For its 20th anniversary the Czech magazine Reflex has treated itself to a facelift. "Founded at the time of the revolution, Reflex is in itself a celebration of freedom,” writes editor-in-chief Pavel Šafr in an editorial stressing the importance, in the eyes of the editors, of playing the provocateur. A choice conspicuously illustrated on the cover of this 200-page special issue showing caricatures of the leading political players in this “divided nation”. This picture parody of the cover to the Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s” features president Václav Klaus, for example, sporting an American Indian chief’s feathered headdress. It also gives extended coverage to the campaign ahead of the general elections on 28/29 May. Even if the left are pulling clearly ahead in the polls, the conservative weekly is not throwing in the towel yet: instead, it also runs a manifesto in this issue against left-wing thought and Social-Democratic politics.
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.