“Europe disillusioned”: that’s the front-page headline carried by the Herald Tribune (6/7), that interprets the current political situation of the European Union as characterized by the “public anger, both on the left and the right,” felt by citizens towards the leaders of their respective countries. “The situation explains Richard Bernstein in his editorial -, not surprisingly, is different in each of the larger European countries. In Spain, the Socialist party has only just assumed power, after the electors had turned their backs on the previous government that seemed to have refused to give information on the roots of the local terrorist attacks. In Great Britain, the political troubles of Prime Minister Tony Blair have much to do with his support for the war in Iraq. In other words, while in Germany and France the parties in government have had no remorse about their opposition to the Iraqi war, in Great Britain Blair has clearly been punished due to his firm support for it, and the inability of the occupation forces to find weapons of mass destruction has damaged his position more than anything else”. Bernstein also offers an analysis of the situation in Italy, where “Berlusconi has long promised tax reductions, a slimming down of the state bureaucracy and a more competitive economy” and where “many people, including those who supported him before, have now turned their backs on him, expressing their disillusion because, contrary to his promises, the reforms have failed to materialize”. Sergio Soave ( Avvenire, 6/7) reflects, in turn, on the resignation of the Italian Minister for the Economy Tremonti and the situation of the government majority in Italy: “Berlusconi, meantime, has obtained a first success by avoiding a warning from Ecofin [on excessive public deficit] (…). His assessment of being the only one capable of holding together the majority sounds a bit obnoxious, but is no less realistic for that”. The first comparative survey of the performance of state schools and private schools in France is being widely discussed in the French press. “The pupils who complete their studies in private schools succeed ‘slightly better’ than those of state schools”: that, according to Le Monde (7/7), is one of the conclusions of the survey, which is without precedent in France, and which shows that “ the pupils educated in private schools at the end of their secondary school studies more often reach a higher level of qualification than those who remained in state schools”. Despite these successes of private schooling in France, “Catholic teaching, which represents almost all private teaching under contract, is claiming a supplementary financial contribution by the State”, in particular to pay teachers’ salaries. What it calls a study that “relativizes the differences between state schools and private schools” is discussed, in turn, by La Croix (6/7), according to which the research of the French Ministry of Education demonstrates that “the presence of private schools creates not opposition, but emulation” in the educational system as a whole. German commentators continue to analyse the situation in Iraq and the problem of Islamic terrorism. Thus Rainer Hermann, writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (8/7), points out the role of neighbouring countries involved in the problems of Iraq: “ The neighbouring countries are interfering and Iraq is becoming a land of experimentation for a new explosive ideological mixture that is drawing the whole region into its vortex: an Arab nationalism clad in the trappings of Islam. Arab nationalism had failed to unite the Arabs. So political Islam has been born as its prolongation. Today, however, Arab nationalism uses Islam for its own purposes; today, Arab nationalists are mounting resistance to Western culture in the name of Islam. What began in the Palestinian conflict is continuing in Iraq. The Arab questions are becoming Islamic questions. This unites the Arabs against the outside world. Before the television cameras, even simple Iraqis speak not for themselves but for the whole Arab world. This fact in itself makes a democratic development difficult. The hostile attitude of neighbouring states makes it almost impossible“. “ Jihad against terrorism” is the headline carried by the weekly Der Spiegel (5/7) which reports on the situation in Saudi Arabia. “ Since the declaration of war, the Saudi royal family has been faced by a dilemma: to defend itself against the accusations of being vassals of the West, the princes have had to safeguard the rigid wahhabite version of the state religion, Islam, while at the same time fostering relations with America, their most important strategic partner. But the Iraqi policy of Washington and its pro-Israel position are incomprehensible for an ever-growing number of Saudis. The dissatisfaction of the people makes at least the slogans if not also the actions of soldiers of God appear ever more attractive”.———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1312 N.ro relativo : 52 Data pubblicazione : 10/07/04
