The last remaining doubts surrounding the 20 June Polish presidential elections have now been dispelled. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has declared his candidacy. In an April 26 special press release, he wishes to accomplish the “mission” of his brother Lech and the “Polish patriotic elite” killed in the 10 April plane crash near Smolensk. Polls show that with support around 27 percent, Kaczyński is the only candidate able to challenge the presidential bid of Bronisław Komorowski of the ruling Civic Platform (PO), supported by nearly half of those polled (47 percent). “A war of nerves and a wait for who will strike the first blow nolw begins,” predicts Polska. Gazeta Wyborcza, in turn, argues against a divisive campaign that would divide Poles into “righteous” and “unrighteous”. “Let the dispute be only differences of opinion and let it exclude no one from the national community,” writes the liberal daily.
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.