Just what the Doctor ordered: family theatre at its scary, exhilarating best
July 1, 2011 No Comment
Punchdrunk’s new Doctor Who production at the Manchester International Festival is already the hottest ticket in town There are startled looks, anxious screams and by the end of the new, nerve-jangling Doctor Who theatre experience there will doubtless be a few sweating wrecks. The kids, however, appear to be fine. Exhilarated, smiling and fine. The theatre company Punchdrunk has opened an event that fits perfectly within the cliched bracket of “highly anticipated” and “hot ticket”; indeed demand for The Crash of the Elysium has been so high extra performances for over-13s have already been scheduled during its run at the Manchester International Festival . But this is an experience primarily aimed at the Doctor’s younger fans. Grown-ups are allowed into this performance only if accompanied by a six to 12-year-old. And thanks to an excitable party from Bridgewater primary in Little Hulton, Salford, the Guardian managed to smuggle itself into one of the previews. Punchdrunk has already established a reputation for immersive theatre with shows such as The Masque of the Red death and this Doctor Who production, a collaboration with the BBC, continues in a similar vein. Groups of 25 start their journey in a museum gallery where a kindly, beige-jacketed man called Mr Willard, the sort who always has boiled sweets in his pocket, tells us the history of the Elysium, a ship that sank mysteriously in 1888. Within minutes soldiers storm in. There’s a crisis – only we can help. Everyone is made to run outside as fast as they can, which is the moment you discover just how breathtakingly fast year six children can move. From there it’s a quick change into biohazard suits and full pelt to an exhilarating adventure that sends us back in time to save the Doctor. As in previous Punchdrunk productions, the attention to detail is impressive. The kids here are really living the experience. They are empowered: solving puzzles, guarding doors and taking decisions. One of the scariest scenes sees us trapped in a darkened corridor as a weeping angel appears to be getting ever closer. Afterwards 11-year-olds Jack, Naomi and Zoe and Luke, 10, gave their unanimous verdict – they loved it. “It was a little bit scary but cool, a good adventure,” said Jack. “I would definitely go back,” said Luke. “It was fantastic.” Even teacher Karen Pickard – who alongside a colleague and myself were berated by Captain Solomon and Corporal Albright for not being quick enough – was full of praise for the experience. “They will be talking about it for days,” she said with no discernible hint of alarm. There are undoubtedly scares but they are good scares, followed by something completely different. After a scare there might come the magic and wonder of, for example, a Victorian fairground. “We have done a lot of work to gauge the right level of scariness,” said producer Gabby Vautier. “One parent rang to say she couldn’t get her kids to sleep after they saw it but only in that they couldn’t stop talking about it.” The Crash of the Elysium has been scripted by Tom MacRae, a writer so young that “his” Doctor was Sylvester McCoy. “It is a huge logistical achievement which has meant endless refinements to get it where it is now,” he said. “It is a story for children, it’s their story. It’s about their experience of Doctor Who and how they would engage with it if they were playing in the playground or in their bedroom with their toys. Except we throw them into something so real and immersive that it’s like being in a television show, one you can touch and smell and bang on the walls. “Any kid who goes will have a day they will never, ever forget,” said MacRae. “I wish I was six.” The show is at MediaCityUK in Salford as part of the third biennial Manchester Festival, of which the Guardian is a media partner. The festival kicked off on Thursday night with the world premiere of Bjork’s new show, Biophilia, and will feature Damon Albarn’s opera Dr Dee and a new work by Victoria Wood, That Day We Sang. The Crash of the Elysium will travel to London next year as part of London 2012, the cultural festival celebrating the Olympics. Doctor Who Punchdrunk Theatre Manchester Television Science fiction Mark Brown guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MRC-TV: Bozell Discusses Media’s ‘Scorched-earth’ Tactics on Bachmann, GOP — July 1 ‘Fox & Friends’
July 1, 2011 No Comment“From now until Election Day 2012 it's going to be scorched earth against any Republican who gets in the way of Barack Obama,” NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Fox News's Molly Line on the July 1 “Fox & Friends.” This past week found Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) the target of the liberal media's attacks in part because she just formally announced her 2012 presidential candidacy but more importantly because “She's a conservative woman and that goes against the narrative of the enlightened liberal.” [see the video embedded below the page break] “Look at the coverage of Hillary Clinton,” for comparison, the Media Research Center founder noted, or how the media treated liberal African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall with the savage attacks the media have gotten away with on conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. Bozell also slammed MSNBC's Chris Matthews for smearing Michele Bachmann as being pro-slavery because she is a constitutional originalist. “That the kind of low-brow MSNBC kind of coverage you get now which is just not worth our time, frankly,” he argued.
