The effect of the British elections, racial tolerance in the US, German-Israeli relations, China not a threat, compassion for Putin
A round-up of global commentary for the May 25, 2015, weekly magazine.
UK election: An Edinburgh City Council contractor poses with an election polling station sign at a storage warehouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, Wednesday.
David Moir/Reuters
The Irish Times / Dublin, Ireland
Effect of British elections on the European Union and beyond
鈥淭his Rubicon [British] election ... has itself made ... new dynamics in British politics, dynamics over which even this majority government has precious little control, runaway trains leading potentially to British disengagement from the EU, and even towards the disintegration 鈥� or at least the reformulation 鈥� of the United Kingdom,鈥� . 鈥淭he UK, as some commentators have it, is 鈥榮elf-federalising鈥�.... [Prime Minister David] Cameron can take some comfort, however, from the reality that the internal disarray into which trounced Labour, LibDems and Ukip have all fallen, with the resignations of all their leaders ... will give him a breathing space in which to reshape his government and message....鈥�
The Globe and Mail / Toronto
Have America鈥檚 race relations made any progress at all?
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 help thinking that the United States has gone back to 1965. You see it in the fury over racially charged killings by police in Ferguson[, Mo.], Baltimore, Staten Island[, N.Y.], and Charleston[, S.C.] 鈥� the latter of which even involved that staple of sixties old-boy racism, the 鈥榖roken tail light鈥� police stop...,鈥� , a British-Canadian journalist. 鈥淵ou see it in the mass protests provoked by that fury and the riots that often ride the coattails of those protests.... Has America regressed? On one hand, it hasn鈥檛: The past decade has seen the United States move sharply away from that divided era.... Racial intolerance, by almost any measure, is more rare in the United States today than it has ever been.... This is the paradox of the [US] today: A population of voters and leaders who have largely moved beyond racial discrimination continue to produce often grotesquely racist results....鈥�
Deutsche Welle / Bonn, Germany
The miracle of German-Israeli relations
鈥淎lthough the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany was signed in 1952, it was still barely conceivable that Germans and Israelis would and could try to establish and maintain diplomatic relations...,鈥� writes Deutsche Welle editor in chief . 鈥淔ifty years on, the following is viewed as a political miracle: Germany and Israel maintain close relations.... Germans are often the only EU member that stands by Israel.... Nonetheless, it is quite unusual that Germany ... is Israel鈥檚 closest ally today.... The Third Reich鈥檚 annihilation of European Jews is enmeshed in the countries鈥� identities and their perception of each other. It defines the mentality of the two nations.... But 70 years after the million-fold murders, relations between Germans and Israelis are miraculously good.鈥�
China Daily / Beijing
China is not the threat the US fears
鈥淸T]he Pentagon issued its annual report on the state of China鈥檚 national defense ... which once again tried to sell the outdated 鈥楥hina threat鈥� theory...,鈥� . 鈥淭he US, as the world鈥檚 No 1 military power, is notorious for its hacking and wiretapping, and for keeping military bases worldwide. Uncle Sam owes the world an explanation why, despite playing its self-proclaimed role as global policeman, it is afflicted with ever-growing security concerns?... The biased report is a disservice to the currently good momentum in China-US military-to-military exchanges, which play an important role in building a new type of major-country relations.... The US needs to abandon its Cold War mentality....鈥�
The Moscow Times / Moscow
A compassionate view of President Vladimir Putin
鈥淎nyone analyzing Russia鈥檚 politics should understand that they are dealing not with the 鈥榬uling elite鈥� or with various 鈥榠nterest groups,鈥� but with a single man 鈥� with all of his strengths and limitations,鈥� , a Moscow-based political commentator. 鈥淎nd when they see aggression, it might, in fact, be an attempt to seek protection. And what they see as the unbending will of a world leader might, in fact, be an attempt to step back from a decision and create a comfort zone for himself.鈥