Last November public opinion polls claimed that over 70% of Europeans would have voted for Barack Obama against John McCain. “But who have the majority of Europeans voted for now? For McCain,” opines journalist/essayist Jean-Paul Marthoz in Le Soir. “By buttressing the clout of the European People’s Party to the furthermost frontiers of sovereigntism and rank populism, a decisive portion of the European electorate have turned against the ‘soft change’ personified by Barack Obama.” The bulk of the European Parliament remains securely anchored along the moderate democratic axis, to be sure. But for Marthoz the elections attest to a falling-back on conservative notions of national identity and to a weakening of Europe’s “soft power” in the global arena – a soft power now being wielded by the United States.
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.