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Duke and Duchess of Cambridge witness swearing in of new Canadians on the second day of their North American tour Prince William saw the swearing in of 25 new Canadian citizens on Friday, though he – prince of Canada that he is – was not one of them. There were Chinese, Cubans, French, Greeks, Haitians, Romanians and even Madagascan residents swearing an oath of allegiance to his grandmother and to him as one of her heirs and successors, yet if anyone noticed the irony, they did not care to mention it. The prince, with his wife, Duchess Kate, beside him, was guest of honour on Canada Day in Ottawa and tens of thousands turned out to cheer and whoop. From early morning a sea of red and white converged in front of the country’s parliament. On what was to become a hot and nearly cloudless day Canadians trudged towards the site, most wearing the national colours, many carrying maple leaf flags in their hair or on their baseball caps or T-shirts. Canadians may be God’s doughty people and while they were stoically out to enjoy themselves they carried macs, just in case. Across the river, outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization, an appropriate place for the citizenship ceremony in this most civilised nation, there was the first demonstrator of the tour. Dressed in a bear costume and bearing a motto “Bearskins look better on bears”, she didn’t seem to mind being ignored. Inside the museum’s hall, lined with giant totem poles, mounties genially posed for photographs with the new citizens while the Canadian air force’s string quartet gently strummed the theme from Desert Island Discs like a palm court orchestra – a strange choice as desert islands are one thing Canada lacks. On television screens more characteristic scenes were shown, most of them seemingly including snow. Two of the new citizens, Romanians Adrian and Florentina Uzea, cradling their baby daughter, Stephanie, were explaining their choice. Both agricultural economists – Adrian now works for the national organisation of broiler chicken farmers – they had decided Canada was a safer place to raise their daughter, though they retain their old nationality as well just in case there is a roasting in the Canadian poultry sector. “In Romania when you decide to have kids you have to think twice, but here you know you can support your family,” said Florentina. Looking round, she added: “This is better than I expected … and yes, it is a thrill. We didn’t know the prince would be here until recently.” “It’s appropriate,” chipped in her husband. “Canada was a dominion of Britain, which makes it more special.” Ceremonies were taking place across the country, from Gander to Whitehorse, the governor general said, swearing in maybe 150,000 new citizens, but only Ottawa had a prince to watch. And soon he was among them, grinning his diffident chipmunk smile, with his wife, a striking vision in white and red, beside him. Her costume, by the Montreal-born designer Erdem Moralioglu, was apparently the one chosen for her engagement photographs by Mario Testino last year – waste not want not, though hardly an austerity drive. It was topped by a small scarlet cross between a hat and a fascinator crowned with maple leaves and tailed by equally scarlet stilettos. Dutifully, the couple waited while the governor general, David Johnston, read out the oath of citizenship – first in French – leading the new citizens as they murmured allegiance to Sa Majesté la Reine Elizabeth Deux; and then in English, louder, just to make sure. “We are grateful you have chosen Canada,” he said as if they had taken out a life insurance policy, which in a way some probably had. It was a gentle invitation, he said, echoing words of the Queen. Then: “Do your best for Canada.” For the royal party it was then on to the more boisterous celebrations across the river and up the hill, a journey partly undertaken in the state landau. Meanwhile, the crowds at the museum agreed the couple were lovely, sweet, gorgeous, a credit to Canada, a country Kate had not visited before. Three characters standing well back from the crowd, bearing posters saying “No oath to royalty”, “Democracy not royalty” and, slightly more cumbersomely, “Monarchy oaths violate charter freedoms” were politely ignored – it is the Canadian way. Canada Prince William Kate Middleton Monarchy Stephen Bates guardian.co.uk
