“Merkel’s man” will head the Bundesbank, headlines Handelsblatt. Following the surprise withdrawal for a second term at the helm by current president Axel Weber, Angela Merkel plans to place her closest adviser, Jens Weidmann, 42, on the executive board of what the Germans term the "Buba", which will also give him a seat on the board of the European Central Bank. “The history of the Bundesbank has always been distinguished by a rejection of politics,” observes the business daily, noting that Axel Weber retired just because Angela Merkel did not support his anti-inflation strategy. “No risk with the civil servant Weidmann.” Weidmann, who owes his career entirely to Merkel, described his rapport with the Chancellor: “I prepare the files, and she makes the decisions. In the end, it’s always the policy that governs the decision.”
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.