Far Right in Europe (1)

Golden age of the new populists

Published on 20 Mar 2010   |   Le Monde

Northern League militants at their annual rally in Pontida, north-west Italy, 2008. Photo : Maxalari/Flickr

A number of European countries are seeing a renaissance of far right movements. While those in the East espouse Fascist ideologies, the Western brands target multiculturalism and Islam in particular.
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The best of today's press

March 19 2010

Greek crisis - the Franco-German dust-up

“The Greek crisis is turning into a perilous trial for the eurozone and the European Union,” reports La Tribune, headlining with the widening “Greek rift” between Paris and Berlin. The latest knockback: Angela Merkel’s reaction to the ultimatum laid down by Greek prime minister Georges Papandreou. If Europeans haven’t come up with a solution to the Greek problem by 2 April, Athens will turn to the IMF for deliverance.

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European of the week   |   Miriam Meckel, life after burn-out
Until her nervous breakdown, Miriam Meckel, a high profile professor, broadcaster, and PR agent, was widely considered a role model in her native Germany. Her bestselling book about the experience warns of the perils of a non-stop communication society, and has reignited the debate about Germany's much vaunted work ethic.
Published on  19 Mar 2010  |   Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
 
Czech Republic   |   Speculators reach for the sun
Buoyed by bountiful state subsidies, the Czech solar sector is booming. Investors the world over are rushing in to snatch up this manna, with little thought to the ecological aims, bemoans Mladá Fronta DNES.
Published on  18 Mar 2010  |   Mladá Fronta DNES
 
Gas   |   Energy solidarity not yet on tap
To avoid natural gas shortages that have marked the past few winters, the EU is studying a mutual assistance plan for member states. But the trigger conditions won't satisfy everyone, and member states aren't ready to play the game, writes Rzeczspospolita.
Published on  17 Mar 2010  |   Rzeczpospolita
 
EU–Mediterranean   |   On the other side of the Med
In these times of economic crisis, the countries of the southern Mediterranean are displaying unexpected dynamism – a trend the EU is beginning to shore up with regional cooperation projects, reports El País.
Published on  17 Mar 2010  |   El País
 
Economic crisis   |   Germany in the dock
German trade clout is sapping other European economies. This sentiment, aired by the French finance minister and spreading fast across the EU, got thrashed out in today’s press.
Published on  16 Mar 2010  |   Presseurop
 
Italy   |   Papa’s boys, daddy’s girls
According to a recent OECD study, Italy ranks right after the UK as the wealthy nation in which a father’s income and educational attainments most heavily determine his sons’ success. And this dearth of social mobility is a drag on economic growth, notes the OECD.
Published on  16 Mar 2010  |   La Repubblica
 
Eurozone crisis   |   All for one, one for all
The idea of a European Monetary Fund is gaining ground. The object: to shore up countries like Greece whose overindebtedness poses a threat to the euro’s stability. Those opposed, especially in Germany, should remember the solidarity Europe once showed in joining forces to establish a viable union.
Published on  15 Mar 2010  |   El País
 
Economic crisis   |   Club Euro, an erratic door policy
Long-standing members against new ones, irresponsible states against virtuous states, tolerance of the EU against excessive demands: the crisis over the single currency has revealed a new faultline within the union, according to the Bulgarian political scientist Ivan Krastev.
Published on  15 Mar 2010  |   Gazeta Wyborcza
 
Crisis   |   Farewell to fixed incomes
Battered by the economic crisis and drowning in deficits, several EU states have opted to cut public sector pay rather than devalue their currency. The choice is unpopular but not unprecedented, reports Il Sole 24 Ore.
Published on  12 Mar 2010  |   Il Sole-24 Ore
 
Greece   |   Athens forced to reinvent itself
The urban renewal project in the Greek capital has been hit by new government measures designed to remedy the disastrous state of the nation's finances. Without funding, city planners must explore other options, starting with the fight against cars and chaotic development.
Published on  12 Mar 2010  |   La Vanguardia
 
 
 

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