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Libyan leader said in radio message he would carry out attacks in Europe if Nato didn’t cease its airstrike campaign Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to carry out attacks in Europe against “homes, offices, families,” unless Nato halts its campaign of airstrikes against his regime in Libya. The Libyan leader, sought by the International Criminal Court for brutally crushing an uprising against him, delivered the warning in an radio message played to thousands of supporters gathered in the main square of Tripoli. Addressing the west, Gaddafi said Libyans might take revenge. “These people (the Libyans) are able to one day take this battle … to Europe, to target your homes, offices, families, which would become legitimate military targets, like you have targeted our homes,” he said. “We can decide to treat you in a similar way,” he said of the Europeans. “If we decide to, we are able to move to Europe like locusts, like bees. We advise you to retreat before you are dealt a disaster.” In his speech, Gaddafi denounced the rebels as traitors and blamed them for Libya’s troubles. He said Libyans who fled to neighbouring Tunisia are now “working as maids for the Tunisians.” “What brought you to this stage? The traitors,” Gaddafi said in the radio message. He urged his supporters to “march on the western mountains” to clear the area of weapons the French government delivered to the rebels there several days ago. Friday’s was one of the largest pro-government rallies in recent weeks. It came just four days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi for crimes against humanity. International prosecutors allege government troops fired on civilian protesters during anti-Gaddafi street demonstrations earlier this year. Libya Muammar Gaddafi Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Africa guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Glenn Beck’s finale yesterday was pretty much what you’d expect: lotsa fond remembrances, beginning with Beck’s own version of his “greatest hits” (we much prefer our version, , but you can’t please everyone) and wrapping up with a few moments’ preachiness and a list of credits on a chalkboard. Of course, we’ve already given our thoughts on his exodus, and what more can you say that hasn’t already been said — and said well — over at Media Matters ? Now, of course, the anticipation will be about seeing how Fox fills his time slot. Will Eric Bolling’s months-long audition as someone nuttier and nastier than Glenn Beck finally pan out? Or will Ailes & Co. try to tone it down a bit? Which only raises the more important point: Beck’s show was only the worst of many awful things on Fox. Ultimately far more noxious — and damaging to democratic discourse — is the relentless lying and propagandizing that now permeates nearly every corner of the Fox News operation (Shep Smith’s show being the lone possible exception). Beck was especially bad because he so effortlessly transmitted far-right extremist ideas into the mainstream, and on such a massive level. But it still happens elsewhere on Fox. And one of the major effects of these kinds of transmissions — to alienate ordinary people from factual reality, creating a kind of wedge with the real world, thus priming many of them, particularly those with mental illnesses or violent instabilities, for acting out in extreme and often violent ways — in fact is also present with “newscasts” that deliberately falsify and distort. Disinformation can radicalize people as surely as conspiracy theories. That’s still very much ongoing at Fox. Beck may be gone, but the beat goes on. And so does the work of people keeping an eye on it. Click here to view this media
Continue reading …Junction ‘cosy’ created for project to brighten up Leeds city centre missing presumed kidnapped A giant woolly hat, last seen making its way unsteadily across a road in Leeds, is missing presumed kidnapped. Frankly, the hat does not look entirely sober in the CCTV images, now posted on YouTube in the hope of recovering the runaway, as it bashes its pom-pom against a lamp-post before wobbling off into the darkness. Cosy was part of a project by Leeds Met Gallery and Studio Theatre , to brighten up the city’s streets by inviting artists to decorate the boring grey junction boxes that clutter many a pavement. One box has red velvet curtains revealing a stage full of acrobatic rabbits and hares, another appears to be made of inlaid oak and another has become a back-to-back redbrick. The box outside Jamie’s Restaurant on Park Row was decked out in a giant hat, hand-knitted out of electric cable by the Sheffield-based artist and architect Tony Broomhead. Cosy was described as “cheerful, but sadly, despite its glorious pom-pom, unwearable”, but this proved a lie. “It looked really cool before it got nicked,” Broomhead said, sadly. It took him two months to plan and weeks of heavy duty knitting to create. “I said I would never knit again when it was completed, but if it isn’t returned I reckon I will pick up the needles once more. The junction box just looks naked without its cosy.” Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk
