Slovakia
Bratislava beats back Berlin
26 August 2010
Presseurop
Pravda 
Pravda, 26 August 2010
"Merkel won’t give in on Greece,” headlines Pravda: the German chancellor in fact expressed her “regrets” at Slovakia’s refusal to contribute to the Greek bailout package, even though the matter was not on the agenda for Slovak prime minister Iveta Radičová’s visit to Berlin. Cut to the quick by the comment, Radičová seized the opportunity to parry the “annoying” remarks of EU economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn about the “lack of solidarity” in Bratislava. She curtly replied that the matter “is not within the Commission’s remit”, reports the Slovak daily. Its Czech counterpart MF Dnes adds that “Radičová has succeeded where Merkel eventually had to cave in”.
As Greece pimps its ancient monuments to bring in the tourists, lovers of cultural heritage are up in arms. But the country is only doing openly what the whole of Europe is: looting historic sites to drum up more ready cash. 
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. 
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.