European Press Review

One topic dominates the headlines across Europe this Friday: the sweeping victory of Hamas in the Palestinian polls. But the papers disagree over how the West, and the EU in particular, ought to respond to the sudden change in the political landscape.

Alarm

"West trembles as Hamas gains power," states Switzerland's Le Temps.

The paper asks whether the West can continue to support a Palestinian Authority "which will henceforth be in the hands of an organization regarded as 'terrorist'."

"World alarmed over Hamas," reads a headline in France's Le Figaro.

It observes that the United States has said it will not deal with a party that advocates Israel's destruction.

"On the French side, the tone is the same," it says.

Russia's Moskovskiy Komsomolets also strikes a pessimistic note. "Hamas is terrorism. Terrorism is war," it says.

"It is obvious that the emerging situation will bring peace to no-one: neither Palestinians nor their neighbours."

An editorial in Spain's ABC entitled "Palestine: the worst-case scenario" takes the view that "the Palestinians have made Hamas' victory into a political storm that threatens to sweep away the fragile bases of institutional stability laboriously raised by Palestinian National Authority President Mahmud Abbas".

Austria's Die Presse is equally depressed.

The paper feels that the Palestinians have committed "collective political suicide" because in the foreseeable future no Israeli government will hold peace talks with Hamas.

"The peace process, which has in any case only existed as a hollow word for the last five years, is now definitely dead," it says.

Waiting game

But Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung thinks there is no reason to panic.

"First we should wait and see how the forming of a government in Ramallah proceeds, and what kind of signals a new government under the influence of Hamas sends out," the paper says.

It points out that the Hamas victory came about in an election which had long been demanded by Europe and the United States.

"In the first instance, this means that even results which we do not really want to see need to be accepted," it says.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung agrees that it would be wrong to reject talks with the next Palestinian government at this stage.

The paper argues that the "spectacular" election result may result in progress in the peace process.

"If Hamas takes on government responsibility, then the Islamists will eventually have to strive for talks," it says.

Under the headline "Power can change Hamas," the Czech paper Pravo also warns against gloom.

"Sudden responsibility for the running of the country might make the Palestinian radicals more peaceful," the paper believes.

Spain's El Pais agrees. It says that as far as the new government is concerned, "it cannot be ruled out that pragmatism will win out in the end".

Russia's Krasnaya Zvezda notes that it is one thing to be in opposition and to appeal to the most disgruntled section of the population, but it is "something else altogether to be in power and to be able to use all its attributes".

The paper thinks there is a desire among the moderate forces in Hamas to convince the world that their political organisation is far from synonymous with terrorism.

"In short, let's wait and see," it says.

EU response

Austria's Die Presse argues that, following the vote, the EU should halt all financial aid until Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist, adheres to democratic rules and "renounces terrorism once and for all".

"If there is the slightest infringement, not a single Euro must be transferred to Palestinian accounts any more, or else the EU will become implicated in the construction of a terrorist theocracy," it says.

But France's Le Monde is not so sure. EU aid "cannot easily be called into question in view of the prevailing situation in the Palestinian territories", it says.

Protest vote

Switzerland's Le Temps believes that the Palestinians have "brought Hamas to power in the way one clings on to a life raft".

"In the West", the paper says, "we see only the hideous aspect: terrorist attacks, blood spilt, the bodies of women and children blown apart on the streets of Israel".

What the Palestinians see in Hamas, it adds, is "a package of promises: escaping the incompetence of their leaders, an end to the suffering of their daily lives".

Germany's Berliner Zeitung takes a similar view.

"This was a protest vote against the self-satisfied and corrupt Fatah guard," the paper says.

It adds that the outcome was also a recognition not so much of Hamas' fight against Israel but of the "outstanding work of local Hamas politicians amidst chaos and anarchy".

Russia's Kommersant thinks Hamas' rise to power may force Washington to review its policy of promoting democracy in the third world.

"The US is now actively promoting its plan for a Greater Middle East united by the idea of democracy. The Palestinian case showed, however, that free elections may give power to forces other than those supported by Washington," it says.

Trud agrees. "As usual, the US position on this issue is inconsistent. The US is promoting democracy in the region but when free elections yield the results Washington does not like, the will of the majority of the population may be disregarded."

"Nevertheless, the people's choice will have to be accepted sooner or later - there is no other way."

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