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Former IMF boss freed after doubt cast on aspects of alleged victim’s account, while her lawyer gives graphic description In extraordinary scenes outside a Manhattan courtroom, the lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s alleged victim promised the maid would take her cause to the press amid fears that prosecutors might be preparing to drop the case. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, was freed from house arrest and had his bail dropped, as it emerged that investigators had discovered his accuser, a 32-year-old Guinean-born maid, had lied about a previous rape claim. They also uncovered evidence that appeared to cast doubt on key elements of her account, and seemed likely to do deep damage to her credibility as a witness. But her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, repeated her account of the assault, including highly graphic details of the alleged sex attack, and said she now wanted to speak out in front of the press. He said there were photographs of the victim’s “bruised vagina” and medical evidence of other injuries, and evidence of semen that the victim had spat out into the room. “He grabbed her vagina with so much force he hurt her,” he said. “She is going to tell you what Dominique Strauss-Kahn did to her,” Thompson said. “The victim will stand before you.” He went on to say that her story held up, despite astonishing revelations that she had lied to prosecutors about a whole raft of events, including her movements after the alleged attack and her links to a possible drug dealer, as well as apparent evidence that she was seeking financial gain. “The only defence that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has is that this sexual encounter was consensual. That is a lie,” Thompson said. But the developments represented a huge boost to Strauss-Kahn. In court with his wife Anne Sinclair, he thanked judge Michael Obus as his previously strict bail conditions were lifted, effectively removing him from house arrest. Though the court did not give him back his passport, Strauss-Kahn is free to travel around the US without bail conditions. In a brief court hearing, prosecutors filed papers detailing some of the new findings. Strauss-Kahn then walked out of the court and into a waiting car. Strauss-Kahn’s arrest for attempted rape on 14 May led to him losing his job at the IMF and his position as a leading possible presidential contender for the Socialist party in France. He was confined under effective house arrest in Manhattan and the episode prompted a bout of soul-searching in France as other people came forward with salacious and disturbing details of Strauss-Kahn’s apparently prolific womanising. Legal experts believe the developments will now see the charges reduced down to a misdemeanour, while the defence team push for them to be dropped altogether. “The next step will be a complete dismissal,” said Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer. The discoveries reflected a sudden lack of confidence that prosecutors would be able to convince a court about what the hotel maid said happened between herself and Strauss-Kahn in his room at the Sofitel. After she alleged that he sexually assaulted her, New York authorities swept into action, arresting Strauss-Kahn as he waited to take off on a flight to Europe. But now the anticipated court battle may not happen at all. Prosecuting lawyers have concluded that the maid has lied repeatedly in their dealings with her. A letter filed with the court detailed how prosecutors believe she lied over claims she was gang-raped when she submitted a claim for political asylum in the US. The letter said she had admitted to them the claims were not true. The letter also said she did not tell the truth about her behaviour following the alleged assault by Strauss-Kahn. Initially, she told investigators she had hidden after the attack until she saw her alleged attacker leave and then reported the assault to a supervisor. But the letter said that was not true and in fact she cleaned a nearby room and then also cleaned the room in which the alleged attack took place. The New York Times has also reported that police have tape recorded a telephone conversation between the woman and a man in prison on the day of the alleged rape in which she talked about the possible financial benefits that could come to her as a result of pursuing charges. The investigation also found deposits made into her bank account totalling $100,000 (£60,000) over the last two years, some of which came from the man, a convicted drug dealer. James Cox, law professor at Duke University, said: “This has got to be the prosecution’s worse nightmare. You do what you think is right and then your witness goes south on you.” He said the prosecution was right to act decisively and quickly on the case when the charges were brought and could not be blamed for the media furore that followed. “You can not have a chambermaid bringing allegations against an aristocrat like Strauss-Kahn without there being this find of frenzy,” Cox said. But, given subsequent developments he was surprised that the prosecution had not done more homework on their witness ahead of making such strong statements about the case and the strength of their witness. Others said the developments did not mean Strauss-Kahn would avoid all charges. Professor John Coffee of Columbia Law School said: “This does not exonerate him.” Strauss-Kahn had been expected to run for the French presidency after stepping down from his post as managing director of the IMF, one