She’s a moral authority in the Lutheran nation of Germany. But Margot Kässmann, "the idol of millions of Christians", is about to "go through hell”, headline the tabloids. Right in the middle of Lent, the bishop got arrested by the police for driving under the influence with a blood alcohol level of 1.54 per mill after she ran a red light. Die Welt, traditionally hostile to the bishop’s “over-inflated ego”, argues “there is a difference between your man in the street” and “a person who embodies a higher moral authority than just about any other public office in the country”. The extremely popular head of Germany’s Lutheran Church has always been known for her outspokenness and her habit of putting her oar in on political issues. A few weeks ago she sparked a general outcry in the media by declaiming that “nothing is alright in Afghanistan" and that liberal vice-chancellor Guido Westerwelle is “jeopardising the country’s social consensus". As of 4 p.m. CET, 24 February, she resigned from all her functions.
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.