Thirty years after the failed coup of 23 February 1981, El País is celebrating "the living memory of 23-F.” That day a group of the Civil Guards, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero, stormed the Spanish Parliament and held the deputies there until the next morning. This trial by fire for Spain’s then nascent democracy, "remains fresh in the memory" of the nation, writes the Madrid daily, noting that 46 percent of Spaniards remember it "very clearly and brightly", while 73 percent think this date should be commemorated "to ensure it will never happen again." Seventy percent also believe that the intervention of King Juan Carlos was decisive in defeating the coup. “It was an event that should be remembered as a permanent example of what never to do. Fortunately, in our current social reality, that it could happen again is simply unthinkable", concludes El País.
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.