of the most important roles in world finance. But after his arrest he was forced to resign form the IMF. The job has just been filled by the French finance minister, Christine Lagarde. These new developments could leave the way open for him to return to French domestic politics with France’s former Socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin describing the news as a “thunderbolt”. The handling of the Strauss-Kahn case is likely to lead to criticism of New York prosecutors and questions over their handling of the case, especially the now notorious “perp walk” which saw Strauss-Kahn paraded in front of press cameras. Comment and leader comment, pages 40 and 42 Dominique Strauss-Kahn United States IMF France Europe Dominic Rushe Paul Harris Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi says ICC charges over the shooting of Benghazi protesters may be dropped in return for secret peace deal The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has claimed that Nato has offered the regime an “under the table” deal that would see the international arrest warrants against both men dropped. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi vehemently denied that he or his father ordered the killing of civilian protesters, as charged this week by the international criminal court (ICC). In his first interview since the charges were brought, Saif alleged that western powers had proposed sacrificing the independence of the ICC to negotiate an end to Libya’s civil war. “It’s a fake court,” he told Russian news channel RT in an interview released on Friday . “Under the table they are trying to negotiate with us a deal: ‘If you accept this deal, we will take care of the court.’ What does it mean? It means the court is controlled by those countries which are attacking us every day. It is just to put a psychological and political pressure on us.” Documents from the ICC outline multiple incidents in which the tribunal prosecutors allege government troops fired on civilian protesters during anti-Gaddafi street demonstrations earlier this year. Saif, 38, wearing a thick beard, insisted that neither he nor his father were responsible. “This court is a Mickey Mouse court,” he said. “Come on, they accuse me of killing people. Everybody knows, even the rebels themselves, they can’t accuse me of using force because I’m not in the army, I’m not in the government, so for me to be responsible for killing people, it was a big joke. “Second joke – the people who died at the beginning, 159 – most of the people died when they attacked a military site and this would happen anywhere in the world – in Russia, in America, in France, in Germany and Italy. If people in the street move towards a military site trying to steal ammunition or arms, the military will prevent that, and this is what happened in Benghazi.” On Monday, the tribunal at The Hague issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi, Saif and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi. The three are accused of orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of the uprising and for trying to cover up their alleged crimes. Asked by the Russian state-funded network who did order the brutal crackdown, Saif replied: “Nobody ordered, nobody. The guards fired – that’s it. The guards were surprised by the attack of the people and they started firing. They don’t need an order to defend themselves and to defend their barracks and their camps.” Saif, who studied at the London School of Economics, had once been viewed as a reformer by the west and was being groomed as a possible successor to his father. He accused Nato and the rebels of being in a “hurry” to finish the conflict, and warned that the government is ready to wait them out. “They want to finish as soon as possible because they are hungry, they are tired, they want to share the cake,” he said. “For them Libya is like fast food, like McDonald’s, fast. Because everything should be fast: fast war, fast airplanes, fast bullets, fast victory. “But we are very patient because we are in our country. We live here, we die here, so we are very patient. We may win tomorrow, in one week or in one year, but one day we’ll win. One day the French will go back to Corsica in France, the Italians will go back to Sicily in Italy, the Danish will go back to Denmark, the Canadians will go back to Toronto and Libya will go back to the Libyans.” Saif’s reaction to the ICC charges was dismissed by underground activists in Tripoli. A man using the name Niz, who belongs to a group known as the Free Generation Movement, said: “There is no one who does anything without the desire and wish of Colonel Gaddafi. Any atrocity in the last five months or in the last 42 years is directly associated with an order issued in one way or another by Colonel Gaddafi.” On Friday, rebels were pulling back from their positions outside the strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam, 50 miles south of Tripoli, after coming under rocket attack, Reuters reported. A rebel spokesman, Gomaa Ibrahim, said a colonel in Gaddafi’s army had defected to the rebel side. The officer, Mohammed al-Rajbani, had served as a local commander in the Libyan military and recently joined rebels in Libya’s western mountains, Ibrahim told the Associated Press. Nato Libya Middle East Africa Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Saif al-Islam Gaddafi says ICC charges over the shooting of Benghazi protesters may be dropped in return for secret peace deal The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has claimed that Nato has offered the regime an “under the table” deal that would see the international arrest warrants against both men dropped. