La Tribune, 13 July 2010
In a special appearance on state television, Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out on the scandal involving his Budget Minister and doubts about the legality of funds used for his presidential campaign in 2007. Paris based economic daily La Tribune, which describes the interview “as a mine clearance exercise,” reports that the politically weakened head of state is hoping “to distance himself from allegations so that he can give priority to initiatives to reform the state pension system and revive the French economy.”
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.