European press review

One French paper thinks France's position on the Iraq war has caused for a sudden bout of belt-tightening, while another sees problems ahead for Poland's European Union referendum.

Meanwhile, the Spanish prime minister may be about to be "punished" by his electorate for backing President Bush against Saddam Hussein.

French austerity

The French Le Monde, notes what it calls the French government's abrupt "about turn" on the deficit. "After a year of simply letting things slide", it says, France has now "been put on a bread-and-water diet".

"Why this sudden swerve?" the paper asks, promptly concluding that the answer lies not in a lengthy economic analysis, but in the after-effects of the war in Iraq, which, it says, "tore Europe apart" and shattered "the hopes of building a joint foreign policy before long".

Iraq war shattered hopes of building joint foreign policy before long.

Le Monde

In this situation, Le Monde believes, "Paris could not take the risk of causing a further upset" in Europe, "this time in the economic field" as "a fresh crisis would have been fatal".

But following an austerity regime during this period of low growth is going to be tough, the paper warns. But "the government's bad economic policy over the past year", it notes, means that it "no longer has a choice".

Polish worries

The French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur says Poland's leaders are worried about whether there will be enough votes cast in next month's referendum on joining the European Union.

The problem, the paper explains, is that the constitution requires a turnout of at least 50% for the referendum to be valid. "And the Polish electorate," it points out, "have got into the habit of shunning polling stations."

"This may surprise those who remember the Poles' 10-year struggle for the right to vote," the paper says.

But the truth of the matter, it adds, is that "everyone (in Poland) agrees that politicians have become discredited and public apathy reigns".

Politicians have become discredited and public apathy reigns.

Nouvel Observateur

Meanwhile "the economy is running out of steam", the paper notes, and unemployment has risen to 20%.

"And Europe is not in a position to provide substantial assistance," it stresses. "As for American investment, it is welcome but seems unlikely to provide a miracle cure," the paper believes.

Ballot box punishment?

As campaigning begins in Spain today for this month's local and regional elections, Barcelona's El Periodico says the Iraq war and the recent pollution disaster caused by the break-up of the tanker Prestige, "will be at the back of Spanish voters' minds".

But "this should not mean", it warns, "that the elections should be turned into a plebiscite of the stands taken by (Prime Minister Jose Maria) Aznar or the opposition on these issues".

Madrid's El Mundo says that although the results will have an impact on national politics, "it would be a mistake" not to vote on local and regional issues.

"After all," the paper points out, the electorate "will not have that long to wait to reward or punish the government".

Back in Madrid, La Razon fears what it calls "acts of coercion" from Basque separatists.

They fear pressure from ETA supporters.

La Razon

The paper notes that many people designated to man polling stations in the Basque country are applying to be excused from the duty. "They come up with all sorts of excuses," the paper notes, "but the reason is one and the same: they fear pressure from ETA supporters".

And the Paris-based International Herald Tribune reports that a group of prominent writers, including the Nobel laureates Nadine Gordimer and Guenter Grass, have signed what the paper calls "a strongly-worded attack on Basque nationalist violence", timed to coincide with the election campaign.

"Although it seems unbelievable," the paper quotes the document as saying, "today the candidates among the free citizens of the Basque Country are condemned to death by the mercenaries of ETA and condemned to humiliation by their nationalist accomplices".

The labours of Blair

An article in the Italian weekly Famiglia Cristiana, ponders what it sees as the political obstacles that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair must surmount in the months ahead.

He must, it says, "mend fences" with the European Union "without alienating" Washington, "promote the privatisation of schools and hospitals without splitting his Labour Party", and "get an election going" in Northern Ireland.

Mr Blair must mend fences with the European Union.

Famiglia Cristiana

The paper points out that the expected announcement next month that Britain will not be joining the euro for the time being, means that Tony Blair "will have failed to keep the promise of a referendum he made in 1997".

Nor will be easy for Mr Blair "to hang on" to the support of the party's pro-European faction while cultivating what the paper calls "an exclusive alliance" with America, it notes.

But even if the prime minister "were to succeed in salvaging both his party's unity and peace in Ulster at the last minute" the paper says, "it will be hard for him to present himself once again in the role of the Left's pro-European leader for whom the electorate voted back in 1997".

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