Several candidates for posts in the new Romanian cabinet have come under attack because they are either currently standing trial or have already been convicted. This is the first setback for Social Democrat Victor Ponta in his task of forming a new government, writes the news portal Ziare: "Ponta has failed as a politician. He should have realised that there would be a huge fuss about such candidates before he nominated them. ... Was he really unaware that the designated education minister Corina Dumitrescu is in the midst of a trial against the very ministry she would lead? And that the designated minister for economic affairs, Lucian Isar, has been sanctioned at the behest of the national bank because of currency speculation? It's hard to believe that Ponta, a lawyer who always claims to be so well informed, wasn't aware of this. Without doubt he knew. But he thought he could get away with it somehow. How wrong he was! … Instead of talking about the 'weighty legacy' of the previous government now everyone is talking about the controversial new candidates. Ponta, who so far had played the role of the hunter, is now the prey." (04/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Cristian Popescu

János Áder, previously EU parliamentarian for the governing right-wing conservative Fidesz party, became Hungary's president on Wednesday. The left-liberal daily Népszabadság voices severe reservations about the new head of state under a veil of irony: "Setting aside the fact that Janos Áder fervently supports the constitution, which makes Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's ideas about the past, present and future of our country part of the constitutional framework, ... and setting aside the fact that as head of state János Áder will be an integral part of the Orbán system and consequently highest protector of that untenable constitution that will make the very act of governing impossible for future governments, ... in short, setting aside all of the above, we can see that János Áder delivered a respectable inaugural speech which under the present circumstances was even the cause for a certain joviality - for the moment, that is." (03/05/2012)

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

In addition to the Euro 2012 in Ukraine another major sport event has come into the spotlight: in an interview published today in the Czech business paper Hospodářské noviny, René Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, threatened to revoke Belarus' right to host the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championships. The paper comments in a separate column: "Once sport was sport, then it became an instrument of politics. Today it's a business. For that reason one can't seriously believe that Ukraine will lose its role as co-host of Euro 2012 because of Yulia Tymoshenko, or that Belarus will be stripped of the Ice Hockey Championships. Because too much has been invested there. But there is one way to voice our anger: Let's turn off our TVs when footballers like Tomáš Rosický play in Kiev, or when Jaromír Jágr hits the ice in Minsk. If a few hundred million people could agree to go along with the idea there would be no more championships in countries under dictatorship. Because business is business." (03/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política interior, » Deportes, » Justicia, » Ucrania, » Bielorrusia
Todos los textos disponible de » Petr Honzejk

The terror is not over and Afghanistan is not in a position to control the situation, writes the daily Dagens Nyheter following a speech given by US President Barack Obama on Wednesday in Kabul: "The Afghan troops can't manage without foreign aid and can hardly guarantee internal security. On top of that the regime suffers from a serious lack of political legitimacy. ... It's also highly unlikely that the Taliban can be kept out of power. The negotiations with them continue, as Obama stressed in his speech. This won't culminate in an ideal solution, but perhaps in the lesser evil. For Afghanistan, the path continues to be a hard one. It's important that it's not left to tread that path alone." (03/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » EE.UU., » Afganistán

Ahead of the run-off vote in the French presidential elections Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande will confront each other in a TV debate this Wednesday evening. This is widely regarded as Sarkozy's last chance to catch up with his rival. All Europe will be watching with bated breath because these days national elections are of pan-European interest, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "All the upcoming elections in Europe - in France, Greece and the Netherlands - are Italian elections. And the Italian elections 2013 will be French, Spanish and German elections at the same time. ... In the European Union and particularly in the Eurozone, there are no longer any national elections that don't have a direct impact on all member states. We are not yet a confederation of states but Europe is beginning to resemble the United States, where the election result in California cannot be a matter of indifference for Texas or Massachusetts. ... So we can only hope that the French vote European on Sunday." (02/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Francia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Sergio Romano

The Hungarian parliament will vote in János Áder as new Hungarian president on Wednesday after his predecessor Pál Schmitt resigned amidst a plagiarism scandal. This will strengthen the right-wing conservative government to Hungary's advantage, writes the right-wing conservative daily Magyar Hírlap: "Although the prime minister wields most power in Hungary the head of state is nonetheless a key figure. He can make a considerable contribution to Hungary's development. Since it rose to power two years ago Orbán's government has been trying to bring the incomplete post-communist transformation to conclusion with laws and various other measures. After the left-liberal camp and its media forced the fourth Hungarian president since the collapse of communism to resign with a targeted smear campaign, it had no option but to continue with this task. … Today the parliament will vote in the fifth president, János Áder. The parliamentary factions of the opposition Socialists and the green party LMP probably won't show up for the vote. But it doesn't matter. … János Áder is one of the leading politicians of the ruling Fidesz-KDNP faction, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament. Áder's election simply reflects the will of the voters."  (02/05/2012)

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

In the run-up to the Irish referendum on the ratification of the EU fiscal compact on May 31, the conservative daily Irish Independent points its finger at the culprits of the crisis, namely the Irish themselves. The referendum, it writes, "takes place against the background of the economic crisis which struck the world in 2008 and has since defied all attempts at solution. It has wreaked most of its greatest devastation on the European mainland, but our own offshore island has experienced some of its worst effects. Ireland also stands out as one of the countries which have suffered - in the events which preceded the crisis and in the feeble efforts to overcome it - from the misgovernment which we the people permitted and even encouraged. This is no time to beat about the bush. We elected governments which made no attempt to regulate the financial system. We trusted banks which continued to lend recklessly while they careered down the path to insolvency. All of us share the responsibility for our ills to some degree, and it behoves us to take special care and pains as we struggle to cure them." (02/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Irlanda
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

The Romanian prime minister designate, Victor Ponta, presented his left-liberal cabinet on Tuesday, which parliament is scheduled to elect to office on May 7. On its first day the new government plans to raise the minimum monthly wage from 700 to 850 lei (roughly 175 to 210 euros). A step the Romanian economy can't afford, writes the news portal Ziare: "The majority of the Romanian small businesses make only minimal profit. Often they're left with just around 3,000 lei [roughly 750 euros] after they've paid all their expenses. That's no joke. Many civil servants with a secure job in the state aparatus can't comprehend that small entrepreneurs are content with so little. But that's how things are in today's Romania, above all in small towns and rural areas. Of course the Social Democrats are for raising the minimum wage - they're on the left. But how can Liberals vote for the proposal? In view of our situation this is a mega-socialist step. ... It's not too late for the planned coalition to say no. That would show that it's flexible, pro-business and above all smart." (02/05/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Empresa, » Economía, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Lucian Lumezeanu