BRITAIN

BRITAIN
The Guardian, London, Oct. 21: Get well soon, Mr. Blair. That is overwhelmingly and properly the main thing. Yet our culture cannot leave it at that. Some of yesterday's headlines and bulletins went seamlessly into a political obituary mode not justified by the known facts.
The doctors who treated Mr. Blair said his supra-ventricular tachycardia was a relatively common condition and was easily treated.
Although we have not yet reached American levels of obsession with perpetual youth, we seem increasingly to expect our political leaders to be on the young side of middle-age, photogenic and healthy. Every part of this is absurd and dangerous. Infirmity, ill-health and aging are part of the human condition. They do not prevent a person from continuing to work in other spheres and there is no reason why politicians should be any different.
Savior of the nation
Sixty years ago, this country was led through five years of total war by an old man who, while in office, successively suffered a heart attack, pneumonia, exhaustion, heart fibrillation, lung trouble and fever, who drank heavily almost every day and who was prone to clinical depression. Of course, a Churchill comes among us only rarely. Yet the savior of the nation could not have survived politically today, because we have unrealistic expectations about political leaders' health and because we always sensationalize any problems that occur. It is not self-evident that modern nations are better led by men and women in their 40s and 50s than by those in their 60s and 70s. As a society, we have to relearn the need for some public figures to be old and infirm, even while others remain youthful and fit.
BRITAIN
The Times, London, Oct. 21: Until now, very few people have been thinking at all seriously about what life will be like after Mr. Blair leaves office. It is inevitable that now they will. The prime minister should not see this as a threat, but as an opportunity to start thinking about something that, whether he likes it or not, is inevitable.
For all her strengths, Margaret Thatcher proved incapable of confronting her political mortality. Anybody who developed sufficient independence and status to be considered a worthy successor was quickly cut down to size. For almost 15 years the Conservative Party has struggled with the consequences of her failure to plan a graceful retirement. It is possible to imagine something similar happening to Mr. Blair and his Labor successors. He still has time to avoid this mistake.
Blair's future
Mr. Blair should begin to think carefully how much he still wishes, and can realistically expect, to achieve in Downing Street. He should consider what he wants his legacy to be. Then he should take the risk of discussing it with (Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon) Brown, resisting the temptation to keep teasing the chancellor in the way that Churchill did Eden.
In future reshuffles of both his ministerial and backroom staff, Mr. Blair should begin to blend the chancellor's choices with his own, allowing for a smooth transition. He should also work even more closely with Mr. Brown to agree Labor's platform and rhetoric at the next election. ...
NORWAY
Aftenposten, Oslo, Oct. 20: Gains by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SPP) in Sunday's national assembly election threatens to disrupt the traditional balance between political parties there and weaken the nation's world reputation.
After a coarse campaign That oozed of hostility toward foreigners, the party scored with voters.
What is most worrisome is the way in which the SPP made its gains. The party came dangerously close to racist statements about asylum seekers and refugees. Some, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, believe the SPP crossed the line of decency.
Current mood
The election result also expresses the current mood of Switzerland, with a weakened economy, rising unemployment and welfare benefits under pressure.
In such times, it is easy to blame the state of things on foreigners and other outside
. Switzerland is clearly no exception in Europe, where several right-wing populist parties have made elections gains with similar rhetoric.
But the message is neither more correct nor more acceptable for that reason.
DENMARK
Politiken, Copenhagen, Oct. 21: It must now be clear to most people that the so-called war on terrorism includes big risks for both civil rights around the world and international stability.
At the same time that Russia now seems to be ready to follow the path of the United States and introduce "pre-emptive attacks" in its declared war on terrorism, a new U.N. report about the Arab world, "Arab Human Development Report," points out that Arab leaders also use "the war on terror" to restrict the rights of its citizens.
Western populists
It is not so much about Islam as a source to terrorism as western populists love to portray it but despotic leaders who use the terror fight as a cover to pursue political opponents -- whether they are Muslims or not.
JORDAN
Jordan Times, Amman, Oct. 21: The rise to power by the Swiss right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) in Sunday's elections can be seen as part of a process that is sweeping through many west European countries that have become refugee-fatigued over the past few years.
The supporters of SVP in Switzerland view foreigners, especially, asylum-seekers, as a threat to their way of life and culture as well as taking away work opportunities from the Swiss people.
There is no doubt that xenophobia is on the rise in many parts of Europe despite all efforts to manage it and prevent its spread.
More and more European countries are therefore putting dampers on the hitherto liberal consideration of application for refugee status by foreigners.
Incoming refugees
If the Western countries seek to reduce the burden of incoming refugees to their shores and borders, all they need to do is to help developing countries become prosperous enough as to make their peoples think several times before they leave behind their own families and traditional ways of life.
Making developing countries more economically advanced and their political systems more democratic is the only effective solution to the entire refugee issue.
That is why the refugee-receiving states must invest more in developing countries not only economically but also politically. Otherwise the number of refugees is certain to mushroom to unmanageable proportions.
SUDAN
Egyptian Gazette, Oct. 21: Barring 11th-hour snags, the Khartoum government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) are set to clinch a peace deal soon. Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and SPLA chief John Garang are in Kenya for a fresh round of negotiations.
They are grappling with thorny issues such as division of wealth, mainly oil, and power-sharing between the Sudanese government and the SPLA.
The United States, haunted by fiascos in Iraq and Palestine, keeps a high profile role in prodding the two sides to cut the peace deal. This American attention is laudable, given the aim is presumably to end a two-decade war, which has claimed some two million lives in southern Sudan. There are reasons for concern, however.
Lopsided pact
In its yearning for a Sudan agreement that will make up for other disappointments in the region, Washington may put pressure on one or both sides to produce a half-baked or lopsided pact. What Sudan badly needs is a peace agreement that will stand the test of time and preserve its unity. Such an objective must not be sought through coercion.
ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem, Oct. 20: When the Palestinian Authority arrested eight Palestinians following the bombing that killed three Americans in Gaza last week, it was noted with equanimity, as if nothing could be more natural. Palestinian leaders, after all, roundly condemned the attack, so why should they not take action against the perpetrators?
What has not been noted is the striking contrast between the PA's response to terrorism against Americans and its response to similar attacks against Israelis, both of which it claims to oppose. In the case of the murdered Americans, who were on their way to interview candidates for Fullbright scholarships in Gaza, Yasser Arafat ordered an immediate investigation. The arrests came soon after. Israeli officials have dismissed the arrests as a sham, and many expect that even the low-level terrorists apprehended will be soon released.
No action
There is no indication that any systemic action against the Resistance Committees, a catch-all term for bands of terrorists from different organizations, will be taken. But even if the investigation and arrests amounted to "rounding up the usual suspects," terrorism against Israelis does not produce even this attempt at creating the appearance of action on the part of the PA. It is telling that, when Americans are killed, we hear none of the standard PA excuses for inaction, such as we have no power, no control, and Israel has destroyed our institutions of justice.