Italy
The Axeman goeth
18 August 2010
Presseurop
Il Riformista 
Il Riformista, 18 August 2010
"He resigned", Il Riformista headlines ironcially after the death of Francesco Cossiga. A former premier, president, interior and defence minister, Cossiga has been one of postwar Italy's central figures, and perhaps its most controversial. A hardcore atlantist, he was part of Nato's secret Gladio "Stay Behind" anti-communist network, a good friend of Margaret Thatcher, but also a promoter of cooperation between Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party. In his last year as president, after corruption scandals surfaced, he gained the nickname the "Pickaxe Man" for his all-out accusations that contributed to the fall of the government and the end of the "first republic".
The game has gone on for nearly two years: Athens pretends to comply with the demands of its creditors and partners, and they pretend to believe in Greece’s commitments. As the spectre of default comes nearer, however, the Greek bluff cannot go on much longer, writes an El Mundo editorialist. 
Asserting national values is central to the political project of the Hungarian PM. Since the start of the year, fifteen paintings, specially commissioned for an exhibition in the Castle of Buda, have been putting this ambition on show. 
Since Portugal has been subjected to an austerity regimen by the EU/ECB/IMF troika, Portuguese consumers have adapted their habits. The crisis is pushing consumers to save but also to be more creative.