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi vehemently denied that he or his father ordered the killing of civilian protesters, as charged this week by the international criminal court (ICC). In his first interview since the charges were brought, Saif alleged that western powers had proposed sacrificing the independence of the ICC to negotiate an end to Libya’s civil war. “It’s a fake court,” he told Russian news channel RT in an interview released on Friday . “Under the table they are trying to negotiate with us a deal: ‘If you accept this deal, we will take care of the court.’ What does it mean? It means the court is controlled by those countries which are attacking us every day. It is just to put a psychological and political pressure on us.” Documents from the ICC outline multiple incidents in which the tribunal prosecutors allege government troops fired on civilian protesters during anti-Gaddafi street demonstrations earlier this year. Saif, 38, wearing a thick beard, insisted that neither he nor his father were responsible. “This court is a Mickey Mouse court,” he said. “Come on, they accuse me of killing people. Everybody knows, even the rebels themselves, they can’t accuse me of using force because I’m not in the army, I’m not in the government, so for me to be responsible for killing people, it was a big joke. “Second joke – the people who died at the beginning, 159 – most of the people died when they attacked a military site and this would happen anywhere in the world – in Russia, in America, in France, in Germany and Italy. If people in the street move towards a military site trying to steal ammunition or arms, the military will prevent that, and this is what happened in Benghazi.” On Monday, the tribunal at The Hague issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi, Saif and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi. The three are accused of orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of the uprising and for trying to cover up their alleged crimes. Asked by the Russian state-funded network who did order the brutal crackdown, Saif replied: “Nobody ordered, nobody. The guards fired – that’s it. The guards were surprised by the attack of the people and they started firing. They don’t need an order to defend themselves and to defend their barracks and their camps.” Saif, who studied at the London School of Economics, had once been viewed as a reformer by the west and was being groomed as a possible successor to his father. He accused Nato and the rebels of being in a “hurry” to finish the conflict, and warned that the government is ready to wait them out. “They want to finish as soon as possible because they are hungry, they are tired, they want to share the cake,” he said. “For them Libya is like fast food, like McDonald’s, fast. Because everything should be fast: fast war, fast airplanes, fast bullets, fast victory. “But we are very patient because we are in our country. We live here, we die here, so we are very patient. We may win tomorrow, in one week or in one year, but one day we’ll win. One day the French will go back to Corsica in France, the Italians will go back to Sicily in Italy, the Danish will go back to Denmark, the Canadians will go back to Toronto and Libya will go back to the Libyans.” Saif’s reaction to the ICC charges was dismissed by underground activists in Tripoli. A man using the name Niz, who belongs to a group known as the Free Generation Movement, said: “There is no one who does anything without the desire and wish of Colonel Gaddafi. Any atrocity in the last five months or in the last 42 years is directly associated with an order issued in one way or another by Colonel Gaddafi.” On Friday, rebels were pulling back from their positions outside the strategic town of Bir al-Ghanam, 50 miles south of Tripoli, after coming under rocket attack, Reuters reported. A rebel spokesman, Gomaa Ibrahim, said a colonel in Gaddafi’s army had defected to the rebel side. The officer, Mohammed al-Rajbani, had served as a local commander in the Libyan military and recently joined rebels in Libya’s western mountains, Ibrahim told the Associated Press. Nato Libya Middle East Africa Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi David Smith guardian.co.uk
