European press review

As Europe's papers digest the sombre news that all the sailors on board the Russian submarine Kursk are indeed dead, many have harsh words for President Vladimir Putin's handling of the affair.

There's also criticism for the Philippine authorities, four months after foreign hostages were seized from a Malaysian holiday resort by Islamist rebels.

And in a rare example of the French embracing an American custom, a drinks company and a tobacco firm are facing legal action over their customers' ailments.

Russia humiliated

"Russia humiliated declares national mourning", says the headline in the French Le Monde.

"While Russia grieves, demands are growing for the Kremlin to explain the causes of Russia's worst ever peacetime naval disaster," the paper says.

It notes that the success and efficiency of the Norwegian and British diving teams have brought two questions to the fore: why the secrecy regarding the exact circumstances of the disaster, and whether the delay in accepting Western help was intended to conceal certain information.

Le Monde's cartoonist reflects on the implications of the disaster for President Putin.

Two divers are shown watching a bedraggled-looking Putin emerge from the submarine's escape hatch.

"A survivor," says one.

"Don't be so sure," the other replies.

Geneva's Le Temps does not mince its words, saying the Kursk affair has "brought to light Vladimir Putin's terrible inability to communicate, to commune with his people.

"This spectacle has brutally reminded them that the man they elected president is no more than an anonymous figure, with neither history nor passion, who has never been involved in politics nor known any cause other than his role as guardian of the regime," it says.

The paper links President Putin's conduct of the affair with the resignation of prosecutor Nikolas Volkov, who had been cooperating with the Swiss authorities in investigating the business affairs of some of Russia's most powerful tycoons.

It says the resignation, contrasting with Mr Putin's talk of tackling the so-called oligarchs, "again casts a cruel light on the president's double-speak".

A commentary in Berlin's Die Welt takes a milder view, saying that President Putin has weathered his first major crisis, though "somewhat bruised".

"Now it is time for damage control," it says.

The commentary, by a Berlin-based Russian expert, Alexander Rahr, says: "The submarine crisis could now lead to a rift in Putin's relations with the military."

President Putin could use the Navy's bungled handling of the crisis as an excuse to replace the entire military leadership "in one fell swoop" and re-establish his lost assertiveness, it says.

Yet such a move also harbours dangers, it adds, because without the military's support, Putin would have lost his most important power base.

Philippine hostages

Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung says that it is time for the West to persuade the Philippine Government finally to begin what the paper calls "serious negotiations" with the kidnappers holding 12 foreign hostages.

The paper is concerned by the behaviour of the Philippine authorities so far.

It says that constant threats to use force against the kidnappers are unwise and that the treatment of Libyan mediator Rajab Azzarouq, who has been accused by senior government officials of being in collusion with the kidnappers, is "scandalous".

And yet, it says, "the Western governments whose citizens have been taken hostage seem to have little influence on Philippine President Josef Estrada".

In Brussels, Le Soir believes there is "cynical calculation" at play on Manila's part.

The paper wonders why President Estrada's spokesman "felt the need" last Thursday, when the handover of the hostages was thought to be imminent, to say that "with the hostages freed, the Abu Sayyaf group's days would be numbered".

It points out that the president's insistence that the hostages all be released at the same time fosters among the rebels the fear of an army attack, and "in a way encourages the group to retain some human shields".

Manila cannot afford to endanger the hostages' lives, the paper says. But if the rebels themselves hurt their prisoners, world indignation would follow, providing "an excellent opportunity for a tough onslaught on the southern Muslim rebels".

Czech nuclear plant fears

Vienna's Kurier writes that the call by the German environment minister to close the disputed Czech nuclear plant in Temelin is seen by Austrian opponents of nuclear power as "their last hope that the plant will not be commissioned".

The paper writes that the Austrian Social Democrats, clearly alarmed by the Czech power utility's plans to put the plant into operation as early as in September, are now urging Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to call a special "Temelin summit" before the plant is commissioned.

It also notes that President Schuessel's government has been accused of "playing for time in order to avoid having to take a firm stand on the Czech plant issue".

Spanish 'no' to new Basque peace plan

Madrid's El Mundo says Spain's two main national parties, the Popular Party and the Socialist Party, have rejected the conditions set by the Basque Nationalist Party, or PNV, for the creation of a new forum for the peace process without ETA's political wing.

The paper doubts the PNV's willingness to break with the radicals, saying that its leaders' insistence that the Basque region be recognised as the sphere for decision-making is nothing other than the right of self-determination in disguise.

"No, we do not trust the present leadership of the PNV," the paper concludes. "They themselves are making it their job to prevent us from doing so."

Hungary's burgeoning far right

The Hungarian Magyar Hirlap warns about the steady advance of the popularity of the far-right Hungarian Justice and Life Party, or MIEP.

The paper says a recent poll suggests MIEP might become Hungary's third largest political party, and adds that the party itself expects to gain 10% of the votes in the 2002 elections.

"Slowly but surely the party is becoming an acceptable party," the paper says, adding that almost half of the party's 10,000 members are intellectuals or well-established businessmen.

"An increasing number of people believe that MIEP has a good chance of becoming a government party in 2002," the paper adds.

A lot of bottle

The Paris daily Liberation reports that a French man is suing the drinks giant Pernod-Ricard over his dependency on the aniseed drink Pernod.

The paper says the man blames the drink for the loss of his wife, his job, his health and his driving licence, and quotes his lawyer as saying that "nothing on the bottle warned of the risks".

The man's neighbour is also suing the state tobacco company Seita for causing his mouth cancer, it adds.

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