In an interview with De Standaard, the Belgian Minister of Finance, Guy Vanhengel, sparked an outcry with the assertion that "from a business point of view, Belgium is virtually bankrupt." Leading with the front page headline, "Is Belgium PLC really bankrupt?" Le Soir is strongly critical of the minister's remarks which it describes as "frightening and infuriating." The Francophone daily further takes the view that the liberal minister has chosen "to sound the alarm without worrying about the potential impact on the country's reputation" in order to send a message on the following lines: "the state has been asked to cut total spending by 20%, and that will require a revolutionary budget." Left-wing and centrist parties in Belgium, whose budget deficit is currently running at 25 billion euros, are accusing Vanhengel of preparing the way for austerity measures in health care and the civil service.
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.