French parliamentarians just love elections. According to figures published by Libération, 10% of Germany’s MPs hold another elected office. The same goes for 13% of the MPs in the UK, 15% in Spain, 16% in Italy. But in France, a whopping 82% of the MPs are moonlighting. The Parisian daily remarks that “many of them cling to this particularly French setup, the idea being that one can be a good deputy, a good mayor and president of the regional council at one and the same time”. This issue of pluralism, a continual bone of contention in French politics, is being put to the vote within the Socialist Party on 1 October, a day devoted to the party’s renewal. Coming out against holding multiple offices would give the left wing, “which is already lagging behind on a number of issues (…), a chance to set an example by getting rid of its own barons – and to force the right wing to do likewise,” comments Libération.
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.