"Belgium on the way to election adventure," headlines De Standaard in the wake of King Albert II's acceptance of Prime Minister Yves Leterme's resignation. Leterme quit following the failure of negotiations between political parties on the splitting of the bilingual Bruxelles-Hal-Vilvorde (BHV) constituency, which is now a touchstone for tensions between the country's French and Flemish speaking communities. Early general elections will likely be the only definite outcome of the current crisis. La Libre Belgique notes that this is "the fifth time" in just 30 months that Leterme has tendered his resignation – having offered to step down twice from the post of formateur (i.e. a state appointed coalition leader), and now, three times as head of government. Le Soir warns of "the total paralysis" that will result from "indescribable, irresponsible, and destructive chaos," which could result in "a risky situation that will see Belgium heavily penalized by the financial markets." Worse still, De Standaard remarks that "no one wants to govern" a country which appears intent on "testing the limits of the absurd. The citizens of the Belgium should now be asking themselves if the country's Francophone and Flemish speaking communities can go on living under one roof."
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.