Austria ranks as the world’s 12th-least corrupt country in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index. Still, Die Presse wonders whether Austria is not something of a banana republic and is calling on the political establishment to do some serious self-vetting now that the anti-corruption NGO has denounced the very close ties between Austrian political and banking circles. As a matter of fact, Austrian watchdogs like the Financial Market Authority (FMA) are appointed by the country’s elected officials. “This attack could not have come at a better time. Only last Tuesday the council of ministers decided to keep the head of the FMA on for another term,” comments the Viennese daily, adding that “Transparency International’s assessments will not come as a big surprise to many Austrians. For decades the country has been so divided between the red and black banking blocs” – the reference here being to the colours of the two main political parties – “that you can’t even hope to get a job cleaning toilets if you aren’t a card-carrying member of the right party. All the same, it is more than embarrassing that the international sleaze watchdogs should have noticed too.”
The leader of Greece’s leftist alliance SYRIZA is the new bright hope of Greek politics. Steering a course between pragmatism and the rhetoric of class warfare, he has unsettled Berlin, and not just those who back Angela Merkel's austerity policies. 
Europe’s economic woes have forced us to try to understand the secret Olympian world of global finance. But now that we pay more attention to bond yields and stability mechanisms, isn’t it clear that the experts up on their lofty peaks don’t know what’s going on either? 
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is hosted by Azerbaijan, a country that is far from being a model democracy. An Estonian journalist takes a critical look at the deferential treatment enjoyed by the regime in Baku. 