"If there's something the British really don't like, it's arrogance and boastfulness - and Labour is guilty of both," Wolfgang Koydl comments with reference to Gordon Brown's backtracking. "They talked of 'destroying' the opposition and 'trampling it into the dust'. And Brown, who had cast himself in the role of father of the nation transcending all party boundaries, plunged himself into the nitty-gritty of the election campaign. ... Now the opposition will pour all its scorn and mockery on Brown because he drew back from an election that the Conservatives so badly wanted. But in reality they're grateful for the delay. They know that this time they wouldn't have won; at best they would only have been able to reduce Labour's majority. But they're confident that the later the elections come, the more chance they have of winning." (08/10/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Wielka Brytania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Wolfgang Koydl

The newspaper's London correspondent Axel Reiserer comments on Brown's decision: "A gloomy autumn lies in store for us. The opposition reacted to Brown's retreat with the expected derision and scorn. In the eyes of the public, Brown's decision gives the impression that the 56-year-old became afraid of his challengers. ... There are those who, with Brown as their target, have revived the old nursery rhyme about 'The Grand old Duke of York' who ordered his troops to march to the top of the hill only to have them come down again without having achieved anything - and then repeated the whole procedure. Within the space of a few days Gordon Brown has plunged from his pedestal to become a laughing-stock." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Wielka Brytania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Axel Reiserer

"Mr Brown has had one of the most short-lived honeymoons in British political history," writes the daily columnist Janet Daley following British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement that there would not be a fall election. "Where once he looked the embodiment of gravitas and conviction, he is now a deceitful opportunist – and not a very clever one at that. ... The resounding power of a tax-cut promise [made by conservative opposition leader David Cameron] has proved its worth so definitively that, to stay in the game now, Mr Brown needs urgently to go into plagiarism mode. The tragedy for him is that this will not undermine Mr Cameron's position – it will strengthen it. ... If Labour tries to attack the tax breaks, Mr Cameron benefits. And if it imitates them, he benefits." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Wielka Brytania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Daley Janet

Professor of education Micha Brumlik analyses the position of the Protestant and the Catholic church on Islam in Germany. He concludes that both cling to the belief that their religion has an absolute claim to the truth: "When you try to interpret this you can only conclude that rather than welcoming the development of a multi-religious society, the Christian churches in Germany view this trend with a high amount of unchristian fear. Their shrinking social influence and the wavering faith of their congregations go hand in hand. Fear and resistance are always poor advisers. No matter how important the task of facing up to the not entirely unfounded fears of Christians becomes, they should nonetheless take care not to reproduce in their theologies exactly what they combat through pastoral care and social engagement." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Integracja, » Światopogląd, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Micha Brumlik

In an interview with William Bourton the Franco-Bulgarian philosopher Tzvetan Todorov questions 'avant-garde' as a concept. "First, [it is do with] an elite which thinks and decides for the masses, who are by definition in the rear guard. ... Artists explore avenues known to them alone; they do not submit to the rationality of common sense, so they do not have to account to anyone. En politics, too, the Leninist concept sees the Party as the avant-garde of the proletariat. ...The masses do not know in which direction to go, so they must obey the initiatives taken by their avant-garde. ... We now know that the end result of this policy is catastrophe. The idea of democracy, what was deprecated one hundred years ago, now defines our political ideal. We no longer believe in the wisdom of the political avant-garde, but prefer, more humbly, to abide by the verdicts delivered by the people's suffrage." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Literatura, » Filozofia, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » William Bourton, » Tzvetan Todorov

German political expert Klaus Bachmann holds the view that the results of Poland's parliamentary elections on October 21 won't really constitute a turning point. "Since 1989, Polish politics has been characterised by a high degree of stability and continuity. Unlike in Germany, Italy, Belgium and many other countries, the forces that oppose democracy, the market economy and pro-Western orientation are marginal here. ... Despite all appearances to the contrary, the elections won't decide whether Poland is left isolated within Europe or whether it will obtain the status it deserves. The media and observers pay too much attention to the words of politicians and too little to their deeds. Every government since 1989 has started by stamping its foot and rattling its sabre, only to agree subsequently to anything Brussels proposes for strengthening the Union. The only difference between the Kaczynski government and its predecessors is that it stamped its foot more vigorously and then gave in particularly quickly to anything that was necessary." (03/10/2007)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Klaus Bachmann

The Slovak-Hungarian dispute over the Beneš decrees continues. Commenting on the expulsion of large numbers of Hungarians from Czechoslovakia after the war, Marek Madaric, the Social Democratic Slovak Minister of Culture, claimed: "Not one Hungarian was resettled because he was Hungarian; only traitors and collaborators were affected." Marian Lesko is appalled: "Madaric doesn't know what he's talking about. Historians proved long ago that in addition to Hungarians who left the country of their own free will faced with the looming threat of violence, many were forced to leave against their will." Lesko adds that this isn't the first foolish remark Madaric has made. "This minister was also the first to describe Andrej Hlinka [the clerical-fascist Slovak leader back in the first half of the 19th century] as the father of the nation. This prompted the ultra-right National Party (SNS) to propose that Hlinka should be acknowledged as such. No wonder people are under the impression that the Social Democrats are following in the footsteps of the right-wing extremists." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, słowacki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Historia, » Węgry, » Słowacja

