain should not be absent. It simply means instituting a policy based on a vision of Europe that emphasises consensus and would thus facilitate the presidency. That would improve our ability to propose ideas." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política interior, » España, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Nicolás Sartorius

On April 1st, Swiss bank UBS announced a new round of capital financing. Suffering from an abysmal devaluation of more that 23 billion euros, the bank has been hit harder by the American credit crisis than any other international establishment. "Marcel Ospel [the president] has quit UBS. This was the only good news during the entire dark day yesterday," writes Pierre Ruetschi. "The crisis isn't over. Evaluation of the damage to investors, even to savings clients, as well as the estimation of losses for the state and the cantons hasn't even begun. In this highly volatile context, [Finance minister] Hans-Rudolf Merz's comments are astonishing. On the radio, he thanked Marcel Ospel for his good work curbing the impropriety yet, at this newspaper, his optimism for the future is more irritating than reassuring." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Mercado de finanzas, » Suiza, » EE.UU., » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Pierre Ruetschi

Gina Bucher reports on a new Internet trend: PDF magazines with intricate designs and layouts. "They have names like 'John Magazine', 'Dottodotmag', 'Hope-Hope', 'Klitorik', 'Analogue Magazine', 'Five to Nine' or simply 'Daheim'. They're young and fresh and glossy. But what's the attraction of a magazine you can't read on the toilet or in the tube and that certainly won't look good on the coffee table? The answers to this question oscillate between the keywords 'format' and 'availability'. Availability is a well-known criteria for relevance nowadays - it means available everywhere quickly and cheaply, if not for free. And the format enjoys a high status not only with designers, because PDF means portable document format, and it guarantees that the document looks the same on your computer as it does on mine. This means that carefully designed texts or photos or illustrations are not distorted or not displayed. In other words it fulfils the promise: 'What you see is what you get'."    (01/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación online, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Gina Bucher

The institution Arts Council England has decided to ask funding applicants for their sexual orientation. The conservative daily considers this "grotesque." It asks, "what on earth could be the aim of the Arts Council question? To ensure that one in every ten plays put on by a grant-supported theatre has a gay theme? Or that homosexual painters and dancers must be identified as such to reassure homosexual viewers and audiences? If so, this betrays a crass understanding of the interaction between society and the arts. What people do in bed has almost no relevance to how they perceive a painting or interpret music. Apart from a few professional activists, homosexuals do not view their lives, values and ideals solely through the prism of sexual orientation. Far from celebrating diversity, such categorisation harks back instead to one-dimensional stereotyping and the crudest form of bigotry." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política Cultural, » Desarrollo demográfico, » Gran Bretaña

The NATO summit which begins today takes place in the parliament building in Bucharest, which was formerly known as the "Palace of the People" and was built by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu under inhuman conditions. Radu Calin Cristea comments: "The 'Palace of the People' is a kind of Pharaonic building and is tied up with memories that most people want to forget. ... It stands for the cruelty of communism carved in stone. I can still recall those first days in January 1990 when hordes of people stormed the building and golden doorknobs and taps were stolen in the rapture of freedom. ... The building, which is the seat of the parliament, is now the meeting place for the largest NATO summit ever. Bush, Putin, Merkel and Sarkozy will all stand in rooms that were planned by Ceausescu and almost completed under his orders. This will liberate the 'Palace of the People' - as with the Egyptian pyramids - from its memories of blood and dust and its tortuous history." (02/04/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Arquitectura / Ciudades, » Historia, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Radu Calin Cristea