The post-electoral impasse in Germany continues to occupy the pages of the main European papers, especially the German ones. The “ duel of nerves” between Merkel and Schröder for the post of Chancellor in the eventuality of a ‘grand coalition’ is commented on as follows in the Frankfurter Rundschau (22/9): “ For the leaders of the SPD it is inconceivable, especially after the results of last Sunday’s elections, to lead the party in a ‘grand coalition’ in a classic subordinate role. That means that an equal partnership would have to be developed, both at the personal level and that of policy. Any other solution would be unpalatable to the SPD. From this point of view, there is also a conflict of interests behind the duel of nerves between Merkel and Schröder for the post of Chancellor: the open question of the distribution of powers in a grand coalition. The SPD, in its present humour, would react with a rejection to the prospect of becoming a subordinate partner“. On the hypothesis of a grand coalition, Matthias Kamann points out in Die Welt: “ The current malaise of the electorate means that… a more sober policy is needed: one that seeks to obtain effective coalitions to achieve short-term goals. Those who conclude this type of deal, by exploiting the options with playful and even humorous creativity, shall rise to the level of statesman. Contrariwise, those who remain attached to irremovable projects of the past, will lead the political system to failure“. Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Völker Zastrow notes: “ Already on the evening of the elections, Schröder was celebrating his miserable result as a victory, marking his right to the chancellorship like a bloodhound his territory. Since then, the SPD has been proclaiming the false news of a people that wants this chancellor, more than anything. The Union says the same of Angela Merkel. She too can claim she has obtained for her party a destructive electoral result. She was hailed as victor and confirmed “by public acclamation” as president of the [CDU-CSU] group in Parliament. In fact, Schröder and Merkel should both be nominated chancellor, with the same impetus with which they were chosen by nameless electors”. […] The popular parties are based on trust. […] But trust cannot be obtained by a political attitude that in the best of cases wishes to exploit the desires and hopes of the electorate, without wishing to take seriously its worries and needs“. The elections in Germany also have reverberations in the Spanish press. The daily Abc of 20/9 maintains, in its editorial, that “what happened in Germany is the worst of scenarios: that of uncertainty and instability” and that the “the soft defeat of Schroeder and the Pyrrhic victory of Merkel place Germany in a terrible quandary”. According to the Catalan paper La Vanguardia of 20/9, “the result of the German elections does not offer an easy or clear-cut diagnosis, but the fundamental conclusion is that there was no electoral shift, in spite of the triumph of the coalition of Angela Merkel (CDU-CSU). The fear of drastic cuts to the welfare state was decisive in persuading voters, with some nuances, to remain where they were before”. Great attention is also being devoted to the German political situation in France, without forgetting the domestic agenda. Recalling the commemoration of the first centenary of the law of 1905 on the separation between Church and State, the Catholic daily La Croix (19/9) points out that “ the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin wished a discreet commemoration, less than a year after the debates on religious signs in schools. That did not mean a commemoration without intelligence“. To prove the point the paper cites the recent international colloquium on “French secularism in the international context” and publishes the comment of Nicolas Seneze on the unusual intervention of the Minister of the Interior, Nicolas Sarkozy, who called the law of 1905 “ a law not of prohibition, but of freedom“. “ The spirit of secularism in the French style he added is the right to believe and to transmit that faith to one’s children, and it is also the right not to believe … to believe that religions pose a threat to French public life means to know little of the religions of the French“. The paper emphasises that such a position means “ not having any fear of diversity. And the law must therefore take that diversity into consideration“. Time (26/9) devotes coverage to the announced trial of Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who will be tried in December for the opinions expressed in an interview with the Swiss paper “Tages Anzeiger” in February with regard to the mass extermination of Armenians at the beginning of the 20th century. “ If he is found guilty comments Time the penalty will be paid by all the Turks who support the process of EU accession“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1416 N.ro relativo : 65 Data pubblicazione : 23/09/05