The left-wing Danish Unity List is currently discussing whether the feminist Muslim Asmaa Abdol-Hamid should be allowed to represent the party as a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The politician wears a headscarf and doesn't shake hands with men - a fact that triggered controversy even when she was a television presenter. The daily comments: "In a Danish context the key factor is that Asmaa Abdol-Hamid herself chose to wear the headscarf and is not trying to force others to do so. The same goes for shaking hands with men. ... By insisting on these two religious symbols, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid is putting our tolerance to the test. ... We don't know whether she can win enough votes to enter parliament, but one thing we know for sure: it may be that Asmaa Abdol-Hamid now has to pass a political test, but we as a society have already failed the great test of tolerance." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, duński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Religia, » Integracja, » Światopogląd, » Dania

Sweden's most popular blogger, Alexander Schulman, last week closed down his blog, which attracted over 250 thousand readers a week, published on the homepage of Swedish daily Aftonbladet. Schulman explained the move saying his readers were chiefly interested in reading gossip about celebrities and that he was "filled with self-disgust". Now Sweden is debating the importance of blogs. Maria Schottenius writes that it's "a major mistake to consider blogs as a revolutionary development on a par with the advent of the Internet or radio. This delusion has triggered a kind of hysteria among otherwise serious journalists. It's sad to see respected journalists dedicating all their time to unimportant issues. Gossip attracts readers, but how many bloggers are there whose blogs are really read regularly? And what does the fact that the most popular words for blog searches are 'sex' and 'porn' tell us?" (06/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, szwedzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media drukowane, » Media internetowe, » Szwecja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Maria Schottenius

The Nuit Blanche (White Night) is a free, all-night celebration of the arts and culture which the City of Paris puts on yearly for the public. Gilles Renault describes the sixth Nuit Blanche, held on the night of October 6, which was also when the rugby match between France and New Zealand took place. "Early in the evening the square outside Paris City Hall teemed with people who had gathered to watch in pity the thrashing that the New Zealand All Greys [New Zealand's All Blacks were wearing a grey strip] would doubtless mete out to France [who in fact won the match]. The Nuit Blanche paled against such overwhelming competition. There were plenty of visitors, of course, but necessarily less than in the previous years. At the church of St. Eustache...people were not exactly elbowing each other up 'to contemplate', as the friendly old lady at reception put it, Lydia Dambassina's somewhat sybilline work displaying three Carpets on the ground, one of which draped some pairs of shoes." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Wystawy / Muzea, » Sport, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gilles Renault

"There can be no way back now. On October 9th Catalonian culture makes its entry at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest and the most important event of the year for European publishers. Although Catalonian writers will be arriving in large numbers - some 130 - they only speak Catalan", a fact bemoaned by Núria Cuadrado, the Spanish daily's special correspondent. "Nevertheless, despite the fuss and controversy sparked by inviting Catalonia, the organisation leading the Catalonian delegation, the Ramon Llull Institute, headed by Josep Bargallo, intends to portray Catalonian culture as 'special' in literature, but 'universal' in the other arts. In addition to the literary side of its programme, the Catalonian delegation will stage exhibitions, plays, dance, film, and concerts, all open to other artists, even if they do not speak the same language as [Catalonian writers] Josep Pla and Salvador Espriú." (08/10/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, El Mundo)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Literatura, » Niemcy, » Hiszpania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Núria Cuadrado

"Lyons, Venice, Istanbul, Dakar, Shanghai, Montreal...every week a new arts biennale [an exhibition held every two years] is inaugurated somewhere in the world. To date there are 120, a dizzying number," writes Francoise Jaunin on her return from the Lyons Biennale in France. Created in 1991, it "has contributed to the biennale boom and watched it swell. How can an event find its place and leave its mark in such a profusion of similar events?... Lyons 07 brings a breath of fresh air, reflected in its cross-section of visitors. It lays on excellent guided tours that are very well attended. Beyond the lofty ideas and good intentions, however, the end result is questionable. True, we live in a time with no dominant school of thought or ideology, and Lyons reflects this in its broad canvas, which is both fragmented and global. The overwhelming impression is one of a directionless hotch-potch of samples, more like an art fair than the carefully constructed concept one expects from a biennale." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Wystawy / Muzea, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Françoise Jaunin

"The number of Italian politicial parties increases monthly, weekly, and now, daily," writes columnist Luca Ricolfi. After the Grillo list (named after the famous Italian comedian Beppe Grillo), the Liberty Party, and the National Civic List of the so-called 'girotondini', former prime minister Lamberto Dini has announced the birth of a new party dubbed 'Liberaldemocratici', while the Socialist Party is 'refounding' itself yet again. "Why all this activism?... Italy is the champion of 'single-issue' parties. We have an environment party, a secular party, a housewives' party ... not to mention the countless regional formations. Single-issue parties are to be found in other modern countries, but only Italy has so many artificial parties, brought into being in the laboratories of the political, economic, and intellectual elites." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, włoski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Włochy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Luca Ricolfi

British lawyer Ian Forrester describes Europe's procedurally mind-blowing Court of First Instance, which judges cases relating to European law. "The president of the Court, Bo Vesterdorf, is Danish and presides over a court whose working language is French, but where most of the appeals heard are in English. Being a barrister for the defence at Luxemburg is a unique experience. In a court where judges come from the 27 member countries, statistics confirm that the mother tongue of most of the judges sitting in an ordinary five-member chamber will be different from the language in which the case will be heard. If a barrister speaks too quickly, the (highly qualified) interpreter will have to leave out or simplify some ideas... Latin was once the language of the learned. It was probably to difficult to speak, and people doubtless used neologisms and made grammatical mistakes, but at least they understood each other." (08/10/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, hiszpański)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Luksemburg, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ian Forrester