European press review
Spain's dailies examine the inquiry into the
Madrid terror attacks last March. Simmering rivalry between President Chirac and
a young minister appears in the French press, and Russia's papers look at how
the Bolshoi Ballet is going down in London.
Spain's bombing aftermath
After a month of hearings, a parliamentary
commission of inquiry into the 11 March Madrid terror attacks is waiting to
present its first conclusions.
El Pais slams the former ruling Popular Party
(PP) for seeking to convince everyone the bombings were the work of Basque
separatists.
"As early as the afternoon of 11 March,
investigators were already collecting leads pointing exclusively to Islamist
extremism."
"Rather than admitting its mistake, the PP has
indulged in the most nonsensical conspiracy theories, unable to accept that it
lost the elections because too many people had become tired of an arrogant
government."
Madrid's El Mundo turns its wrath on the
testimony of the current interior minister, Jose Antonio Alonso, to the
investigation panel.
"His testimony could not have been more
disappointing," the paper says.
It says he made a "clumsy mistake" in "distancing
himself from the contradictions and falsehoods contained in the report by the
Civil Guard director general, on the grounds that such events occurred when the
PP was in power".
Spectre of terror
Germany's Der Tagesspiegel says a threat against
European countries by a group linked to al-Qaeda is a reminder that Germany,
too, could become a target.
Those who believe al-Qaeda will spare this country because we opposed the war in Iraq are indulging in a false sense of security
Those who believe al-Qaeda will spare this country because we opposed the war in Iraq are indulging in a false sense of security
Der Tagesspiegel
"It is regarded as certain that at some point
al-Qaeda will strike again in Europe."
Iraq war backers Britain, Italy and Poland face
the greatest danger, the paper says, but the choice of target will also depend
on the presence of local collaborators.
"There is no lack of such people in Germany.
Those who believe al-Qaeda will spare this country because its government and
people opposed the war in Iraq are indulging in a false sense of
security".
France's political rivals
The duel of words between France's ambitious and
popular finance minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his former political mentor but
current rival, President Jacques Chirac, surfaces in Mr Sarkozy's interview for
Le Figaro.
On Bastille Day, 14 July, Mr Chirac publicly
rebuked the minister over his warning that defence expenditure would be cut. The
president said there was no quarrel between himself and Mr Sarkozy "for the
simple reason that I make the decisions and he carries them out".
"I carry them out," comes Mr Sarkozy's riposte,
"because I agree with them".
"As far as I know, having an opinion is not a
crime".
For sale: Aeroflot
The Russian government's preliminary approval for
the privatization of the country's flagship air carrier Aeroflot is scrutinised
in the press.
"The government doesn't really seem to have any
option," observes Izvestiya.
"There is already a hole of R30bn in next year's
budget... and revenue from privatization is the only way to fill
it."
"All in all, privatization is no easy thing,"
comments Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "In Russia this process has been dragging on for
over a decade and it is premature to speak of it ending yet."
Lost in translation?
Spain's Socialist prime minister, Rodriguez
Zapatero, who recently completed 100 days in office, tells Paris's Le Monde
Spaniards will support the European Constitution, but he is worried about the
document's literary merit.
"We will need a major translation effort. The
writing of the final draft should have been entrusted to a couple of outstanding
writers".
"The EU is built on a language for which no-one
feels accountable," he says.
Asked whether an alliance between his predecessor
Jose Maria Aznar and Britain's Tony Blair went too far, he says: "In effect they
had one foot in Europe and the other outside, to put the brake on the EU's
advance."
Like a lead balloon
Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta winces at the
panning meted out by British critics to the Bolshoi Ballet's production of Romeo
and Juliet in London.
It seems we brought Shakespeare to his homeland too soon
It seems we brought Shakespeare to his homeland too soon
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
"The result has dashed the hopes of those who are
used to seeing the Bolshoi as the guardian of the traditions of Russian ballet.
It seems we brought Shakespeare to his homeland too soon."
But did Kommersant's critic witness an entirely
different performance?
"The curtain fell. The theatre was silent - just
like at the Bolshoi's first 'Romeo' in 1956. Then there was a shout. The
spectators erupted with an ovation."
"The dancers relaxed, smiled, took their bows
unhurriedly in turn. They had won at the ballet world
championships."
The European press review is compiled by BBC
Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early
printed editions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/2/hi/europe/3938477.stm
Spain's inquiry into the Madrid attacks and rivalry between French politicians feature in today's European papers.
