The Dutch government now depends on a "double crutch", writes De Volkskrant in the wake of elections to the Senate. Since the formation in 2010 of the coalition between the Liberals (VVD) and Christian Democrats (CDA), the coalition’s majority in the lower house depends on the populist Geert Wilders’ PVV. Having won only 37 of 75 seats in the upper hourse, the coalition now needs the support of the ultra-conservative Protestants the SGP, (Reformed Political Party), which refuses to field women in elections. Prime Minister Mark Rutte "may carry on, but must tread very cautiously," writes De Volkskrant. To the demands from the PVV on immigration and health will be added those from the SGP, such as a law prohibiting blasphemy and closing shops on Sundays – demands that are inconsistent with the liberal ideas espoused by the government.
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.