European press review

As Ukraine prepares to wake up to its parliamentary election results, one newspaper is already looking ahead to the presidential poll in 2004, while the possibility of the far-right getting into government makes the news in Hungary.

Italy's Prime Minister Berlusconi extends and olive branch to the unions over labour reform, while the Basque Nationalist Party leader puts a plague on the houses of the Spanish Government and the ETA gunmen.

Election expectations

In Ukraine newspapers are awaiting the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary election. Official results are due later in the day, but exit polls suggest that for the Communists will - for the first time since independence in 1991 - lose their dominant position to a coalition of centre-right parties led by pro-reformist former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko.

The national daily Segodnya looks back at the scandals that marred the campaign.

A parliamentary seat now costs more than a human life

Segodnya

"It is not even the abundance of dirty PR, the use of the state machine by the government party or interference by foreign powers that defined the tone of the parliamentary race. Even before its kick-off, this race was labelled a 'warm-up' for the presidential election in 2004," it said.

The fear of losing the battle for parliament "has brought president hopefuls close to panic".

Segodnya also recalled the murder in Western Ukraine of Mykola Shkriblyak, a United Social Democratic Party candidate, the first fatality in a Ukrainian election campaign. "This means a parliamentary seat now costs more than a human life."

The paper bemoaned the lack of objective reporting, saying that, although there was plenty of chances to hear candidates debate, the news was interpreted according to the view of the owners of the various TV channels, newspapers or radio stations.

Admitting the far-right

The leader of Hungary's ruling centre-right party, Fidesz, has said it could govern the country with the parliamentary support of the far-right Hungarian Justice and Life Party, or Miep, after the forthcoming elections, according to Nepszabadsag.

The daily refers to a BBC TV report in which the Fidesz leader, Zoltan Pokorni, initially repeated earlier assurances that under no circumstances would his party cooperate with Miep.

After being pressed on the subject, however, Pokorni said that such a scenario was possible.

"It emerges from the BBC report that they themselves consider such a scenario to be possible," Nepszabadsag adds.

Hungarian parliamentary elections are to be held on 7 and 21 April, while opinion polls have indicated a tight race between the centre-right Fidesz-led alliance and the largest opposition Hungarian Socialist Party. Miep has voiced ambitions to hold the balance of power after the elections.

After the strike, dialogue

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has called for dialogue with political parties after the strike unions have called for 16 April in protest at government plans for labour reform, Il Giornale newspaper reports.

The government is ready for dialogue... for us this is not a closed door

Silvio Berlusconi

He said he is seeking agreement with them over Article 18 of the Labour Statute, and extended his hand to the unions as well, despite sharp exchanges over recent mass protests in several Italian cities.

"Although we now have the general strike ahead of us, after that day, which has become symbolic for the unions, the government - and I say this publicly - is ready for dialogue," Mr Berlusconi said.

"The unions are one of the protagonists of Italian democracy, as much as the government and parliament. They represent and defend the workers and their interests, and speak for them with the government and parties. For our part this is not a closed door."

He said earlier minor labour reforms had boosted employment, and expressed confidence that his more far-reaching proposals would also yield benefits for workers.

Aznar is a 'pocket Sharon'

The leader of the Basque National Party, Xabier Arzalluz, has called Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "pocket Sharon" and compared his policies in the Basque Country to those of President George W Bush in Afghanistan, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Speaking at the party's celebration of Basque National Day, Aberri Eguna, in Bilbao, he said he wanted the Basque Country to have "its own place in Europe, not as a sublet of Spain or France".

He accused Mr Aznar of "trying to do to the Basque Country by means of the Law-based State what (dictator Francisco) Franco did by other means".

He accused the armed separatist group ETA of being "Aznar's front organization" in obscuring debate of serious issues by its attacks.

He poured scorn on ETA's recent announcement that it would continue the armed struggle as "such an immense contribution", but criticized the government's proposal to ban the political wing of ETA, Batasuna, as "providing an oxygen cylinder to ETA and moving us further away from peace".

If ETA put away its guns, Basque constitutional nationalists would have an absolute majority, Mr Arzalluz said, adding "Euskadi is the homeland of the Basques and we are the masters of our own destiny".

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.