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New EU president Donald Tusk makes passionate defence of EU while warning against new Eurosceptic mood Poland’s prime minister has accused western Europe’s most powerful leaders of hypocrisy and myopia in the midst of what is being called the EU’s worst crisis. Assuming the rotating presidency of the EU for the first time, Donald Tusk rounded on the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, and Britain over their handling of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece, immigration, EU spending and the budget. He charged them with posing as European champions while pandering to a new form of Euroscepticism for personal political gain, and of using fears about immigration to curb freedom of travel in Europe. The passionate and optimistic defence of the EU from the Polish leader was completely at odds with the mood in Brussels and other EU capitals, where commitment to the union is being eroded by the rise of populist Brussels-bashing, squabbling leaders, and soaring mistrust between member states. In defiance of the gloomy European zeitgeist, Tusk said: “The European Union is great. It is the best place on Earth to be born and to live your life.” He said he would use his six-month presidency to try to restore some sense of common purpose and confidence to a union in dire straits. Tusk is riding high in Poland, heading for victory in an October election that would make him the first Polish prime minister to win a second term in 22 years of democracy. He leads the only country in Europe not thrust into recession by the financial crisis, the fastest-growing economy in the EU, and where the EU enjoys high popularity ratings of more than 80%, not least because of the €10bn (£9bn) pouring in every year from Brussels, making Poland the biggest beneficiary of EU largesse. He dismissed talk of the EU encroaching on the sovereignty of the nation states of Europe, referring to his own experience as a Solidarity activist in communist Poland under martial law and Moscow’s control. “Until quite recently we saw a real restriction on our sovereignty,” he said. “We were truly occupied by the Soviets. It was truly an occupation. That’s why for us EU integration is not a threat to the sovereignty of the member states.” Tusk’s buoyant message from a booming country sounded like a plea to Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris and other EU leaders to shift course and try to reverse the sense of decline and defeatism seizing Europe. “I just want to resist the phenomenon of the new Euroscepticism that is everywhere,” he said. He was not referring to the intellectual hostility to the EU that is the traditional British position, Tusk said, but a more insidious and hypocritical trend in countries long committed to Europe. “The different phenomenon I am talking about is the birth of a type of Euroscepticism which does not declare itself. But it’s the behaviour, the words, the actions by politicians who say they are for the EU, support further integration, but at the same time suggest actions and decisions that weaken the community.” He singled out the French and Italian campaigns, supported by many others, to use the north African upheavals to reintroduce national border controls and curb the travel liberties enjoyed under the EU’s Schengen system. “I sometimes feel that some forget, maybe because they’ve been using freedom of movement much longer than myself, a Pole, what great value it is to have freedom of movement in the EU.” In a dig at David Cameron, Tusk also lamented the months of trench warfare looming over how to divvy up the next medium-term EU budget, describing the contest as one between those who want the budget to be “one of the main tools for European integration” and those who want “to give as little as possible to Europe”. Despite Tusk’s plea to revive a Europe beset by weariness, frictions, and attempts to re-nationalise policymaking, the divisions were again evident when finance ministers of the 17 countries using the euro cancelled an emergency meeting on Greece scheduled for Sunday. The meeting had been billed as crucial to frame a new bailout of Greece after the country’s prime minister, George Papandreou, in Athens delivered on the EU’s terms last week by securing parliamentary backing for a savage austerity package ordered by Brussels and Berlin. Tusk was scathing of the EU’s halting response to the 18-month Greek crisis. His criticism was echoed in an unusual intervention by the German president, Christian Wulff, who challenged the dithering by Merkel and Europe. “Europe is about giving and taking and you have to communicate that,” Wulff told the Hamburg weekly Die Zeit. “Europe and the euro are worth German’s special efforts because both are exactly in Germany’s interests. Without a persuasive and viable concept involving everyone, people’s doubts all over Europe will increase … There are calls in many places for renationalisation, for border controls, for defences against the foreigner and the foreign while populists propagate a supposedly once better world. European Union Poland European debt crisis Greece Europe Ian Traynor guardian.co.uk
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