As the Czech Republic prepares to take over the EU’s rotating presidency in January, Jiri Paroubek, the former prime minister and leader of the opposition Social Democrats, said voters had “opted for change” and called Mr Topolanek’s grip on power “unacceptable” given the Civic Democratic Party’s staggering losses.
Year: 2008
Germany refuses to bail out carmakers
In an interview published Thursday in Die Zeit, Mr Steinbrueck said Berlin would not lend state support to the country’s battered car manufacturers despite the economic turmoil and carmakers’ importance to the national economy.
Angela Merkel: world is facing most challenging financial crisis since 1920s
“We must prepare ourselves for a weakening of growth in Germany,” Merkel said in a speech in parliament as she hoped to shore up support for the government’s €480 billion rescue package announced Monday.
Financial crisis boosts German banks
Sparkasse savings bank and other state-run banks like it are awash in new business since late September, as Germans rush to deposit money where they perceive it will be safest.
Banking bail-out: German savers flock to state-owned banks
Ms Merkel said the damage to Europe’s biggest economy if the state had not intervened would have been “incalculable”.
Financial crisis: German minister warns of far-Right rise
Wolfgang Schauble told Der Spiegel: “We learned from the worldwide economic crisis of the 1920s (and 30s) that an economic crisis can result in an incredible threat for all of society.
EU climate change cuts: Poland leads revolt over Russia fears
A six nation bloc on the EU’s eastern fringes signed a pact to fight a proposal designed to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a fifth by 2020.
Bavaria premier quits as CSU teeters following election ‘rout’
Three days after the Christian Social Union (CSU) lost its absolute majority for the first time in almost half a century, Bavarian premier Geunther Beckstein quit, acknowledging he had lost the support of the party’s grassroots. The party leader, Erwin Huber and its top woman, Christine Haderthauer had already stepped down after the CSU share of the vote slumped to 43 per cent in Sunday’s election.
Far-right to do well in Austrian elections
Surveys on the eve of the Sept 28 general elections show the far-right Freedom Party and the Alliance for Austria’s Future capturing between 25 and 27 per cent of the vote–something unmatched since Jörg Haider led extreme rightists to a 27 per cent victory in 1999.
Suspected terrorists arrested on KLM plane in Germany
KLM Flight 1804 had been cleared for takeoff when police boarded the aircraft at 6.55am and arrested a 23-year-old Somali and a 24-year-old German born in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.